Switching To Nuclear Energy

Citizens of countries where fossil fuels are being utilized are concerned at the possible chance of global warming. So many greenhouse gases emitted, ice burgs and caps are shifting or melting, that population is beginning to worry about what is going to happen to the environment in the future if this source is kept being used. With nuclear energy we don’t have to worry about the environmental changes. Nuclear energy has

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

The use of nuclear power plants is a more efficient energy source compared to coal power plants. Coal has high emissions of greenhouse gases, especially SO2 which leads to acid rain formation, smog, health impairments, radioactivity and climate change. Nuclear power plants emit little to no harmful pollutants or gases, and if properly managed should not contribute to atmospheric climate change (AIU Online, 2016).

These will be just some of the horrifying effects of global warming, if humans don’t make big changes in how we produce our energy. Now that’s a scary thought. 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.

The first advantage of nuclear energy is that it is one of the cleanest sources of energy available to us now. The process of fission doesn’t emit any greenhouse gases or emissions that are linked to global warming. Nuclear energy is currently the largest clean air energy source. It currently occupies 63.3 percent of the emission free electricity in the United States, and this must continue to get expanded upon. With increased use of nuclear energy comes a decreased use in fossil fuels, which would result in a lower carbon footprint for the U.S. This would help slow down the impact of global warming and climate change.

There are many different opinions on whether we should continue to create nuclear energy or we should stop it. Some of the positive aspects are there has been no fatalities at nuclear power plants. Another one is nuclear power plants generate 20% of today power. Also nuclear energy is a clean power source with no pollution. Some negative aspects are creating these plants cost a lot of money. Another problem is we are running out of places to store waste. The waste puts off nuclear radiation

It is estimated that the demand for power will grow two and a half percent per year. Even if the demand for energy didn’t increase in the future but stayed where it is nuclear would still be the best choice for power production. Nuclear costs less and is environmentally cleaner than coal, which currently supplies approximately fifty percent of the power in the U.S. (Loewen 53). In addition nuclear has an exemplary safety record. The group of people who oppose nuclear and promote renewable power sources, hereafter termed environmentalists, do so for very sound reasons. However,

Firstly, the usage of nuclear power is consistent and plentiful. As we know, the reaction of nuclear can emit a great power of energy, it can support vast of families’ and enormous plants’ working. In addition, unlike solar energy and wind power, which depend on external factors, nuclear power is consistent generate at anytime and anywhere. Secondly, since the nuclear power is easy to produce and it also can generate a huge amount of power, it is much cheaper to use it. What’s more, like Hill’s saying, “with the cost of natural gas and oil soaring”, the nuclear plants have return back to work and produce massive energy. Lastly, nuclear power benefits to environment: not only because it does not produce the carbon emissions, which can alleviates the global warming; but also it reduces the noxious byproducts, like sulfur dioxide, which is main reason of air pollution. Therefore, using the nuclear power is an ideal energy resource for human

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

If nuclear power production is banned, naturally, we will switch to the most reliable, proven, and popular source of energy: coal. This isn’t good because coal’s effects are worse than nuclear’s. Nuclear power production saves what coal would have destroyed. Without nuclear power, it will be harder to mitigate climate change and air pollution. Historical energy production data reveal that if nuclear power never existed, the energy it supplied would have been supplied by fossil fuels (overwhelmingly coal) which cause higher air pollution mortality and GHG emissions. Nuclear power prevented an average of over 1.8 million net deaths worldwide between 1979-2009. Nuclear power prevented an average of 64 gigatonnes of CO2 globally between 1971-2009. Nuclear energy production has prevented the building of hundreds of coal power plants. Projected nuclear power could reduce the CO2 mitigation burden by as much as 16-48%. If nuclear power production was banned, we would be back to coal again. The wastage of resources and pollution of the planet that comes with coal cannot be allowed when there’s the alternative of nuclear power production which lowers mortality and

While nuclear energy can generate plenty of electricity, it can easily be abused. Nuclear energy plants can unfortunately be preferred targets for terrorists, also producing nuclear waste. Nuclear waste is bad for the environment because it requires a dumping ground due to the fact that it cannot be processed. If this continues, there will eventually be no more

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.

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.

As a whole, reliance on fossil fuels contributes to climate change, which will lead to disastrous consequences in the future. One of the many changes that can be made is to use cleaner sources of energy, of which nuclear is one of them.