Climate change and environmental concerns are now the major issues of the 21st century. People and scientists are seeking and developing alternative energy sources that are greener, but sufficient to fuel the economy. But in my opinion, we already have that option, which in fact, is a quite old technology that has been used for a long time and yet underappreciated—Nuclear power.
Many people are afraid of nuclear technology, as it has been portrayed as mass destruction weapon and catastrophe. But I would say that they are wrong for the most part, despite some true facts, most of what anti-nuclear activists are exaggerated due to the media. Nuclear is in fact safer than fossil fuel like coal since the by-products of coal-burning are air pollution and dust that harm every life nearby. Moreover, coal miners must take harsh working conditions that could kill them. Nuclear, however, produces waste that can be confined in such a small place, far from people. In addition to this, there have been only a few nuclear meltdowns throughout history. The famous one is Chernobyl, an incident that terrified everybody who ever heard about it. Despite some disagreement regarding whose fault it is, I believe that it is obvious that it was caused by human error and voluntarily poor design to keep the cost minimum, which is, certainly avoidable by having a standard, a new technology is not even required. Another concerning incident about nuclear powerplant is Fukushima’s nuclear meltdown, a tragedy caused by gigantic tidal wave wiping out the whole city and destroying the power plants, resulting in a leak of radioactive substances. Although the nuclear disaster had an impact, there is no discernible increase in the rate of cancer deaths is expected due to leaked radioactivity, and the casualties are committed by Tsunami, not nuclear plants.
In terms of efficiency, nuclear power is one of the best energy resources. Personally, I think it is the best. A nuclear power plant can operate for decades under proper maintenance. On top of that, the cost is much cheaper than other alternative energy sources, which means it is better for the economy and poor people. Furthermore, importantly, it can operate 24/7 unlike wind or solar power, which makes nuclear power more reliable.
Lastly, nuclear power is very eco–friendly. It emits so little carbon compared to other energy resources. Although other clean energy like solar or wind can also achieve low-carbon emissions, they require a backup system due to the discontinuity of wind and sunlight, such as batteries and natural gas turbines, which cause even more carbon footprint. One ironic example is Germany. Germany is trying to decommission nuclear power plants and replace them with wind and solar power. But the result is Germany has to import electricity from its neighbors and emits more carbon dioxide than France which generates its power from nuclear power plants.
In conclusion, nuclear power is statistically and factually safe and efficient. With good management and transparent supervision, dare to say that it is nothing but an unrivaled option for our economy and environment.
Climate
change
and environmental concerns are
now
the major issues of the 21st century.
People
and scientists are seeking and developing alternative
energy
sources that are greener,
but
sufficient to fuel the economy.
But
in my opinion, we already have that option, which in fact, is a quite
old
technology that has been
used
for a long time and
yet
underappreciated—Nuclear power.
Many
people
are afraid of nuclear technology, as it has
been portrayed
as mass destruction weapon and catastrophe.
But
I would say that they are
wrong
for the most part
, despite
some
true facts, most of what anti-nuclear activists
are exaggerated
due to the media. Nuclear is in fact safer than fossil fuel like coal since the by-products of coal-burning are air pollution and dust that harm every life nearby.
Moreover
, coal miners
must
take harsh working conditions that could kill them. Nuclear,
however
, produces waste that can
be confined
in such a
small
place, far from
people
.
In addition
to this, there have been
only
a few nuclear meltdowns throughout history. The
famous
one is Chernobyl, an incident that terrified everybody who ever heard about it. Despite
some
disagreement regarding whose fault it is, I believe that it is obvious that it
was caused
by human error and
voluntarily
poor design to
keep
the cost minimum, which is,
certainly
avoidable by having a standard, a new technology is not even required. Another concerning incident about nuclear
powerplant
is Fukushima’s nuclear meltdown, a tragedy caused by gigantic tidal wave wiping out the whole city and destroying the
power
plants, resulting in a leak of radioactive substances. Although the nuclear disaster had an impact, there is no discernible increase in the rate of cancer deaths is
expected
due to leaked radioactivity, and the casualties
are committed
by Tsunami, not nuclear plants.
In terms of efficiency, nuclear
power
is one of the best
energy
resources.
Personally
, I
think
it is the best. A nuclear
power
plant can operate for decades under proper maintenance.
On top of that
, the cost is much cheaper than other alternative
energy
sources, which means it is better for the economy and poor
people
.
Furthermore
,
importantly
, it can operate 24/7 unlike
wind
or solar
power
, which
makes
nuclear
power
more reliable.
Lastly
, nuclear
power
is
very
eco–friendly
. It emits
so
little
carbon compared to other
energy
resources. Although other clean
energy
like solar or
wind
can
also
achieve low-carbon emissions, they require a backup system due to the discontinuity of
wind
and sunlight, such as batteries and natural gas turbines, which cause even more carbon footprint. One ironic example is Germany. Germany is trying to decommission nuclear
power
plants and replace them with
wind
and solar
power
.
But
the result is Germany
has to
import electricity from its neighbors and emits more carbon dioxide than France which generates its
power
from nuclear
power
plants.
In conclusion
, nuclear
power
is
statistically
and
factually
safe and efficient. With
good
management and transparent supervision, dare to say that it is nothing
but
an unrivaled option for our economy and environment.