Nuclear Energy Pros And Cons

Nuclear energy is one of the hottest topics in the fight to a cleaner world. The number of people who believe that nuclear energy is too dangerous and unhealthy for the earth has skyrocketed because of the nuclear accidents that have happened in the past and recently. These protesters may have a lot of evidence and theories about how bad this type of energy can be, but the people who have realized that nuclear energy is the way to a cleaner and more “Green” society have proof and facts that overrule anything that the protesters say. Today there are so many countries and governments that have realized that nuclear energy is the only way to significantly decrease their emissions. The world economy is producing greenhouse emissions at the
rate of 29 billion tonnes per year (900 tonnes per second), a rate still rising despite plans and set emission standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develops an annual report called the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (Inventory). This report tracks annual U.S. emissions and removals by source, economic sector, and greenhouse gas going back to 1990. In 2013, the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. totaled 6,673 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is a 2% increase from the previous year. With the information that the EPA has given us, we know that we have to switch to a cleaner energy source. Waste created by a typical coal plant includes more than 125,000 tons of ash and 193,000 tons of sludge from the smokestacks each year. At least 42% of coal plant waste ponds and landfills are unlined. Toxic substances in the waste including arsenic, mercury, chromium, and cadmium. These chemicals contaminate drinking water supplies and can damage human organs and the nervous system. Ecosystems have also been damaged by the disposal of coal plant waste. In coal power plants with once-through cooling systems, once the 70 to 180 billion gallons of water have been used to cool the power plant, it is released back into the lake, river, or ocean. However, coal power plants also add chlorine or other toxic chemicals to their cooling water to decrease growth of algae and other contaminating plants in the cooling systems. These chemicals stay in the water even when it is put back into the environment. Fossil fuels are also another energy source that has a high impact on our environment. The high CO2 emissions that are produced by the fossil fuels we are burning, are being put in the air and causing many problems in the atmosphere. Fossil fuel burning is the leading cause of the hole in the ozone layer and to climate change. Unlike the pollution and other harmful ways that the energy sources above have affected our earth, nuclear power does not have these effects.
Nuclear power does not put out green house gasses, nuclear power does not pollute our water, and unlike some people believe nuclear power does not release toxic gasses into the air. Some people believe that it produces toxic gases into the air because they see the white clouds that come out of the top of the power plant cooling towers, but in fact those white clouds are actually just the water vapor that has been used to cool the systems, it is not toxic and therefore does not pollute the air. Nuclear energy uses either plutonium or uranium, depending on the type of the reactor. Nuclear reactors produce less waste than any other type of energy source. One pound of plutonium can produce the same amount of energy as 50,000 barrels of oil. The number of deaths caused by coal powered plants is about 24,000 a year. There were only 56 direct deaths caused by the Chernobyl reactor meltdown. Fukushima had no direct deaths, and the only other reported deaths were of the 3 men who were testing a portable reactor in Arco, Idaho. Arco was also the very first city in the world to be powered by nuclear
power. As you can see, nuclear power has had its major setbacks on being popular in a world of people who don’t trust nuclear power. People will always fear the possibility of nuclear weapons. Since some people can only think of the down side to nuclear power we may never be able to fully make the switch to a cleaner and more efficient energy source. In the end, while nuclear power may sound a little uneasy, if everyone would just look at the facts and realize that nuclear power has become the safest way to produce energy, they might change their mind. If we as a society could see this, we may be able to save our planet for future generations.