Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

A Thesis Against Nuclear Energy

Better Essays
889 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Thesis Against Nuclear Energy
Jonathan Li
Mrs. Rankin
English 113
9-28-12
Nuclear Power: Good or Evil?
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 9000-33000 innocent people died as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in Russia in 1986- the deadliest nuclear accident to date! Since the inception of nuclear energy, a sense of danger has always been inherent due to the extremely radioactive nature of uranium which if emitted, hangs over the land as the fog cloaks the English moors. When the human body is exposed to high levels of radioactivity, deformities can form, and the rate of cancer increases dramatically. Because of the imminent hazard regarding nuclear energy, politicians and scientists alike have debated whether to increase or decrease funding for the research and development of nuclear reactor programs.
What is nuclear power? Basically, rods of uranium are treated so that it heats water into steam and this steam turns turbines, which convert the mechanical energy to electricity. By studying sources of the energy, evidence indicates that nuclear energy is dangerous; safer alternatives exist, and the power affects the country in a negative economic manner. Therefore, the author is against the aggrandizement of funds towards nuclear energy programs.
Obviously the strongest argument against funding for nuclear energy is the danger that is present in the reactors. As Scientific America reports, 32 % of nuclear power plant workers are subjected to unsafe radioactive conditions and dangers when building the reactors. Then, once the plants are built and in operation, there is a high risk of a meltdown. Contributing to the high risk is human error, as made evident by the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, which had catastrophic effects. Also, History Channel reports that 57 meltdowns have occurred in the United States since the incident of Chernobyl. In order to be safe, events such as the 2011 meltdown in Fukishima Daiichi in Japan must not occur again. Not only are nuclear power plants dangerous to operate, but disposing of the waste is difficult. According to Green World Investor website, the United States has collected 50,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel from the 104 reactors. Originally, the government plan for the spent fuel was to dispose of it at Yucca Mountain, a sacred Native American site on the Nevada California border, but New York Times reports that this arrangement was scrapped in 2010 due to budgeting costs. Instead, the nuclear waste is stored in temporary sites which are not safe enough for long term storage. However, even it was approved, Yucca Mountain and the surrounding area would be unable to be inhabited and due to its proximity to the San Andres fault line, the location would be prone to earthquakes. Rather than placing the population in danger from developing nuclear power, funds can better be spent on alternative power sources. According to Natural Choice website, wind energy was popularized by T. Boone Pickens in 1989! Even to an oil mogul, wind seems to be found as an attractive source of energy. To power the future, wind energy must be used because it is so sustainable and non-polluting. In addition to wind energy, Stanford University’s Global Climate and Energy Project determined that one hour of sun exposure to the earth, if the energy is collected, is enough to meet the world’s energy needs for an entire year; and a half year of exposure provides as much energy as the total amount of non-renewable resources on earth! Instead of funding expensive and dangerous nuclear power, the country needs to spend more money developing solar and wind energy. Besides the dangerous aspect of nuclear power and the alternatives that exist, nuclear power is also not an economically sound solution for the United States. As Scientific America reports, each nuclear power plant costs about $10 billion dollars to build. In addition, there’s the cost of trained professionals, nuclear fuel rods, security for the plant, maintenance fees, and reimbursements for homeowners in a wide radius around the plant whose homes and properties are now worth nothing. Although supporters of nuclear energy may claim that the uranium used in the process is renewable, the idea is simply not economical. The Economist found that although 95% of the nuclear fuel rod is able to be reused, the cost of the energy created from the old fuel is less than that of actually converting the old fuel rods into reusable energy. Therefore, since the United States has a $16 trillion dollar deficit, the government must focus upon safer less expensive energies.
Obviously, nuclear energy is not the right path for the country because alternatives such as wind and solar are safe and use renewable resources. Economically, these energies make more sense than nuclear energy. In addition, is it fair for the younger generation to pay an unnecessary debt? Can the United States jeopardize the welfare of innocent people by making more radioactive uranium available for terrorists to steal?
With the Fukushima Daiichi accident as a reminder of the volatile and unsafe nature of nuclear power, the United States government must not allocate funds for additional development of nuclear energy. Simply put, Robert D. Glynn Jr., the CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), exclaims that “To order a new nuclear plant today, you’d have to be crazy!”

