Essay on Nuclear Power Plants, America’s Solution

From the electricity that kept my home warm and powered the lights at school to providing employment to both my parents for the past 30 years, nuclear power has been at the center of my life growing up. In Wadsworth, Texas, the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company has been a way a life thousands of people by providing nearly 1200 jobs and providing carbon-free electricity for over 2 million people. However, this is just one example in just one state in the United States. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, 11 percent of the world’s energy comes from nuclear power plants and for 13 countries it provides more than 25 percent of their country’s energy. However, even though nuclear power has made its mark as a global competitor in the realm of green energy, incidents such as 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima have created a global sense of uneasiness. On top of this underlying fear, the huge building costs of new nuclear plants has lead to a stunt in the growth of nuclear energy even though operation costs for nuclear energy at $0.0219/kW is less than that of coal ($0.023/KW) and almost half that of gas ($0.0451/kW) (IER). Even though nuclear energy has had some setbacks, it is still safer (short-term and long-term) than the carbon-producing alternatives. The question at hand is whether we should take an utilitarian perspective by giving more serious consideration to the long-term effects of the carbon-emitting energy sources and whether we can overcome our

One nuclear power plant with a footprint of one square mile provides the energy equivalent of 20 square miles of solar panels, 1200 windmills, or the entire Hoover Dam. All of this power comes without any greenhouse gas emission although they do produce nuclear waste. Unfortunately most nuclear energy comes at the risk of a potential nuclear meltdown like Chernobyl or Fukushima. While nuclear meltdowns may be rare there does is a potential nuclear fuel that promises even cheaper energy, with no chance of a nuclear meltdown, and produces significantly less nuclear waste. Thorium is a radioactive element close to uranium on the periodic table, named after the

Energy consumption has become a necessity and an important part of our daily life in the past 10 years. It seems that the world is looking for an energy source that is cleaner, cheaper and more efficient and since nuclear energy has emerged it has become the forerunner for alternative energy sources. ‘As of 2004, nuclear power provided 6.5% of the world's energy and 15.7% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for 57% of nuclear generated electricity’ (‘Nuclear energy facts’ 2007). Nuclear energy can be a doubled edged sword as it can be used for peaceful uses or used to manufacture weapons of mass destruction which can put the world in danger. As more countries begin to

Hello Mr. Wolfe, I have written to you in a serious matter. The matter of the usage of nuclear energy in our state should be stopped. I understand nuclear power is currently playing a large role in our environment. However, we should stop using nuclear power plants for many reasons. Some of the reasons include pollution for aquatic life and their high cost. Those are just the tip of the iceberg Mr. Wolfe, and as your advisor, I’m only trying to help our state.

Since the accident at Fukushima, many scientists and citizens are worried about the nuclear industry. In 2011 the nuclear reactors at Fukushima, Japan were damaged causing a reactor meltdown. Even to this day, highly radioactive substances are flowing into the ocean. (The real nuclear meltdown 1) Incidents such as these have caused many counties and industries to debate using this technology and to move on from the nuclear industry. Recently in the United States, many nuclear reactors were shutdown due to aging reactors and power plants, costing many companies millions of dollars. Many companies have spent millions of dollars maintaining power plants and upgrading them to meet new safety standards. Some business people have determined that upgrading the reactors to meet new safety standards are just not worth it. Nuclear reactors become more unpredictable as they age, making it difficult to decide if a twenty-year-old reactor is worth upgrading.

When clean and renewable sources of energy are discussed, the focus is usually centered around energy productions like solar and wind. But an important source of energy is often overlooked, nuclear energy. The viability of nuclear power plants has been a topic of debate since their inception, with many both for and against it. Many countries are broadly opposed to nuclear energy with poor public opinion resulting in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in their country. With the potential dangers of nuclear energy and the historical disasters that have accompanied it, many are resistant to continuing its development. For my paper I will be addressing why even with historical catastrophes, forgoing nuclear energy would be a mistake.

Just a few years ago there was a significant catastrophic nuclear failure. This failure caused huge amounts of radioactive materials to be released into the environment. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster quickly became the largest nuclear incident since the 1986 Chernobyl accident while both have affected the environment immensely with radiation. Due to the potential safety issues, the risk to the environment, and the dangers of nuclear power, the use of nuclear facilities must be called off to prevent meltdowns and irreparable damage to the surrounding area.

