Nuclear Energy: The Future Energy Source America uses a lot of energy to supply electricity to millions of homes and businesses and needs an energy source that will supply an abundant amount of power but is also efficient. Nuclear energy is a reliable and efficient energy source that America can use. Fossil fuels and other resources used in the United States are running out or are very expensive. Nuclear power will provide a cost effective and long term power supply. America should use nuclear energy because of its many benefits which are environmental benefits, economic benefits, safety, power production, and reliability.. Nuclear power is a potential energy source for America because of its many economic benefits. Nuclear power plants would create thousands of jobs and has a low cost of production. Davis writes in her article “The Necessary Good that is Nuclear Power”, that nuclear energy has the lowest cost of production which is 2.14 cents per kilowatt hour. The building of power plants will create 1,400 – 1,800 jobs because they need workers who can use concrete, steel, and other materials (9). The creation of jobs in America will stimulate the economy and since the cost of running a power plant is low, the owners of the plants can afford to keep them operating. Also, the jobs created by nuclear power plants cannot be sent to other countries and they produce millions of dollars. In the article “Energy the focus of the Country’s Economic Needs”, the author says building nuclear power plants create jobs that cannot be sent overseas. Nuclear power plants also make $ 430 million a year, so they will be able to pay their workers good salaries (Whitman 55). The United States has become very dependent on foreign resources and if m... ... middle of paper ... ...e “Advantages of Nuclear Power”, the author states fossil fuels are running out. Nuclear energy would be a decent alternative. You can use uranium, plutonium, or thorium to generate power in the power plants (Naik 1). Unlike coal plants, that can only use coal for a power source, nuclear power can use many elements. Even though nuclear energy has its pros and cons, it should be used more in the United States. If there were more power plants in America, it would save millions of dollars and create thousands of jobs for skilled workers. The nuclear power plants would also help save many habitats and the Earth. There is little to no pollution made from nuclear power and they do not need a lot of land to be built. Safety is continuing to increase which eases people’s worries. The power produced by nuclear energy is so great that it can supply power to the entire world.
Nuclear power is a growing source of energy to most of the world for many benefits. People doubt the significant of nuclear power because of one accident. Due to this accident, the world has only seen the flaws in nuclear power and not the many benefits it has to offer. Nuclear power would benefit worldwide if people would let go of the past and look towards the future. Nuclear power is a better alternative energy because of its economic and environmental benefits.
In my opinion nuclear power is pretty amazing, and I doubt that people really believe otherwise. The amount of energy that it can produce compared to other sources of energy is huge. I believe that as long as it is done with the utmost care, nuclear power is the best source of energy we can
Nuclear energy is a very powerful source of energy. Just a little bit is required to make large amounts of electricity, which powers 1 in 5 households in the U.S. Nuclear energy has been advanced over the years and has been relied on heavily by many countries today.
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.
Energy is undoubtedly one of the most important issues facing the world today. While fossil fuels may produce enough energy at a low cost, they also have severe environmental impacts on the world. Wind energy is a clean source, but is also extremely expensive to maintain. Nuclear energy may be the best energy alternative to coal and oil, with the ability to produce much more energy at relatively low cost, while also being more environmentally sound. Nuclear Power comes from the process of splitting Uranium Atoms (also called fission), which in turn releases copious amounts of energy in the form of heat.
Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.
Not only is nuclear power friendly to the environment, but it is almost always available, and many countries are starting to use it more. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind en...
Since the dawn of civilization, all living (and some non-living) things have needed energy. When humans discovered fire, the first form of harnessed energy, it made it easier to stay warm, prepare food, make weapons, etc. Since then, humankind has been inventing new ways to harness energy and use it to our advantage. Now-a-days, people in most nations depend extremely heavily on fossil fuels – to work, travel, regulate temperature of homes, produce food, clothing, and furniture, as well as other power industries. Not only are these fossil fuels dominating our society and creating economic vulnerability, but they also produce waste that causes a number of social and environmental concerns. The waste from these fuels leads to acid rain, smog, and climate change. It also releases sulfur dioxide as well as other air pollutants that are very harmful to the human respiratory system (Morris, 1999, p. ix). There are other alternative sustainable energy sources including solar, hydroelectric, wind, and biomass. However, the main source aside from fossil fuel is nuclear energy from controlled nuclear reactions (where nuclei of radioisotopes become stable or nonradioactive by undergoing changes) in a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power produces enormous amounts of energy to serve a community. Unfortunately, nuclear energy has its own set of problems – a big one being its waste. The spent fuel from nuclear plants is radioactive. This means that it emits radiation, or penetrating rays and particles emitted by a radioactive source. Ionizing radiation is known to cause cancer, and therefore makes anyone who lives near spent nuclear waste facilities vulnerable to this incurable disease. The disposal of nuclear waste is a global issue...
