The Benefits of Nuclear Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Benefits of Nuclear Power - Essay Example The Nuclear Power was the most significant innovation of the Twentieth Century and could potentially affect the Twenty First Century as much as any other innovation. Nuclear energy is commonly understood to the most practical alternative to electric generating power plants that burn coal for fuel. Nuclear powered plants, as a substitute for coal-burning plants, could play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The biggest test mankind faces in the Twenty First Century is reversing the cataclysmic effects of global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions and to combat the misperceptions of nuclear generated power from the extensive criticism it has been subjected to during the past three decades. If the world’s countries and people are serious about ending the burning of fossil fuels and stop the acceleration of global climate change, alternative fuels such as bio-fuel and renewable energy such as solar and wind power must be rapidly employed on a large scale. However, these types of energy alone are not sufficient to replace oil and coal as the most prevalent power sources therefore the levels of CO2 emissions will continue to rise. Scientists have caution that if far-reaching radical steps are not employed now, the consequences of global climate change will quickly become irreversible and the earth’s temperature will continue to increase despite future attempts to diminish these dangerous emissions. Consequently, nuclear power plants should be built as soon as possible to replace coal burning facilities. â€Å"Nuclear energy is a clean, safe, reliable and competitive energy source. It is the only source of energy that can replace a significant part of the fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) which massively pollute the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect† (Comby, 2006). Nuclear plants are the only alternative to coal that would be able to provide all the electricity power needs for both residential and businesses and residential customers. Nuclear power is the only feasible energy alternative that could replace the enormous energy needs of the world’s people and, if implemented with a sense of urgency, could be constructed in time to save the earth from the most horrific consequences. Environmentalists who are against nuclear electric plants should appreciate that this is the best way to avoid the ominous affects of irreversible global climate change. Their anxiety principally concerns nuclear waste disposal. â€Å"Nuclear waste is to be deposited in deep geological storage sites; it does not enter the biosphere. Its impact on the ecosystems is minimal. An intelligent combination of energy conservation, and renewable energies for local low-intensity applications, and nuclear energy for base-load electricity production, is the only viable way for the future† (Comby, 2006). Some detractors of nuclear power point to the possible deaths resulting from nuclear accidents. To date, o nly the nuclear power plant melt-down at Chernobyl caused deaths. No deaths are associated with the recent plant damage in Japan. Compare nuclear power plants safety record to that of coal mines. Chernobyl was unique. That type of accident could not occur in any other plant because all the currently operating reactors in the world are located inside a containment structure (Chernobyl was not). The 1979 Three Mile Island reactor core meltdown, which was the result of a failure in its core cooling system, emitted a lot of radiation but the reactor was housed in a containment structure which kept the radiation from being released into the air. There were no deaths or injuries. (Miller, 2004) Nuclear power is safer and more dependable than ever before. We cannot allow the