Keeping Nuclean Energy Out of Society

    In 1986, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave this statement. “Even if there was this type of accident every year… I would consider nuclear power a valid source of energy.”   The statement came from the man responsible for the safety of nuclear power plants throughout the United States following the Chernobyl accident, which was the worst nuclear accident in the world so far (Hodgson and Marignne 5).

Nuclear Energy came into use in 1953.   Rather simply, when one of the atoms of fuel in a nuclear reactor absorbs a neutron, the atom sends of two pieces, which will cause two more atoms to split.   The split atom also creates fission particles that create ten million times as much heat when stopped then burning coal creates.   The heat is used to boil water into superheated steam, which spins turbines to create electricity (McCarthy 2).

Nuclear lobbyists believe that nuclear energy is justifiable because they believe nuclear energy is cleaner and that nuclear energy can supply the world with energy for thousands of years.   Unfortunately, these people fail to see not only the flaws in their reasoning, but also the overwhelming reasoning against nuclear power.   Nuclear power plants need to be eliminated because they cost far too much, they are extremely dangerous, and they create deadly waste that lasts for centuries.

Those in favor of nuclear energy claim that nuclear power can stop global warming.   Hypothetical nuclear power plant A is producing slightly less than twenty-three tons of waste to create a certain amount of electricity.   For hypothetical coal burning plant B to create that same amount of energy, over 300,000 tons of ash would be created as a byproduct (“Nuclear Power…” 4).   Today, France derives eighty percent of their electricity form nuclear power.   By doing this, France managed to cut their emissions of CO2, a green house gas, in half (Hodgson and Marignne 3).

One major error with using global warming as a...