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.
Nuclear energy has is an overall success and continues to be because it is a reliable, efficient energy source that produces minimal pollution. Although it is a efficient energy source, it is also a massive destructive force that has been used in the past and can be used in the future if not properly defended against. America today can learn from instances in the 20th century such as the atomic bomb drops, exploration of fusion reactions, the knowledge gained from the three mile island accident, and from espionage. Nuclear technology is basically that manipulation of atoms in their current state. Usually radioactive elements such as high-grade plutonium or uranium are used in order to create a massive radioactive reaction that have the potential to obliterate any object in its way leaving a lasting negative effect on the environment. Nuclear energy was mainly researched for the atomic bomb droppings that occurred in 1945 as a result of Japanese oppression during World War II. The science of atomic manipulation, atomic radiation, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion was first developed in 1895. Research began to significantly speed up when the government took a large interest in the destructive force that nuclear weapons had the potential to hold. The only reason that the world ever had the experience of nuclear energy was because of World War II and oppression. Nuclear Energy came with a price of thousands of lives, that were not rightfully taken, but without those lives lost, our world would be different today, and we continue to learn from the mistakes and from the successes that we have had with nuclear technology.
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.
Ryan Bader Mrs. Soenksen English 9-Period 4 22 April 2014. Nuclear Energy The use of nuclear energy is a gift to us given by the brilliance of wanting a new way of producing power that is renewable and efficient and isn’t as bad at producing pollution as coal or oil Ronald Reagan once said that “All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.” there are many dangers to messing with atoms and using fission technologies that are used inside a nuclear reactor the atoms are completely split into 2 atoms this is a dangerous thing to do that can end up being a with a high price tag in damages. These coming years we will be putting into a new generation of nuclear power, from the development of a nuclear reactor that uses a particle accelerator beam for efficiency all the way to decreasing the amount of waste a nuclear reactor creates, but that doesn’t answer the question everyone seems to ask.
In conclusion, nuclear energy is an efficient source to produce electricity. With nuclear energy, over million tons of carbon dioxide are reduced in the U.S. Nuclear energy also help reduce the amount of land use to produce electricity and get more free land for other purposes. According to the low accident rate of nuclear energy, nuclear power plants would be consider as a safe way to produce electricity. Overall, nuclear energy is a beneficial and efficient source for electricity.
As one of the greatest alternatives to fossil fuels, an important advantage of nuclear energy is the significantly lower emission rate of CO2 in comparison to plants which use coal and natural gas.2 Nuclear power is not reliant on fossil fuels and therefore producing energy by this method reduces pollution and the contribution to climate change. However, whilst the actual process of generating energy releases few emissions, uranium must be mined and purified and in the past this has not always been an environmentally clean process.2 Ultimately, uranium will one day run out, but nuclear reactors are versatile and may also run on Thorium. Despite being finite, this would allow nuclear power stations to function for a longer period of time.
Unfortunately, nearly 20% of the energy that the United States thrives on is imported, and not from particularly friendly sources. In fact, our dependence on imported oil and gas has a direct correlation with the nation’s defense budget, meaning that gaining energy independence will help to improve national security. Whereas the fossil fuel industries cannot function without imported gas and oil, all of the uranium used to fabricate nuclear fuel can be mined and processes in the United States. What’s more, is that this supply of uranium is abundant and can continue to fuel nuclear power plants for many years to come. By dissolving our dependence on foreign oil and gas, we can avoid the uncertainties that accompany the world market and ensure the independence of our energy supply.