Nuclear Energy as Alternative Energy
As humans continue to generate more carbon emissions and other harmful gases to the atmosphere, climate change and global warming slowly happens. People have sought ways to reduce carbon emissions by switching to other sources that are both renewable and clean. Over the centuries, people were able to harness energy from other resources besides coal and petroleum. Alternative energy resources produce little to no carbon at all thus, reducing carbon emissions. Alternative energy sources include wind energy, solar energy, hydroelectric energy, biomass energy, and nuclear energy. Only twenty-two percent of the world’s electricity is from renewable energy leaving seventy-eight percent to fossil fuels. Although all alternative resources reduce carbon emissions, most of these energies are not affordable, efficient, or portable, making alternative resources not able to fully eliminate all fossil fuel usage. Out of all the renewable resources, it seems nuclear energy rises to the top with the lowest land and location usage,and highest availability and efficiency.compared to other alternative energy sources. Nuclear energy is the best. (Toshi) Among all alternative energy sources, nuclear energy uses the least amount of land to create electricity. According to a land survey established by Massachutes Institute of Technology on energy resource land usage, nuclear energy uses only 1,200 square meters of land inlcuding a small stream of water.
Nuclear energy is the world's largest source of emission-free energy. Nuclear power plants produce no controlled air pollutants, such as sulfur and particulates, or greenhouse gases. "Renewables" like solar, wind and biomass can help. But only nuclear power offers clean, environmentally friendly energy on a massive scale. The use of nuclear energy in place of other energy sources helps to keep the air clean, preserve the Earth's climate, avoid ground-level ozone formation and prevent acid rain. “Currently, there are 103 commercial nuclear power plants producing electricity in the United States, located at 64 sites in 31 states. They are, on average, 24 years old, and
The United States needs a change in its energy sources. Oil, first of all, is a scarce resource that will eventually run out, and it also makes the U.S. depend on the political situation in other countries, as can be seen at the frequent changes in oil prices due to the political situation in the Middle-East. Alternative energy sources are an important issue to consider and nuclear energy is certainly the most controversial. There are currently 104 nuclear power plants operating in the United States, but the licenses of those plants will expire in foreseeable future, the first one already in 2013 and the last one in 2046 (Nuclear Energy Inst.). Those expiration dates initiate the discussions if the licenses should be renewed for the plants
Nuclear power is seen as an alternative energy source but it does, however, release a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is, however, an alternative energy source but it does have its pros and cons which must weighed up against each other into making a decision as to
For years, many scientists, environmentalists, and energy experts have been studying how human’s creation and use of energy has impacted our environment. These experts have discovered some troubling facts. Most of our country’s energy is created from burning fossil fuels that pollute our atmosphere, contribute to global warming, and thus threaten the future of our planet. But there’s a safe and effective solution to this problem: nuclear power. Nuclear power should be used more in the United States to create clean power that doesn’t pollute our environment, in order to help combat climate change.
These alternatives can be helpful in reducing carbon emissions while ensuring the energy independence . These sources are wind ,solar ,geothermal, hydro, nuclear and renewable bio fuels. Some of these sources are renewable , meaning they can be replenished, while others like nuclear, are non-renewable, yet are clean sources of energy. For better sustainability , society continues to explore the challenges of these energy options to help implement the necessary changes for an environmentally friendly and energy independent future.
Nuclear power is a much greener option than others, and can help prevent the devastating effects of fossil fuels on the environment. Burning fossil fuels releases thousands of tons of GHGs (greenhouse gasses) into the air that cause a variety of serious environmental problems. The emissions cause global warming which leads to the melting of polar ice caps and the raising of oceans. This also causes acid rain and air pollution which pollutes water sources, accelerates erosion and damages ecosystems (Pacific
The author of The Cheap but Costly Alternative - Nuclear Power emphasizes the dangers of nuclear energy by informing you of all the disasters that can happen and have happened. The author also uses loaded language to create an emotional appeal on how people could get hurt so that the reader won't support nuclear energy. Wind or solar energy could be good alternatives to nuclear energy. These sources of energy are natural and clean considering they'd come right from the weather and
Nuclear power plants are one of the cheapest energy creators for how much energy the power plants creates. In terms of energy Kilowatt hour is a unit of measurement for electricity. A kilowatt hour is 1000 watts an hour. Knowing that we can now I can show you how much coal and oil is to make. For coal the cost to make a Kilowatt hour is more than a 2.07 dollars. And oil comes in at a 3.18 . And natural gas is 3.52. Nuclear powers price is less than one cent which is significantly lower than the competitors prices. Nuclear power is a cheap and can put out more clean and
The world as we know today is dependent on energy. The options we have currently enable us to produce energy economically but at a cost to the environment. As fossil fuel source will be diminishing over time, other alternatives will be needed. An alternative that is presently utilized is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is currently the most efficacious energy source. Every time the word ‘nuclear’ is mentioned, the first thought that people have is the devastating effects of nuclear energy. Granting it does come with its drawbacks; this form of energy emits far less pollution than conventional power plants. Even though certain disadvantages of nuclear energy are devastating, the advantages contain even greater rewards.
