Argumentative Essay: 11 Facts About Nuclear Energy

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.

One of the many benefits of Nuclear energy is that it is completely emission free, in fact, more than 70% of the clean energy produced in the United States comes from nuclear (“11 Facts about Nuclear Energy”) With those lack of emissions we will see a reduction in the

greenhouse effect because there are no greenhouse gases released (“Nuclear Energy”) unlike with gas and coal. So in turn not only is Nuclear a very efficient way to produce energy, it is also one of the smartest. It produces vast amounts of power all while helping fight global warming so that our planet will stay healthy.
Currently, Nuclear energy uses fuels such as Uranium (“Nuclear Energy”) which is a common element with that atoms split relatively easily (“Nuclear Energy”). One problem is how the material is mined; coal power is used to mine the element. However as technology advances we will be able to use nuclear energy to mine it instead of coal, which would completely eliminate any emissions and make nuclear energy self-sustaining.
One of the issues facing the most commonly used sources of energy today is the prices constantly fluctuate making it an unpredictable market. Nuclear energy does not face those same sort of price fluctuations (“11 Facts about Nuclear Energy”). This makes nuclear energy a reliable and steadfast source of clean energy. This has even led some nations such as Lithuania, Slovakia, and France to rely almost exclusively on nuclear energy (“Nuclear Energy”).
Nuclear energy is becoming very common throughout the world, not just a select few nations see its potential as a reliable source of alternative energy. One concern many people have is that in the United States alone it costs between 6 and 8 billion dollars to build a new reactor (“55 Interesting Facts about. Nuclear Energy”). Yet due to the stable cost of producing and selling the electricity it produces, they pay for themselves easily. This is partially due to their small size, and efficiency, 150 tons of nuclear fuel will power last 18 months and produce as much electricity as 3,325,000 tons of coal (Daley, Michael). Some estimates say that today in America 1 out of 5 households are powered by Nuclear Energy (“11 Facts about Nuclear Energy”).
Nuclear power plants are safer than other sources of energy because they are the most strictly regulated power plants in the world (“11 Facts about Nuclear Energy”).

This is done to make sure the risk of meltdown is minimized. The nuclear waste is so toxic that every precaution is taken to make sure of is disposed of safely to keep it from poisoning the environment. In an article titled 11 Facts about Nuclear Energy we find out that, “Every 18 to 24 months a power plant must shut down to remove its spent uranium fuel.” Nuclear Power plants can have a meltdown that releases extremely toxic waste into the environment. The reason some people are opposed to nuclear power plants, some estimates say that there is a 50% chance of a meltdown in a U.S. reactor in the next 20 years (“55 Interesting Facts about. Nuclear Energy”). These meltdowns can be small or large, both of them take a lot of money and time. The Three Mile Island disaster alone took 975 million dollars and 14 years to clean up (“55 Interesting Facts about. Nuclear

Energy”).
Meltdowns are possible but are rare, and is still less harmful to the environment than coal, and fossil fuels. Another benefit is that even when meltdowns occur, they effect a smaller scale of the planet that fossil fuels, which, while individually have little effect, are slowly killing the earth from the massive amount of emissions given off by them in everyday use. If we want to save the planet we have to find another source of energy, in this case the benefits outweigh the potential downsides.
Nuclear energy has many benefits. Even with a few potential cons, and it is still an extremely viable means of producing energy. This method of energy is not fundamentally different in any other than the fact that it is good for the environment. Other sources of electricity are terrible for the environment no matter what. Nuclear energy is clean and emission free, it is the key to reviving out dying earth, and the day people realize that, is the day our planet will be reborn.