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Nuclear Power Is The Generation Of Energy

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By now, it has become alarmingly clear that we are in an environmental crunch. We are consuming the earth’s resources much faster than they can be replenished, and we have caused massive increases in the earth’s average temperature. A big reason for this is our enormous consumption of fossil fuels for energy, heat and transportation. One option for the amelioration of this problem that has been proposed for almost 70 years now is the use of nuclear power. Nuclear power is the generation of energy using nuclear energy, specifically through the fusion and/or fission of atoms. While the splitting and fusing of atoms occurs naturally all the time (mostly in the sun and other stars), the idea of civilian use of nuclear power has only been …show more content…

After careful consideration, it has become apparent that nuclear energy is not the energy source that the world needs.

As nuclear energy employs similar technology as those in city-destroying weapons, the possibilities for danger are abundant. The breakdown of atoms creates other, new atoms called daughter isotopes. Many of them are also radioactive, but need to be removed from the reactor since they don’t break down fast enough to be used as fuel. In addition, the unused nuclear fuel and Uranium-238 must also be removed, forming what is collectively known as “nuclear waste”. It is both chemically toxic and radioactive, and must be stored away from anything living. In addition to creating toxic waste, reactors require water to cool the reactor. The used hot water is dumped back in lakes and rivers, and the temperature change can harm wildlife. Not only does nuclear power create dangerous materials during every second of operation, but nuclear plants can become extremely dangerous if something goes wrong. Look no further than the Chernobyl incident. The Chernobyl nuclear plants were a set of four nuclear reactors in what is now Ukraine, when it was part of the Soviet Union. On April 25, 1986, unauthorized tests were done on one of the reactors, and the safety features were disabled. “Engineers initiated an uncontrolled chain reaction in the core of the reactor” (Chernobyl), and the following day, a massive explosion in the reactor destroyed the

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