Does an energy source such as nuclear energy have the potential to change the way Americans, and the world for that matter, move from place to place? This technology is very tempting, although it is extremely expensive; the long lasting benefits are remarkable. This technology may seem revolutionary, but it is still in the beginning stages. Many people would question the thought of stepping foot in a nuclear vehicle. Could this plan of nuclear energy in vehicles put Americans at more risk than it is worth? The idea of using nuclear energy is not a new doctrine, yet it still seems to raise some questions. The concept of using nuclear energy as an alternative power source is becoming drastically evident in the U.S.
Nuclear power has been slow to become a mainstream source of electricity in the world. Despite the fact that Nuclear power is arguably the most capable source of continuous, clean energy; the industry has been held back by safety and financial concerns. Current nuclear power plants, so-called Generation II reactors, are currently the largest source of carbon free electricity in the United States according to the Department of Energy (DoE).
As a result of the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels have become a indivisible part of human 's society. On one hand, they are the main sources of power generation; on the other hand, the emission of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels is causing global warming and climate change, widely considered as the most urgent problems this planet is facing right now. In order to mitigate the process of global warming, an introduction of an alternative clean energy to replace part of the burden of fossil fuels production becomes necessary. Nuclear power turns out to be the solution to this problem. Unlike other kinds of clean energy, nuclear energy can produce great amount of electricity and power without releasing any greenhouse gas. Although nuclear energy has become the alternate energy option because of its low emission of greenhouse gas and its productive efficiency, it has brought up unanticipated problems such as nuclear terrorism. The increasing number of nuclear power plants around the world gives terrorists opportunities to steal radioactive materials to create bombs. To prevent this from happening, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), a subdivision of Homeland Security Department, established a detection system called "Enhanced Global Nuclear Detection Architecture," which is be deployed worldwide to monitor unauthorized activities that are associated with nuclear matters (Shea).
The world's natural resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. As these resources diminish, people will be seeking alternative sources by which to generate electricity for heat and light. The only practical short-term solution for the energy/pollution crisis should be nuclear power because it is available, cleaner and safer.
Over the last decades, there’s been a worldwide debate over leaning off the use of fossil fuel, our main source of energy. Fossil fuel has been the world’s prime energy source and this has caused earth to becoming polluted. Because of this many suggest to change the way we make energy. Many say the energy used to substitute fossil fuel is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is made from from uranium, which is highly radioactive. Although this route may sound good, there are a lot of untold facts about nuclear energy. It is really dangerous, expensive, and isn’t good for our world. These are reasons why we should not change the way we make energy to nuclear energy. Instead we should create the energy we use my wind and solar power.
The proponents of nuclear energy favor the high energy output and low land usage over the benefits of renewable energy. The World Nuclear Association, a nonprofit organization made up of members from all parts of nuclear power generation, also lists several other positives to nuclear energy such as the security of its supply, the stable grid it supplies, and the low impact that fuel costs have on it. The secure supply that is mentioned refers to how uranium can be purchased for a relatively inexpensive cost, and how a year or two’s supply of it can be stored easily for little expenditure. Unlike renewables that have grid stability issues due to the intermittence of their power generation, nuclear energy can provide a steady base-load for power grids to work off of (Renaissance). Nuclear energy can also help stabilize the prices of electricity in deregulated markets as the fluctuating price of fuel only makes up a small portion of the overall cost of constructing and operating a plant, therefore high fuel prices do not make much of an impact on the cost of the generated power. There is also the aforementioned benefit of little land being used to generate power, as is reported by Prastuti Singh’s work at Stanford University. The land that nuclear energy can be used on is also much more flexible than that of