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    2. In “Small Recactors Make a Bid to Revive Nuclear Power”, the Obama Administration and the Energy Department are working on making America the leader in advanced nuclear technology and manufacturing (Biello 2012). They are considering switching the large reactors, which are currently the predominant technology, to small reactors, which will save money. These reactors would contain enough power to power more than 200,000 U.S. homes for a year (Biello 2012). This strategy will cause less nuclear waste and will increase safety issues as well. In another article, “Time to revive, not kill, the nuclear age”, it is stated that a world without nuclear power would be less secure. Neither fossil fuels nor renewable resources will be able to replace the 14 percent of global electricity generated by nuclear reactors (Financial Times 2011). This article sides with MacFarlane by saying the Chernobyl accident was bad, but since then things…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tucker Nuclear Summary

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In order to remain at the forefront of technological innovation and industrial prowess, the United States must become cognizant that the use of nuclear energy is by far the most efficient policy regarding the creation of power despite the possible risks. This is the belief of William Tucker, the author of the New York Times published article, “Why I Still Support Nuclear Power, Even after Fukushima”.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    labouring the Walmart way

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As everyone knows, nuclear energy can release nuclear radiation which can kill human’s cells and serious radiation can cause death. Furthermore, radiation can result in genetic variation. Radiation also has nuclear residue. It is hard to clear, may be more than 50 years can disappear. Such as Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, now is a ghost town, no one can live in there because of the radiation residue.…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nuclear powers biggest drawback is the radiation produced that requires large amounts of shielding in order to protect workers and the surrounding areas. When nuclear plants have meltdowns, the melting of…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With nuclear power came what was thought to be a more clean alternative to burning coal and other fossil fuels; Nuclear power does not produce nearly as much of the greenhouse gases as coal produces. People and society have given nuclear power a bad name, considering the amount of accidents that have happened. Although when you look at statistics it’s not as many as you would believe, or expect. When nuclear power is put head to head with coal power, nuclear power is the more efficient, and the safest way of power production. There are several reasons for this like the amount of fuel burned, pollution levels, and the effect it has on the environment.…

    • 1108 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fission and Fusion

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Article 2: “Should the world increase its reliance on nuclear energy?” The beginning of this article gives brief examples of the pros and cons of nuclear reactors from both sides. Opponents cite the case of the recent Japanese power plant disaster and dangers of Iran’s formation of nuclear power. Proponents argue that the backlash is overblown. They say how there have been no measured effects of human…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nuclear power refers to the generation of electrical energy by controlled nuclear reactions. These reactions produce heat, which in turn creates steam that runs the generators to produce electricity. Approx. 1/8 of the electricity worldwide generated comes from nuclear energy. In this task, you will analyze the use of nuclear energy as a resource energy.…

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people around the world ask themselves what are the disadvantages of adopting an alternative solution to solve the consumption of global nuclear energy? Based on what we have experienced through events with major disasters and the aftermath of many casualties, it has summed up to result in having failures outgrowing expectations. Therefore, global nuclear power usage is to be opposed due to the fact that it comes with high financial costs, nuclear waste management complications, and the fact that thousands in populations are mass numbers of casualties.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Three Mile Island

