Nuclear Power Argumentative Essay

787 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Harmful effects of nuclear energy

It seems as though nuclear power has always been under question regarding its safety. Its effectiveness cannot be denied, but people are highly skeptical of having a nuclear power plant anywhere near their home. Countless studies have been done to help determine how safe they really are, and most articles tend to say they are quite safe. While searching for an article talking about nuclear power, I came across one titled How safe is nuclear power? A statistical study suggests less than expected, by Thomas Rose and Trevor Sweeting. This title intrigued me because, in my personal experience at least, I have seen far less academic articles going against nuclear power. As someone who likes to see things as objectively as possible, I enjoy hearing …show more content…

The counter-argument is completely statistical and adds a new dynamic to the article. It compliments the position of the authors and aids the initial hypothesis. The article finishes off with some compelling statements about nuclear power: “Scott Sagan adds: ‘…what I will call ‘normal accident theory,’ presents a much more pessimistic prediction: Serious accidents with complex high technologies are inevitable’ (Sagan 1995, 13). Statistical analysis supports this unsettling probability.” The assertive nature of this is an attempt to scare and convince the reader that there is a problem at hand. Lastly, Rose and Sweeting make it seem as though there are no other solutions other than theirs. This was a well designed piece of rhetoric because it was prepared by comments sprinkled throughout the other sections of the paper. Overall, I thought the connection between sections was well linked. The design structure of introducing the topic, then proving their argument, and then attacking a possible counter, was effective. The article successfully raising the reader’s attention to the safety of nuclear power and the problems preventing precise studies on their safety. In this sense, the author’s rhetoric was

Show More
Related

  • Nuclear Power Essay

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    What Nuclear power has the ability to do is get a lot of power in a little amount of space. “Roughly 1.6 billion people live without access to electricity, and 2.4 billion rely on traditional biomass because they have no access to modern fuel.” (General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei) With nuclear power put into these countries that are without power we can have it to where electricity will be accessibility to everyone. By having power accessible to everyone we can accomplish so much more and unlock more possibilities in our world today.

    Read More

  • If The Japanese Can T Build A Safe Nuclear Reactor, Who Can By Anne Applebaum

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    Her reasoning for this is that bad things can happen anytime; and as shown by the Fukushima Daiichi reactor not even the “brilliant Japanese” can make them completely safe. Applebaum uses an emotional approach to try and convince her readers. She uses words like “annihilated,” “catastrophe,” and “disaster” to try and cause a state of alarm in the reader. When giving actual facts about the cost of nuclear power she points out how expensive the plants are to build but she does not compare it to other forms of energy plants. Therefore the reader has nothing to compare that example to. The author does not create a strong enough argument for her stance on nuclear energy, it is very emotional but lacks logic.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: 11 Facts About Nuclear Energy

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many sources of energy today, and the best source of it is constantly being sought after, one source stands out above the rest. Nuclear energy is simple in theory, yet it may be one of the most controversial sources of power. Nuclear energy works using reactors built to split the atoms (nuclear fission) of the fuel to produce heat. This heat evaporates the cooling agent (usually water) into steam which turns turbines to create electricity. Nuclear energy should be allowed, because it produces an abundance of electricity, as well as being a clean source of energy with no harmful emissions. Nuclear energy is the future of clean, environmentally friendly energy.

    Read More

  • Does Ad Populum Prove That This Is Faulty?

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ad populum, proves that this is faulty because it doesn’t not show any statistics that riding on motorcycles has a high rate of head injuries. Also slippery slope could be used to help prove that this is faulty because they don’t have any statistics proving that wearing helmets will bring the rate of head injuries lower.

    Read More

  • Sustainability

    1793 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ver, it doesn’t answer the question “Can Nuclear Energy Be Green?” The article “Is Nuclear Energy the Solution?” by Milton Saier and Jack Trevors addresses various issues about why nuclear energy is not a good energy source. The article presents a lot of data regard to its sub-argument, and those data is really good support to the argument. The authors compare the Nuclear energy with other energy sources, and state that “between 1000 and 2000 new nuclear reactors would have to be built around the globe to achieve a meaningful impact on CO2 emissions” (446). The author concludes that nuclear energy is not a good energy source to use, due to its costs and risks. In general, the essay presents a good point, but it doesn’t really answer the question. However, the article can be a good supplement to the yes side argument to assess that is nuclear energy really “green.”

