Moving Away From Nuclear Energy

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Although it is the irresistible trend to put an end to nuclear power, we could not achieve the nuke-free dream through an immediate action. There are a few essential reasons.

Firstly, given that energy is the fuel of the sustainable development of economy , we have to consider how to supply the deficiency caused by the elimination of nuclear power plants. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to completely replace nuclear power right away with other sources. According to the last three quarter reports published by Taipower, the largest amounts of energy sources is offered by coal (40.46% on average) followed by gas (30.26% on average) , nuclear power (18.27 on average) and water power (4.19% on average) while the renewable sources which is highly advocated by environmentalist, only shares 0.9% in total. Now, could these sources mentioned be the substitutions of nuclear power right now?

 The coal

The coal obviously will not be the one. Apart from the finitude of coal miner, coal itself is the cause of lots of pollution. The combustion of coal, especially carbon dioxide, contributes most to acid rain as well as air pollution, and has been connected with global warming. Moreover, a number of verse health effects of coal burning exist. Coal-fired power plants cause nearly 24,000 premature deaths annually in the United States, including 2,800 from lung cancer. ("Deadly Power Plants? Study Fuels Debate: Thousands of Early Deaths Tied To Emissions." MSNBC (2004-09-06) .Retrieved 5 November 2008.) Annual health costs in Europe from use of coal to generate electricity are €42.8 billion, or $55 billion. ("The Unpaid Health Bill – How coal power plants make us sick". Health and Environment Alliance. Retrieved 7 March 2013.)

 The g...

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...ountry's 50 reactors offline since a Fukushima accident, Japan has been almost without nuclear energy that once supplied about a third of its power. As the result of the immediate reaction, Japan posted a trade deficit in 2011 for the first time in 31 years, and another deficit of 8.2 trillion yen ($82.4 billion) in 2012. About half of the increase stemmed from rising fuel costs, according to Trade Minister Motegi. ( Ramtanu Maitra. “Japan Without Nuclear Energy Is a Disaster for the World” Executive Intelligence Review. September 27, 2013 issue) Now, Japan is trying to restart some of 50 currently idled reactors. All those evidences clarify that we cannot be too impatient on the way to say goodbye to nuclear power.

Works Cited

Ramtanu Maitra. “Japan Without Nuclear Energy Is a Disaster for the World” Executive Intelligence Review. September 27, 2013 issue

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