    • 3044 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Though we have had worries and issues on how to handle our power situation in the future, nuclear power has always been a sparkling prospect. It has been gleaming there just waiting to be tapped. After the bombs and destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the world started to explore other avenues to use the science and power of atoms and came to discover nuclear power. Although this technology seemed like a god sent, there are inherent problems with the use and deployment of nuclear power. These problems have the potential to cause significant loss of life. In fact they have caused the loss of life before. Due to these issues, nuclear policy has always been a hotbed of debate. In actuality only several of the hundreds of reactors in existence have had problems. The first noteworthy accident and the one that will be discussed today was the accident at the Three Mile Island complex, here in the USA. Another accident occurred several years after at the Chernobyl compound. This accident which took place in the former USSR is the worse reactor accident to date and massive casualties were incurred. In addition to these; the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which occurred earlier this month has put several reactors there in potentially an even worse place than Chernobyl. Focusing on Three Mile Island, this almost horrific accident occurred in the late seventies and was very close to going super critical (i.e. that is melting down). This accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear complex has greatly affected the United States of America and international nuclear policy. In the USA no reactors have been built since this accident. The accident reignited people’s fears of nuclear power. Stepping back for a minute, nuclear power first started evolving in the 1950’s. While research in this area had been done well before the fifties it was all for the purpose of academic and military use. This…

    • 3044 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Energy crisis has been important issue recently. Because of the environmental effect, the decrease amount of fuel oil, and the rapidly population growth, we have to find out new energy resources. One of new potential energy resources is nuclear power. Although it has dangerous effect, it is generally agreed that nuclear power as one of useful alternation energy resources that should be considered.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    During the last century, nuclear power has been established as a reliable source of energy in the major industrialized countries. Nuclear power plants provide about 17 percent of the world's electricity. In the United States, nuclear power supplies about 15 percent of the electricity overall. Although no new plants are scheduled to be built in the United States, nuclear power is growing to be a popular producer of power. It has recently enjoyed a revival in attention and research due to the environmental concerns surrounding current conventional energy sources. Issues of regulation and safety are at the forefront of all discussions involving nuclear power. (Lillington) One of the major concerns is the radioactive waste that is produced during the fission of uranium.…

    • 2468 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nuclear Power is reliable yet controversial source of energy in the U.S. Many people have different viewpoints on Nuclear energy. Although nuclear energy can cause many problems such as nuclear accidents, it saves money, produces less pollution, and it can be made in any environment. The benefits of nuclear energy outweigh the risks. Without nuclear energy we would be relying on the weather for energy.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When it comes to Nuclear Power there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages. One of the best advantages it there are no fossil fuels being burned. This thus results in less air pollution. There are also economic advantages as well, because fossil fuels can be a great alternative energy source. Let’s not forget that there are many disadvantages as well. Making Nuclear power is very complex and extremely dangerous which causes for expensive security precautions. In 1986 in the Ukraine a nuclear reactor melted down resulting in numerous deaths and long term radiation effects. It is considered as one of the world’s worst nuclear catastrophes ever. It shed light to how dangerous nuclear power can be when not properly monitored and controlled. To make nuclear power, atoms must first…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nuclear Power

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Since the end of the last century, the development of modern technology and science has played a significant role as measure to resolve energy crisis and global warming issues which resulted in life sustaining remedies and causes of mass destruction. However, many scientists agree that the earth’s fossil fuel supplies are dramatically depleting and this challenge will be a meaningful hurdle for future generations. Therefore, many countries may need to find new productive energy sources in order to tackle this problem. Many proponents of nuclear power suggest that the benefits of nuclear power could be capable of alleviating climate change crisis due to its cost-effective and capability to supply the world’s energy needs. In contrary, anti-nuclear experts may claim that nuclear power has an inadequate safety to be a general energy source owing to the radioactive waste and the possibility to be used indiscriminately as devastating weapons. This essay will argue that nuclear energy will not be a sustainable energy source of 21st century for three main reasons. These include high costs of generating nuclear power, health effects of radiation and long-term impact of radioactive waste on the environment and the public's concern about safety of using nuclear energy as well as comparing to renewable energy of solar power and wind power.…

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 has risen our awareness on using nuclear energy and we have since begun to re-evaluate the possibility of promoting the use of the technology widely. Despite the potential dangers it can induce, there are some benefits it has brought which are worth noticing.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays