Nuclear Energy Disadvantages

It was late. The moon had risen high and the starry sky brightening up the dark night. Various hex-tech lamps lit up the mostly clear streets of Piltover, and the buildings had their lights off. All, but one.

Firstly, the atomic incidents of Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in Russia are often mentioned as examples for nuclear plants being unsafe. In both cases failures of workers led to a meltdown in the reactors and increased radiation in the surrounding area (Henderson 12-17). And as the recent disaster in Japan shows, a nuclear crisis cannot only be caused by human mishaps, but also by unpredictable and untamable natural hazards. Consequently, nuclear crises cannot be predicted or prevented completely. Nuclear plants are, furthermore, considered uneconomical because in the eighties the construction costs of nuclear plants were underestimated and exceeded the estimation by $100 billion (Henderson 103). Therefore, the nuclear power opponents are arguing that nuclear power is burdening the American economy unnecessarily. According to the nuclear physicist Jeff Eerkens, antinuclear groups are also claiming that nuclear power is not necessary for the future since renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power will be providing sufficient energy for the United States, and are at the same time much cheaper than the costly nuclear power plants (Eerkens 20). Over all, opponents consider nuclear power to risky and inefficient to “deserve further support from U.S. taxpayers” (Henderson 104).

Throughout this world, we use various equipment that need certain energy requirements in order for them to run properly. Two of the utmost imperative sources of energy in our world today come from coal and nuclear power. Still, a great deal of citizens of this world are unaware of the impacts of nuclear power whether it be positive or negative due to the fact that nuclear power has not existed as long as coal power has. However, as nuclear power becomes a major resource of energy, we as citizens must determine which is more fitting for not only us, but our environment. As this report continues on, you will come to find the history of each of these resources along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Concluded from this research was the concept that nuclear power is worthier for America as a whole. Included below are the specific points as to why nuclear power is far superior for American citizens and our environment. However, the main notion to be taken from this report is the view that we need to become further educated on the energy resources present in this world and be able to determine how we can become more efficient and contribute less to climate change in the long run.

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.

Energy crisis and climatic strain are two sides of one coin. You can never handle one without affecting the other considerably. The world is in search for more efficient and climatically friendly ways of producing electricity. However, we cannot say that we have achieved it all yet. Nuclear energy is one of the most reliable means of generating electricity. It is efficient with the number of kilowatts a nuclear plant can produce in a day. On the other side, accidents at a nuclear plant are way beyond fatal. Side effects are too lethal as well if safety measures are not taken into account. Health, safety, and environmental concerns are some of the most issues that make nuclear plants delicate. The radiations emitted from these plants can be adverse health wise. With all this summed up, the cons of nuclear energy overweigh the pros. Let's delve into its details and determine the same.

Nuclear power plants provide a substantial amount of electricity, but could also have catastrophic consequences if put in dire situations. These power plants are often built in countries like France, where there is more opportunity and less risk. The idea of constructing a nuclear power plant, is not one that is very advisable at the time. The proposal was taken into consideration, but brought about some interesting factors. Building a nuclear power plant is too dangerous, way too expensive, and burdens too much of a risk to build one in our city.

Nuclear power was the world’s fastest growing form of energy in the 1990’s. However, presently it is the second slowest growing worldwide. Considering that nuclear power accounts for eleven percent of the world’s energy supply, one must ask what happened [Nuclear Power]. Why is it that the growth of nuclear power has almost completely stalled? The simple answer is that after meltdowns such as Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, many people are afraid of nuclear power plants, which causes great opposition to the expansion of the industry. Unfortunately, most people are not well informed about nuclear energy; many do not take the time to view its positives and negatives.

The disastrous meltdowns that cause whole cities to become uninhabitable, as well as leaving families homeless and laborers without jobs, have defined the negative perspective of what people see in nuclear power. However, even after such catastrophes, the pure raw energy output makes nuclear power essential for the future of the human race. As time passes, the world’s energy usage has grown an increasingly massive size every year due to the consumption swell of energy. Despite nuclear plants being a heavily controversial topic internationally, its advantages are very well recognized and it’s causing nuclear plants to slowly become the basis of our growing society.