There is a great depth of curiosity in traversing the unknown, in embarking on journeys where the discoveries far outweigh your greatest expectations. In terms of nuclear power, the journey is still ensuing. Has progress been made? Yes. Have policies been formulated? Yes. Has a vast deal of information been researched? Yes.

As technology advances society’s need for energy grows exponentially. Nuclear energy can help provide the energy that society desperately needs, but there is a lot of controversy around nuclear power. Many people are afraid that potential risks that arise when there is a disaster and the long term health effect of radiation. Others are concerned with the storage practices for radioactive material. These concerns are always prevalent in nuclear discussions and an implicit bias and stigma around nuclear energy especially in the United States. The public’s fear can lead into decisions based only on emotion when controversial decisions should be made with a clear and unbiased mind. It is important that people understand and learn all of the pros and cons of nuclear energy and base their opinions on facts rather than irrational fear.

Right now in America, there are 65 nuclear power plants with 104 operating nuclear reactors that generated a total of 769 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), or 19% of the nation's electricity (EIA source 1). But a push to further nuclear as a primary source for energy is uncertain, ideas of safety for the surrounding regions’ people and environment are a main concern. In recent light, the nuclear program support has begun to slowly grow back since its halt in 1980. However, much of the population is still against the idea of nuclear energy. Issues regarding radioactivity waste management, future nuclear accidents, and other pollutions such as thermal pollution of waterways and extra background radiation hinder the argument for nuclear

Nuclear Power? What is nuclear power and why do so countries pursuit it or ask to be ban? According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency nuclear power is created through a process call fission where uranian atoms are seperate which leads to the release of energy (paragraph one, epa.gov, 4/22/2011). The first major investment on nuclear power was seen in the Manhanttan Project. The results of the Manhanttan Project were seen on the island Japan during World War Two, where two nuclear bomb were used to end the war in the pacific. Ever since that event, nations have put their best scientist to make create nuclear power, some invest on nuclear research for alternative method of energy or

Thesis Statement: Although nuclear energy poses hollow concerns for health among many people, the pros of switching to mainly to nuclear power seem to significantly outweigh the cons, and it would be a smart decision not only for the United States to implement but for other developing countries to implement as well.

According to the most conservative estimates, century energy consumption will double in the world by the middle of the 21th century (Beretta). It will happen as a result of the population growth and other geopolitical and economic factors. Thus, the electricity will be required in order to receive a sustainable development of fuel - hydrogen, and provide people with fresh water. Despite the recent tragic events in Japan and a splash of public distrust to the “peaceful atom”, nuclear power continues to be one of the most promising areas. Demand for electricity, which is growing along with the development of the world economy, requires the construction of new

Nuclear power plants have many great benefits. However, there are also many costs that the general public is very concerned with. These costs include nuclear accidents that lead to catastrophic harmful affects towards the public health and the environment when not careful. This is what makes it a very controversial subject on whether a large city, such as Houston, should rely on nuclear power plants for energy. So, what is nuclear energy and how do nuclear power plants work? Nuclear energy is the product of a neutron splitting a uranium atom. When this happens it produces a very large amount of energy. Then three neutrons from splitting apart a uranium atom then split other uranium atoms and produce even more energy. This process becomes self-sustaining as more atoms are split. The energy created is used to generate steam and the steam is able to spin turbines. When these turbines spin, they can create electricity. This process is similar to the traditional processes of forming energy. However, instead of generating steam, the other processes would burn fossil fuels in order spin the turbines. The burning of fossil fuels contributes to the increase of green house gas emissions, and this can be an environmental concern. This is why nuclear energy is considered a “clean” source of energy since it does not produce any greenhouse gasses. Nuclear power plants have actually become more common because of the benefits. In fact, the US has the largest overall generation of

The United States is obviously in a state of economic despair. This essay has supporting facts that prove the economy is definitely not on the mend. The public has been led to believe that this downward spiral is almost over. What will be proven in this paper is that foreclosure rates are still dramatically increasing and that the total in unemployment rates is deceiving. Without more jobs, consumers won’t see the gains in income needed to encourage them to spend more. The only thing that does seem to be on the rise is the amount of people seeking help for psychological distress which comes from losing their jobs. It is time for America