Is nuclear power an energy panacea or a disaster waiting to strike?
The answer depends on who you ask.
People who have invested in the nuclear power industry want more nuclear power production in order to make a positive return on their investments.
Some climate alarmists want more nuclear power production because they believe it to be a solution to global warming.
Yet, plenty of Americans are opposed to nuclear power production because they fear it.
So, should more nuclear power be produced in the USA?
We need to consider a few things before answering that second question.
1) Nuclear power’s benefits to the general public must outweigh its risks.
If more nuclear power production is too risky for the general public, then it doesn’t matter if someone loses an investment.
2) Global warming won’t be stopped by the use of nuclear power. That’s because the Sun will continue to make the Earth warmer no matter what Mankind does or doesn’t do. Still, it would be good to prevent any more greenhouse gases from being added to the atmosphere. Mankind’s contribution to global warming is real, and Mankind doesn’t need to warm up the Earth faster than it is naturally being warmed up.
3) Nuclear power production relies on a non-renewable source of energy.
From the U.S. Energy Information Administration: “Uranium ore, a solid, is mined and converted to a fuel used at nuclear power plants. Uranium is not a fossil fuel, but it is classified as a nonrenewable fuel.”
4) When it comes to the storage of nuclear waste, the motto of Americans is Not In My Back Yard! That is why the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository has yet to be opened for business.
From CBS News:
5) The transportation of nuclear waste isn’t easy. States Interesting Engineering, “Nuclear transportation flasks can be more than over 50 tons!”
Image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuclear_waste_container_2010_nevada.jpg
So, should there be more commercial nuclear power production in the USA?
This blogger doesn’t know the answer to that question. What he does know is that there is no such thing as a free lunch and that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
Featured Image: The Gundremmingen Nuclear Power Plant in Germany
Featured Image by Felix König.
Featured Image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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