Essay The Nuclear Power Debate - 804 Words

The Nuclear Power Debate In 1953, nuclear energy was introduced into America as a cheap and efficient energy source, favoured in place of increasingly scarce fossil fuels which caused air pollution. Its initial use was welcomed by the general public, as it was hoped to lower the price of electricity, and utilise nuclear power for its potential as a resource, not a weapon. However, as people became aware of the long term dangers involved in storing nuclear waste, its use was criticised. Two accidents, at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, demonstrated to the world the enormous risks involved in producing nuclear power. Nuclear power provides 17% of the worlds electricity but coal is the main source, making up 39%.†¦show more content†¦Nuclear power is the only practical source, in consideration for the environment, cost and efficiency. Coal-fired generation of electricity would increase carbon dioxide emissions, and renewable sources such as solar and hydro, are not suitable for large scale power generation. Nuclear power is not without its own implications. The process includes disposing of radioactive waste, which poses a threat to the environment and the world if not contained properly and temporarily disposed of with maximum security. In the thesis, Nuclear power: an energy future we cant afford, by Peter Kelly from Hamilton College, he wrote, ...wed still have to worry about terrorists making bombs out of nuclear waste. Just five pounds of plutonium, a component of nuclear waste, is enough to make a nuclear bomb. Such a bomb could topple the World Trade Centre and kill hundreds of thousands of people...Terrorists may be able to recruit disgruntled scientists... Disposing of nuclear waste is extremely controversial, because it takes thousands of years to decompose, and the radiation remains active. Other than the environmental effects of disposing nuclear waste, the potential of radioactive fallout from a faulty reactor is a dangerous possibility, and the events following the accident at Chernobyl demonstrated the long term destructiveness radiation is capable of. In 1986 at Chernobyl, anShow MoreRelatedNuclear Power Plants: Sparking an American Debate for Decades1232 Words   |  5 Pagesmore pronounced. One of the cleanest production methods in use today is nuclear power generation (Kidd). Nuclear power plants do not emit the harmful green house gases and other negative by-products associated with the more conventional systems fuelled by coal and natural gas. Nuclear power plants use nuclear reactions to drive their generators. The reactions produce extreme amounts of heat that must be managed. 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