Nuclear Power -- the Future Essay

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Total Length: 966 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

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This is a significant advantage because wind and solar can only be considered intermittent sources that produce power on a variable schedule. Yet geothermal sources produce can be used to produce power constantly and inexpensively. Because of these advantages, nearly every prime geothermal location on the planet have already been developed or are in the process of being developed and this power source in insufficient to meet the growing energy demand on its own and a combination of sources must be used.

Nuclear Power

Nuclear power has the most advantages of any power source being considered for the future energy demands of the United States. Through fission, the energy produced by 1 kg of uranium-235 is equal to that produced by 2,700 tons of coal; for a million-kw nuclear power plant, only 30 tons of nuclear fuel is needed every year, while a thermal power plant of the same capacity will need 3.3 million tons of coal (Beijing Review). More importantly, a nuclear power plant only releases less than two percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by a thermal power plant of approximately the same capacity. (Beijing Review).

However, many of the tragedies that have occurred in the past have been highly visible and have attracted a significant amount of publicity.

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In many cases, the public's view of the risks associated with nuclear power is highly exaggerated. However, there is evidence to suggest that this obstacle can be overcome with effective planning. One study analyzed three-hundred and sixty-seven respondents about their perceptions regarding nuclear power along attitudinal, cognitive, and sociodemograpbhic variables and found that confidence in various risk-management institutions and organizations could be significantly improved (Gardner, Tiemann and Gould).

Conclusion

The evidence that is points towards an anthropogenic contribution to climate change has been building exponentially in the last few years. It is becoming increasingly clear that the use of traditional power sources poses serious risks to sustainability. Unfortunately, many of the alternative sources are either too expensive, only produce power intermittently such as wind and solar, or are in limited supply such as geothermal. While nuclear can never be completely fail safe and the public's perception of confidence with the technology has been diminished in the past, the risks associated with modern nuclear are insignificant compared to the risks of other power sources that can meet the modern demand. The time has come to put nuclear power back into contention of being the power source that can provide the power need for the future in a clean and reliable.....

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