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: No Surviving A Nuclear War

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    The authors back up this claim with a report that was “released in 2013 by the Nobel Laureate International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and its U.S. affiliate Physicians for Social Responsibility” (Doyle and Helfand). This is a successful logic and motivational proof that encourages the audience to have increased awareness of the ultimate dangers of a nuclear war and begin using steps to prevent them. Another exceptional example of the use of logic is how the authors claim that even using all of the money from the U.S. defense budget to build a Nuclear Global Health Workforce would be useless (Doyle and Helfand). The writers back up this claim by stating a source named “Medical Implications of Nuclear

    Read More

  • Academic Benefits of College Athletics

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...e. The absence of counter claims to many of his arguments while being supported makes the argument suspect. Adding with that some logical fallacy errors and phrases indicating guesswork without evidence and his thesis loses further ground. Looking at the article overall the argument is semi convincing depending on whether the reader agreed with him or did not before they read the article. If coming from the same viewpoint the argument is likely effective in further convincing them, however if coming from a different viewpoint the ineffective aspects of the argument coupled with a few potentially insulting phrases are unlikely to convince the reader.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Technology After the World War II

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...nce World War II to the present day, the technology of nuclear power has increased significantly in terms of energy output and safety. The energy efficiency of nuclear power is far superior to its counterpart fossil fuel and renewable energy. Compared to fossil fuels, tiny amounts of fuel used by nuclear reactors is equivalent to a large sum of coal. This is a no brainer. Why mine a ton of coal when a little uranium can be used to gain the same amount of energy? Not only is it efficient, it’s safe to use. Used fuel is packed away in storage safely, so there isn’t any chance of radiation leaking out. In the present day, nuclear power incidents haven’t been occurring lately. Advancements in technology and equipment used have made nuclear energy a very reliable and safe source of energy. With today’s energy needs, nuclear power has the ability to keep up in the race.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Power Essay

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of this report is to investigate the different views and opinions on the safeness and cost effectiveness of nuclear power compared to other forms of energy. This report will explain the issues and background of the debate, the importance of the issue, and the parties who are involved in this debate with their thoughts.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Nuclear Power

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Face it up”. Nukes are the most climate-friendly industrial-scale form of energy” (Power, Reiss, Pearlstein, 655). This statement is what I’m trying to promote through my argument. It also ties Inconvenient Truths: 10 Green Heresies by Matt Powers, Spencer Reiss, and Jonanna Pearlstein and Nuclear Power is Best Energy Source: Potchef Stroom together by bringing out the main points all authors are trying to get across.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Energy Essay

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nuclear energy has been a controversial source of alternative energy since it has been made practical in the 1950s. The goal of nuclear energy was to find a sustainable resource that would be able to replace the use of fossil fuels. Due to the exploitation and finite supply of resources such as oil and coal, an alternative to fossil fuels was needed quickly in order to provide sustainability for the future of the world. A question arises, however, when nuclear energy is considered as a source of energy: Is nuclear energy a reasonable alternative to fossil fuels?

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Global Warming

    1579 Words  | 4 Pages

    Media coverage of such cases have made the public less comfortable with the idea of moving further towards nuclear power and they only opt for reducing human activities to reduce global warming. It is true that there have been some notable disasters involving nuclear power, but compared to other power systems, nuclear power has an impressive track record. First, it is less harmful and second, it will be able to cater for the growing world population. Nuclear power produces clean energy and it delivers it at a cost that is competitive in the energy market (Patterson). According to the US Energy Information Administration, there are currently 65 such plants in the Unite States (National Research Council). They produce 19 percent of the total US energy generation.

    Read More

  • Ethos, Pathos and Nuclear Energy

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although, Cravens may have some weaknesses in her argument by not giving the substantial information about her opponent’s stance. Maybe this could be considered as clever point because otherwise it may completely undercut her argument to attract her position from audience about nuclear power. She tries to prove to the audience that currently there is no possibility that United States nation can use any of renewable energy sources such as the wind and sun, and that nuclear energy is only one safe, and this is the best option to get the necessary amount of needed energy.

    Read More

  • Positive Effects of Nuclear Power

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    The use of nuclear power in the mid-1980s was not a popular idea on account of all the fears that it had presented. The public seemed to have rejected it because of the fear of radiation. The Chernobyl accident in the Soviet Union in April of 1986 reinforced the fears, and gave them an international dimension (Cohen 1). Nevertheless, the public has to come to terms that one of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. The current largest sources of energy are the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. Fear of radiation may push nuclear power under the carpet but another fear of the unknown is how costly is this going to be? If we as the public have to overcome the fear of radiation and costly project, we first have to understand the details of nuclear energy. The known is a lot less scary then the unknown. If we could put away all the presumptions we have about this new energy source, then maybe we can understand that this would be a good decision for use in the near future.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Nuclear Power

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nuclear power, the use of exothermic nuclear processes to produce an enormous amount of electricity and heat for domestic, medical, military and industrial purposes i.e. “By the end of 2012 2346.3 kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity was generated by nuclear reactors around the world” (International atomic energy agency Vienna, 2013, p.13). However, with that been said it is evident that the process of generating electricity from a nuclear reactor has numerous health and environmental safety issues.

    Read More

More about Nuclear Power Argumentative Essay

Open Document