Nuclear Power Research Paper

When someone thinks of problems plaguing the world, nuclear energy is not the first thing that comes to peoples minds these days.[1]Nuclear power was once deemed the new energy of the future.[2]However, numerous nuclear power plant accidents around the world put a damper on that notion.The United States considers itself one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but 103 nuclear reactors currently operating within her borders, one was bound to fail sometime or another.[3]

The use of nuclear power can have several negative impacts on the economy. The use of nuclear power can be costly. The building of the plants can cost between $12 - $18

To many times people talk about the negative side of nuclear energy, and how it can impact the environment around them, but too few talk about how nuclear energy had improved their lives. In truth nuclear energy is responsible for creating a fair amount of revenue in the local economy, state revenue, and federal revenue. For every dollar a nuclear power plant spends it generates an estimated 1.04 in the community, 1.18 in the state, and a 1.87 for the nation (Nuclear Energy Institute). With such a great revenue it would be detrimental to the nation if nuclear energy was disbanded, and deemed a great threat to national security. Nuclear energy generates roughly $16 million dollars annually for the state it resides in, and about $67 million dollars annually for the nation (Nuclear Energy Institute). That revenue generated for the state is used for the construction of new schools, improved state wide emergency response training and response times, and a whole multitude of things that just can’t compare. To add to this nuclear

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.

Nuclear power plants are a safe, clean and reliable source of energy production. They are uniquely qualified to meet the growing demand for energy in the USA.

In today’s society, we have an almost immediate demand for an alternative source of energy. This is due to the gradual depletion of our finite sources of fossil fuels as well as due to the damage of the burning of fossil fuels to our environment. All of these alternative sources, such as solar, wind and nuclear power come with their upsides and downsides. The most controversial of which, nuclear power, also manages to have the most potential in the near future due to its lack of a carbon emission output.

Karl Grandin, Peter Jagers, and Sven Kullander wrote an article called Nuclear Energy that explains what some of the key concerns of using nuclear energy are. They say that everyone 's worried about six key issues while using nuclear energy. These key issues are safety, nuclear waste, non-proliferation, fuel availability, life cycle analysis, and economic competitiveness. In this article they state “Nuclear energy can play a role in carbon free production of electrical energy, thus making it interesting for tomorrow’s energy mix. However, several issues have to be addressed. In fission technology, the design of so called fourth generation reactors show great promise, in particular in addressing materials efficiency and safety issues”

One of the world's most reliable and clean resource for energy is nuclear energy. There is a lot of information about how to become, and what nuclear engineers do. Nuclear energy will be one of the best sources of energy to use in the future, once nuclear scientist find out how to harness the power of fusion it will be a big game changer in energy. Once they do, it will be a cheaper, safer, and a more reliable alternative to other energy sources. As of this moment nuclear scientist are making breakthroughs on how to harness the power of fusion. Once nuclear scientist figure out how to harness the energy of fusion, they will build more nuclear power plants and those plants will need engineers. In the future a reliable job to pursue would be nuclear engineering.

There are many reasons why I could be a nuclear engineer. First, nuclear engineers get a lot of money. In addition, they use math and science a lot. Lastly, creativity is a main aspect of doing this job. It seems that this this would be a great job for me.

Pollution is another topic with both pros and cons. Fossil fuels release harmful pollutants into the air such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Nuclear power does not release any of those toxins into the atmosphere. However, a pollution problem with nuclear energy is thermal pollution, where a plant’s “hot effluents” are put into a nearby body of water, and raise the temperature by a small amount but enough to cause a disturbance in the ecosystem of the lake or reservoir. Nevertheless, this could easily be solved by cooling the effluents before releasing them into the water. The other problem facing nuclear energy is waste disposal. Nuclear waste is radioactive and very dangerous. Therefore, it must be kept buried and sealed up for a long period of time until the radioactivity dies [Plasma-Material]. One positive fact about nuclear energy that is not disputed is its abundance.

Building enough power plants to provide the world with energy would mean increasing our CO2 production in the process of making them. Once the power plants are built, although they don't use CO2 to produce energy, to keep the factories running and transport all of the waste releases more CO2 (1). Switching to renewable energy would progress us further into stopping climate change. We would be cutting down on CO2 emissions by a much greater amount. This would make a more significant difference on the climate change (1). This shows that using renewables would make a larger impact on the world and how to help save it. The Industry already has technology to switch to 100% renewables, they just don't want to let go of their nuclear technology (4). Another danger of nuclear power is the risk of terrorism and violence. People are worried that if violent protesters advance on nuclear technology, the amount of violences will increase. This is another reason to end our nuclear technology knowledge while we can (1). Furthermore, not only do nuclear plants harm the industry and economy, they also harm the people and the environment. The evidence is showing that being around nuclear radioactivity causes people to have cancer. Not only does the radiation cause people to have cancer, but it also damages their DNA. Additionally, it harms the environment, not just humans. Animal's are affected in several different forms. Some examples are, Diarrhea, vomiting, internal bleeding, anemia, exhaustion, permanent sterilization and death

As each year passes, more and more electricity will be made as a result of increased nuclear power plants around the world. The economic benefits of nuclear energy are equally advantageous as the environmental aspects.

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.

Global demand and consumption of energy is at an all time high; the world needs a safe, efficient, clean, and high producing source of energy production. The solution is something we already use for energy production, Nuclear power. From the beginning of nuclear energy there has been concerns over the safety of the power plants and its impact on the environment. With climate change and more accurate information on nuclear power the tide is shifting in its favor. This paper will explore the positives of nuclear power, political change on nuclear power, safety of the energy source and new technologies associated with the nuclear power process. Most importantly are the risks associated with nuclear power worth it? Research suggests that nuclear power is safer now more than ever and has less of an impact on the environment than coal or oil. Public support and misconceptions over the years have been up and down due to political agendas and those who are misinformed about nuclear power. Individuals who are involved in the energy field are in favor of nuclear power and building more plants with newer technology.

Nuclear power has been around for decades and can be easily utilized to help meet America’s energy needs. With energy