The United States Should Use Nuclear Energy

Firstly, the atomic incidents of Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in Russia are often mentioned as examples for nuclear plants being unsafe. In both cases failures of workers led to a meltdown in the reactors and increased radiation in the surrounding area (Henderson 12-17). And as the recent disaster in Japan shows, a nuclear crisis cannot only be caused by human mishaps, but also by unpredictable and untamable natural hazards. Consequently, nuclear crises cannot be predicted or prevented completely. Nuclear plants are, furthermore, considered uneconomical because in the eighties the construction costs of nuclear plants were underestimated and exceeded the estimation by $100 billion (Henderson 103). Therefore, the nuclear power opponents are arguing that nuclear power is burdening the American economy unnecessarily. According to the nuclear physicist Jeff Eerkens, antinuclear groups are also claiming that nuclear power is not necessary for the future since renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power will be providing sufficient energy for the United States, and are at the same time much cheaper than the costly nuclear power plants (Eerkens 20). Over all, opponents consider nuclear power to risky and inefficient to “deserve further support from U.S. taxpayers” (Henderson 104).

Despite the fact the countries continue to increase the production of nuclear energy, my position is that new nuclear power plants should not continue to be built. The current use of nuclear power should be carefully evaluated with a plan to slowly decrease production throughout the world. The negative implications to the environment and economy support my position.

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.

Should the United States use Nuclear power? Over the years whether nuclear power should be allowed or not has been a big issue. Nuclear power should not be allowed in the United States because it can cause harm to the environment, it can lead to the creation of nuclear weapons, and nuclear power costs a lot of money.

Our argument is, should the U.S. invest in nuclear energy? My partner and I believe we should not. The United States has been thinking about the detriments and the benefits of Nuclear Energy. Nuclear energy is a strong demand by many countries. Nuclear power is good for saving energy and contains the greenhouse gases that are released into the air everyday. The atom, is where nuclear power is stored. In the 1940’s, the Argonne National Laboratory was assigned the lead role in developing commercial nuclear energy. They were assigned this by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Nuclear Power Plants most of the time, use fission to produce electricity. Despite all of this, nuclear power can also have a downside. This is the part we will be focusing

Most power plants burn coal, oil, or natural gas to turn water into steam. This steam make a turbine rotate which produces electricity. In a nuclear power plant, atoms are split creating heat to turn the turbine. Other power plants create many greenhouse gases, while nuclear power plants only release carbon dioxide. There are 100 commercial nuclear reactors in the U.S., these reactors account for about 20% of the nation's total electricity. There are 7,577 other power plants ( thermal, hydro-electric, geothermal, and wind power plants) not including nuclear power plants in the U.S. alone. These power plants - talk about pollution -emit carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane gas, boron, decrease oxygen supply, displace animals, and many other things.

The need for electricity continues to grow each year worldwide. Americans have long sought out an environmentally friendly, safe way of fulfilling their needs for energy. Presently, as concerns for the environment continue to become more prominent in the U.S., the demand for cleaner energy producing practices also becomes more pronounced. One of the cleanest production methods in use today is nuclear power generation (Kidd).

As the demands for energy increases, the United States needs to determine how it is going to meet the need. A range of options is needed for future generations and nuclear power is one suitable option. As with any option, it comes with its strengths and weaknesses. Presently, sixty-six percent of the United States energy comes from fossil fuel, while only nineteen percent comes from nuclear power; however, fickle oil prices are a sign that the era of abundant and cheap transportation fuel is ending. As the global necessity for electricity rises, the United States needs to turn to nuclear power as their solution.

Nuclear energy has many benefits, but do they outweigh the cons? The argument over nuclear energy has continued for many years. Nuclear power does not emit greenhouse gases and produces massive amounts of energy, but does produce gargantuous amounts of radioactive waste. The benefits of nuclear power do not outweigh the cons.

Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.

Nuclear energy a reliable economical energy source or a primed radiation storm waiting to rain havoc down on the surroundings below. When you mention nuclear power people 's minds go to Chernobyl,Fukushima, and Three Mile Island meltdown catastrophes. A survey conduct of 27 college aged students shows people continue to believe nuclear energy brings safety concerns to the US due to some risk of danger (see Appendix A.) With nuclear energy comes risks for locals who live near a nuclear power plant, people who live in a country with a nuclear power plant, as well as risk for the entire plant.

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.

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