Rawls argues that “justice entails the basic principles of the government where the free and rational individual’s human person would agree to in the assumed situation of equality.” The works of J Rawls is his effort to define social justice because he was not satisfied with the philosophy of utilitarianism regarding social and political justice. The notion of justice applies to all human rational being for it concerns the morally the right and wrong way to live and interact with others. Therefore, the notion of justice is applied to fields of studies including politics. Rawls considers justice in relation to the morality of human duties and actions Rawls would like that justice is concretely applied to the ethical and social decision making

For most people, the natural human reaction when someone is hurt is to help them. Yet, when we are amongst others, we are scientifically less likely to intervene if something goes wrong. As we know, this can be attributed to the bystander effect, where there is a “perceived diffusion of responsibility...and social influence”(psychologytoday.com, 20017). This phenomenon is evident when Eva was complaining to her husband that Kevin did not intervene when he saw a classmate in pain. “He was there!

The world as we know today is dependent on energy. The options we have currently enable us to produce energy economically but at a cost to the environment. As fossil fuel source will be diminishing over time, other alternatives will be needed. An alternative that is presently utilized is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is currently the most efficacious energy source. Every time the word ‘nuclear’ is mentioned, the first thought that people have is the devastating effects of nuclear energy. Granting it does come with its drawbacks; this form of energy emits far less pollution than conventional power plants. Even though certain disadvantages of nuclear energy are devastating, the advantages contain even greater rewards.

The world's natural resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. As these resources diminish, people will be seeking alternative sources by which to generate electricity for heat and light. The only practical short-term solution for the energy/pollution crisis should be nuclear power because it is available, cleaner and safer.

Although waste disposal is one of the bigger problems, the cost to keep nuclear energy running is also a problem since it is not yet competitive with coal and natural gas(1). Many costs are attached to nuclear energy including capital, plant operating costs, and external costs. The capital costs include the cost of the site, manufacture and labor, and the financing of the nuclear power plants. Building the nuclear reactors needed to generate electricity involves thousands of workers, huge amounts of materials, such as steel and concrete, and several systems provide electricity, ventilation, information, control and communication. The cost of the construction of the plant and the cost of the manual laborers make up most of the capital cost. Operating the plant is expensive too. Operating, maintenance, and fuel are all included in operating costs. Fuel management and final waste disposal are included in the fuel cost. The external costs are the costs that come environmentally and health wise. Any effects that the plant has on the environment, any effect that has to be fixed or payed for is included in the external cost. However, the external cost of nuclear power is much cheaper than the cost of fossil fuels, which the World Nuclear Association explains, “Nuclear energy averages 0.4 euro cents/kWh, much the same as hydro, coal is over 4.0 cents (4.1-7.3), gas ranges 1.3-2.3 cents and only wind shows up better than nuclear, at 0.1-0.2 cents/kWh average”. (4)Although nuclear energy has many costs, the effect on the environment is much less than other forms of power, other than wind. Nuclear power is the only energy producing industry which takes full responsibility for its waste and cost, according

Nuclear energy should not be the solution for our energy crisis problem because of the catastrophic possibilities it may cause. About 20% of our nation’s electrical use is supplied by nuclear power per year. It is a main source of energy because of how cheap and effective it is and the government has declared it “safe”. Several countries are starting to increase their dependence on nuclear energy because of its high energy output and the power to bring electricity to everyone’s home. Although nuclear power has conveniences like this, the dangers brought by it are eminent. The probability of another accident like Fukushima or Chernobyl are present in any nuclear plant and increase the risk of causing severe harm to those that live in a close range to these plants. Millions of people would die not only from the initial explosion, but also the after effects like nuclear fallout that would cause radiation sickness. In conclusion, nuclear energy should not be used because of the hazardous waste it produces, the unsafe storage of the hazardous waste, the possibility of fatalities, and the cost to produce these plants.

Nuclear Power is, in the timeline of history, relatively new and as such many do not understand how and why it works. Nuclear power creates energy using the process of nuclear fission, the releasing of energy creates steam, which then rises up from the reactor, turning turbines in the process and generating electricity for use. For example, one kilogram of coal produces 8kWh of energy, one kilogram of uranium 235 produces 24,000,000 kWh of power. This allows for much more power to be produced over time compared to other energy sources. This cost would lead to an overabundance and therefore the price of power would decrease, allowing those who previously went without power to have it. According to Steven Fetter in the article, “How Long Will