The Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power as an Energy Source Essay

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

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

Nuclear energy is the process of creating useful heat and electricity. The nuclear power debate is a controversy about the deployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes. The debate over the expansion of the nuclear energy program has been prominent over the last 4 decades. The debate really escalated during the 1970s and 1980s, when it "reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technology controversies", in some countries. It is important for the expansion of human life and improving life as we know it. I firmly believe that we need to keep using and expand the use of nuclear energy due to the fact that it eliminates fossil fuel pollutants, it is sustainable and cost effective, and it improves overall human quality of life.

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

Should the U.S. expand their use of nuclear energy? The U.S. should not expand nuclear energy use. In my opinion there have been so many natural disasters and cases of cancer caused by nuclear power that just shutting the process down and converting to other power sources would be our best bet. In this response I will show you how harmful nuclear energy can be to people living in and around the area.

When asked about the number of active nuclear power plants most people in the United States would probably guess a like ten or twenty when in actuality “there are currently sixty one commercially operating nuclear power plants with ninety nine nuclear reactors in thirty states in the United States. Thirty-five of these plants have two or more reactors.”(eia.gov) In America nuclear power has a stigma of just negative effects among these is ,“radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors which needs to be disposed of at a safe place since they are extremely hazardous and can leak radiations if not stored properly. Such kind of waste emits radiations from tens to hundreds of years. The storage of radioactive waste has been major bottleneck for the expansion of nuclear

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission, splitting atoms in two, which releases energy in the process to generate heat and electricity. Heat created by fission drives the turbines that generate electricity. When nuclear power was first created it was predicted that it would be very successful. It was also predicted that nuclear power would be “too cheap to meter,” that is electricity would be very cheap so either consumers would not be charged for electricity at all or the prices would be very low (Cohn, 1997). Although nuclear power is still in use today the initial success of nuclear industry eventually declined. Nuclear industry and its supporters claim that nuclear power is environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and safe,

In its attempts to harness the power of the atom, mankind has itself in the possession of weapons with unbelievable, destructive power. Nations now have the ability to destroy entire cities from hundreds of miles away, in only minutes. These weapons are nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons cost the citizens of the United States billions of dollars in taxes each year, the testing and maintenance of these weapons pose serious health risks, and the actual need for these weapons is not and has not been around for years. For the above reasons, the United States should reduce its nuclear arsenal.

The steam spun the wheel of the turbine with a Whoosh. The ecstasy of finding a new energy source is ineffable, and when found, the discovery always immediately prompts a race to use this newfound source. In accordance with this behavior, many sought to integrate nuclear power into society upon its development. The difference being nuclear energy is far more complicated and powerful than anything the field of energy has dealt with thus far. There are two types of nuclear reactions, fission and fusion; working reactors only using fission currently. In fission a neutron reacts with Uranium-235 to produce energy, two fragment nuclei, and multiple neutrons to continue the reaction. Meanwhile, in fusion two hydrogen isotopes react to produce energy, protons, neutrons, and Helium. As a consequence of these processes ' complex and formidable natures, there is a hesitance to their utilization as it is difficult to discuss the complexities of the procedures with the public without some misinterpretation. Despite the benefits found in nuclear power, it still undergoes harsh debate as governments oppose giving money to such an unexplored area of science. Yet, an increase in funding for U.S. nuclear programs would prompt advancements that replace less effective energy sources, creating opportunities for specialization in the field.

Nuclear energy will end the world! Most people think that nuclear power and energy is a good and efficient way to gain an excess amount of power in a very short amount of time, but what they may not know is that same power and energy is killing the environment and the inhabitants of the places slowly. Nuclear weapons are an extreme danger to the Earth as well because when a nuclear weapon goes off it has the initial impact of the blast, making a massive crater in the ground, and then the residual radiation that comes off with the blast. Which leaves places devastated, irradiated, and uninhabitable for many years, such as Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

The nuclear power plant has no home in our new advanced environment. Once upon a time, nuclear energy was a well and efficient way to produce energy, but it's 2018, not 1951. Over the course of history, the nuclear power plant was one of the first ways of using energy for commercial use. Especially with so many new inventions like the TV coming out, such energy like nuclear energy was amazing. Yet in the 21st century, it is nothing but a nuisance to our clean environment. It causes too many problems and no solutions. That is why nuclear energy should be one of the last results for energy. More environmentally healthy and safer solutions should be pursued. The nuclear power plant is an inadequate way to harvest energy due to its waste, cost, and accidents, yet some would argue that it is an efficient way to obtain energy.

Nuclear power was the world’s fastest growing form of energy in the 1990’s. However, presently it is the second slowest growing worldwide. Considering that nuclear power accounts for eleven percent of the world’s energy supply, one must ask what happened [Nuclear Power]. Why is it that the growth of nuclear power has almost completely stalled? The simple answer is that after meltdowns such as Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, many people are afraid of nuclear power plants, which causes great opposition to the expansion of the industry. Unfortunately, most people are not well informed about nuclear energy; many do not take the time to view its positives and negatives.

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.

Nuclear energy has come a long way over the years. It has proven to be clean, safe, and reliable. But those three things are not the only benefits of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy also proves jobs for many people. With nuclear energy, it is the only source of energy that can replace a significant part of the fossil fuels, which those massively pollute the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. I believe that nuclear should be continued to be used. The three reasons I think it should still be used are because of the environmental consequences it prevents, the reliability, and the cost of it.

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.