Nuclear Power Must Not be Phased Out Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nuclear Power Must Not be Phased Out - Essay ExampleThe rest is either exaggerate or purely hypothetical. Despite the claims against it and despite the mass appeal of much(prenominal) claims, atomic power must NOT be phased out for the simple dry land that it is one very sustainable source of might. Nuclear energy remains sustainable because it is an energy source which is almost free from greenhouse emissions and thus depart not likely have a great impact on climate change. Anti- thermonuclear power activists argue that most of nuclear energy comes in the earn of fossil fuels and that this will eventually contri exactlye to the greenhouse effect.1 This stems from the fact that fossil fuels, although not a direct source of nuclear energy, is the energy source upon which non-homogeneous stages of nuclear power production are made possible. In fact, electricity is used for various stages of the nuclear process such as uranium enrichment, the expression of power plants, and the processing and storage of nuclear waste. Moreover, the idea is that the goal of nuclear fission is still the production of electricity, which is a major source of greenhouse gases.2 all these are believed to generate a relatively high cadence of greenhouse gas emissions.... go to the opposite extreme in claiming that nuclear energy is the adult males largest source of emission-free energy, it would suffice to humbly admit that nuclear energy still contributes to the greenhouse effect, but the point is that what it contributes is statistically negligible. Aside from the insignificant amount of emissions from nuclear energy, its sustainability also depends on the idea that its waste products are relatively manageable. Nuclear waste is something that remains dangerous even for thousands of years and that there is eer a possibility of contaminating huge areas. Furthermore, it is a cold hard fact that there is no completely safe way to store nuclear waste.6 Moreover, there is no gua rantee that research on nuclear waste management will turn out to be successful.7 Admittedly, the issue of nuclear waste disposal is a strong argument against the sustainability of nuclear energy. Nevertheless, the volumes of wastes from fossil fuels are relatively much greater in quantity compared to those produced by nuclear power plants and thus, potential environmental damage is greatly reduced.8 Volume of wastes produced may be a minor issue in the environmental sustainability of nuclear energy but it is not as important compared to the factor of waste management. It may be true that nuclear wastes proves to be a threat to the environment but the nuclear technical community is rather more optimistic in believing that nuclear wastes can be contained or isolated safely until irradiation cannot anymore harm humans or the environment.9 The solution is research and as of the moment, efforts are being made by governments in order to minimize emissions such as nitrogen oxides and par ticulate matter.10 The issue of nuclear waste disposal, therefore,