Abstract
This essay explores the benefits and disadvantages of nuclear energy and how the pros and cons of energy plants should be used to decide the future of nuclear energy usage. The essay is mainly based on opinions of the author, but also includes views from authors of journals and website documents.
Introduction
The modern world, as it develops, produces areas that give endless possibilities for people. There is always room for something new and innovative, as long as the research is permitted and performed. As an industry, technology has become an area where there is something for everyone and everything, built with benefits and disadvantages. One of these technologies is the very debated energy plants and nuclear energy produced in these plants. While the technologies of nuclear energy have opened up opportunities for the people that make the present life easier and widens the currently available opportunities, some of these technologies also create a future that is bleak and not promising in terms of health and preservation of nature.
Benefits of Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy, a powerful, complicated and quite an expensive source of power was one of the grand jewels of the early modern age- the 1950s. These ages seemed to promise that nuclear energy would become an everlasting source of energy, and hence creating opportunities such as jobs in factories, research areas for academics, and a continuous source of energy for cities. (Baraniuk, 2017) Quite frankly, it has been resourceful energy in which people rely on to go about their daily lives, companies use as fuel for planes and ships, and governments depend on to continue the struggle of power within the political arena. In each present day, it seems impossible to give up the energy generated by the nuclear plants, simply because it is easily accessible, although very expensive.
The present that nuclear power creates is clear: life is easier and opportunities are wide. In an article about nuclear energy, the Karl Grandin and his colleagues claim, “Nuclear energy is in many respects an attractive non-fossil alternative. It is excellent for providing reliable base-load electricity, has a high capacity, and requires very little material for construction and fuel for operation.” (Grandin, Jagers, & Kullander, 2010) In their article, the authors write about the advantages of nuclear energy and how it has changed the maintaining of large cities in terms of creating energy resources for electricity and alternatives to fuel, along with jobs for people, since nuclear plants are built to generate nuclear power and produce energy. Hence, we can say that by producing large amounts of electricity and fuel for big cities, nuclear energy makes life easier. Also, by creating new areas of jobs in nuclear power plants, and by allowing governments to use it as a power play nuclear energy widens the opportunities for people and countries.
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
The other side of the coin, however, is not very bright. Nuclear energy power plants create a future for the people and the environment that makes the preservation of nature almost impossible, along with many health-related issues, hence painting a bleak picture of the future that the future generations would have to work ten times harder to create. David Taylor writes about the health issued problems of nuclear plants in his article and says,
The further implementations of nuclear power are limited because although nuclear energy does not produce CO2 the way fossil fuels do, there is still a toxic by-product produced from uranium-fuelled nuclear cycles: radioactive fission waste. 1 tonne of fresh fuel rod waste from a nuclear reactor would give you a fatal dose of radiation in 10 seconds if placed 3 meters away. Plutonium is also of concern, as it increases an exposed person’s potential in developing liver, bone, or lung cancer. (Taylor, 1995)
As a result of the nuclear fissions coming from nuclear power plants, a wide range of cities and the natural environment, thus the living beings in these cities and natural habitats, are affected poorly and suffer from long-term health problems. This, as a result, creates a bleak future for humans and animals in terms of life expectancy, which tends to become shorter as a result.
Conclusion
As a whole, the benefits of nuclear energy, such as a wide range of opportunities and easy life; and the disadvantages of the same energy, such as health problems and risk to the environment all lead to an ongoing and unsettling debate. What is the result then, should we abandon nuclear energy altogether and turn to renewable energy, or should we keep generating nuclear power plants? This is still a debate among many think tanks and communities, since, naturally, everyone has an idea of their own. However, the solution to a problem usually has two processes: first by weighing out the pros and cons, and second, by looking back at history to search for a room for improvement and learning from mistakes. The modern world of the 1950s worlds has taught us that it is always possible to find new and innovative technologies that make life easier with every passing day. Today’s modern world teaches us that everything is open to development and improvement. Therefore, it is quite possible, in time, to develop the emerging renewable energy sources and slowly abandon those that are unhealthy for the environment and all living species. Let us not forget that there is only one world which is habitable at present, and it is one of the responsibilities of the human race to preserve that which is habitable.
References
Baraniuk, C. (2017, June 23). How Should we Manage Nuclear Energy? London, UK: BBC Future.
Grandin, K., Jagers, P., & Kullander, S. (2010, June 8). Nuclear Energy. Ambio, 39(DOI 10.1007/s13280-010-0061-0), 26-30.
Taylor, D. M. (1995). Applied Radiation and Isotopes. Elsevier, 46(11), 1245-1252.