Nuclear Power Debate

Good afternoon, our group thinks that technologies do more harm than good. We are going to use two specific kinds of technologies to talk about the harmful of it. The first one is about the harmful of using smart phones and the second one is the harmful of having nuclear power/ power plant.
According to the Wikipedia, the definition of technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques in order to solve a problem, achieve a goal or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures.
Smartphones contain operating systems, similar to computers, which allow them to store data and perform multiple technological functions that mean smart phones are a kind of technology. As our group thinks that technologies do more harm than good, smart phones obviously have disadvantages. The first one is it deprives positive human qualities of the society. Students, teenagers are thought to respect their family members, friends, but if you keep on tabbing your smart phone when u are having dinner with your family or attending a talk, is it a kind of respect? We bet not really, this is really a disrespectful attitude. Besides, it destroys your relationship with your family too as if your parents keep on calling u , and u just ignore them because u want to chat with your friends on Facebook, this will lead to arguments at home, u won’t have a peace and warm family than. Technology really can destroy our family relationships. Good values of a student or teenager may lose too, so today’s motion must stand!

Our dearest opponent said that…… we totally disagree with her because….
We would like to rebut on the point of……..

Besides destroying family relationships, using smart phone too long can cause health problems too. On 31 May, the World Health Organization confirmed that mobile phone use may represent a long-term health risk. One study of past cell phone use cited in the report showed a "40% increased risk for glioma (brain cancer) for heavy users who spend average 30 minutes per day to tab or keep on talking with friends on phone. Besides, their eyes will also get affected since the screen of the mobile phone is too bright, the light may reflect and cause damage to eye. Short sight is also a common eye problem find in teenagers who spend most of their time on mobile phone. According to a report last month in student standard, it stated that Seventy-seven percent of Hong people are at risk of developing glaucoma - a leading cause of blindness which is really a serious problem. Another fear of carrying mobile phones is the risk it generates while driving. It has been proven that a driver on a mobile phone is far less attentive and is more prone to accidents than a driver without a cell phone. Even a hand free is no big defense as hands free can only free up the hands for driving but not the driver’s mind. Even people who are walking and talking at the same time on the road can put themselves in danger because they cannot concentrate on two things at the same time. This may lead to serious accidents and death. At last, you yourself will regret. Using mobile or smart phone for too long can cause various health problems, sometimes accidents may occur too which lead to death. That’s why technology does more harm than good. So, today’s motion must stand.

Our dearest opponent said that…… we totally disagree with her because….
We would like to rebut on the point of……..

As we have talked about the disadvantages of smart phones, we would like to switch to another technology---nuclear power to state the harmful of technology. According to Wikipedia, Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Although many countries want to build more nuclear power plants to generate electricity, we think that nuclear power has great disadvantages. First of all, through environmental aspects, Nuclear power is not a renewable source of energy. Uranium is a metal that is mined from the ground in much the same way as coal is mined. It is a scarce metal and the supply of uranium will one day run out making all the nuclear power plants obsolete. Nuclear power is not a long term solution to finding a renewable, environmentally friendly energy source. We think that government of each country should develop renewable energy rather than nuclear power. Examples of renewable energy are wind power, solar power which is clean and environmental friendly too. Besides, nuclear power plants have high risks associated with accidents. While the chance of a nuclear accident happening are relatively low the risks associated are extremely high. Even small radiation leaks can cause devastating effects on the surrounding environment and people. A serious accident can cause widespread radiation poisoning across many countries just like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster last year in Japan which lead to radiation spread all over the country. Japan suffered from great economic loss in both tourism industry and local expenditures. After this accident, the global research agency Globe Scan, commissioned by BBC News, poled 23231 people in 23 countries from July to September 2011, around 70% people thought that renewable energy should replace the nuclear power as it is not safe enough. There is a big drop in support for nuclear power technology. By just looking at the survey, people from different countries also feel scared and danger about the safety of nuclear power. Once again, it shows that technologies do more harm than good. So, today’s motion must stand!
Our dearest opponent said that…… we totally disagree with her because….
We would like to rebut on the point of……..

Besides, the cost of making nuclear power plant is really high. A nuclear power plant costs between three and five billion U.S. dollars just to build. If nuclear energy were to take the place of fossil fuels, as little as 2000 power plants would have to be constructed. Nuclear power plants take a long time to plan, build, and license, which adds to the overall cost of nuclear power. Furthermore, the high cost of enriching uranium, decommissioning old plants (anywhere from 100 to 500 million U.S. dollars per reactor), and the storage of waste is rarely factored into the total cost of nuclear power. Nuclear power also has high maintenance and operating costs. These expenses because higher energy bills for the consumer and since governments often subsidize the cost of nuclear power, higher taxes. When one considers those factors, nuclear energy is too expensive to rely on as the energy of the future. Another disadvantage of nuclear power is about nuclear weapons. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The technology used for generating nuclear power can also be used to produce nuclear weapons. Left in the wrong hands, such as terrorist or extremist groups, they will make nuclear weapons; atomic bombs lead to wars, which may lay the foundations of a global disaster. Nuclear power can lead to wars, conflict between countries and can also cause injuries or death in radiation accidents. Once again, it proves technologies do more harm than good, today’s motion must stand!

Our dearest opponent said that…… we totally disagree with her because….
We would like to rebut on the point of……..

Last but not least, the nuclear waste which can also cause great impact on people and environment. According to Wikipedia, Radioactive wastes are regarded as wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine. Radioactive waste is hazardous to most forms of life and the environment, and is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment.The most dangerous type of nuclear waste is the spent fuel rods from the reactors. As the waste decays, it releases harmful radiation. There is no way to make the waste non-radioactive to speed up decay. Therefore, it must be stored in a safe location over a very long period of time to prevent contamination of people and the environment. Finding a permanent storage site is problematic. In fact, the entire world’s radioactive waste is waiting for temporary storage and those sites are almost completely filled. Since it is so difficult to find a geologically appropriate site, it is clear that nuclear power is not an option for the future. The future of power may be number of different alternative sources, but nuclear power does not play a role because it is not safe, its cost is really expensive and in hands of wrong people, it may make great disaster to the world.
Due to all these problems, we conclude that technologies really do more harm than good. Therefore, today’s motion must stand, must stand!!!!

Rebuttal tips, Opponent says: * Smart phone is convenience as there is free internet access everywhere, people can get news, adults can know about stock markets, they can easily watch drama, play games etc. * Rebut on the example of MTR. Nowadays, due to people keep on watching dramas online, playing games, lead them missing stops I MTR, they have to change train and go back again. This can waste time and people may get late for school or job. * People can send e-mail to friends in faster speed although u r far apart from your friend. * Although we can send mails, the chance of being hacked by the hacker is also high. Than the hacker may get your personal photos and details and misuse them. * Through internet we can spread knowledge; people can acquire new knowledge and have good impact on their life. * It just depends on the person, if he or she is addicted to online games, chatting with friends, even u try so hard, he or she won’t listen to u. That means although technology can spread information, it depends on people if he or she is willing to learn or not. * Nuclear power provides about 6% of world’s energy. * What is the big matter if nuclear power provides us with energy? Nowadays, in developed countries like in the USA, there is no problem of electricity, people don’t get worried about the effiency of electricity, they just know we have electricity and we can do what we like. Therefore, they spend all their times on the computer, on TV, without knowing that it is wasting energy. Some of the students even open their computer when they do not need it because they do not worry about the lack of energy. Oppositely, there is no advantage of nuclear power for provide us energy as students just keep on wasting. To conclude, no advantage at all.