Us Nuclar Power Plants
Should the United States commission new nuclear power plants?
Energy is a controversial topic in the United States and the rest of the world. More than half of the energy we have comes from coal burning power plants. President Obama is working along with government agencies to build more nuclear power plants in the United States. Nuclear power plants produce large quantities of energy creating no air pollution and very little water pollution in the form of thermal pollution. The United States should build more Nuclear power plants, they are good for the environment unlike coal burning power plants which are major producer of carbon dioxide and contributor of mercury in our waterways; they produce a lot of energy, they don’t produce any air pollution or greenhouse gases, and the little pollution they create can be safely stored and carefully contained.
Many people are suspicious of this new technology simply because it can be dangerous if not taken precaution and it can lead to a meltdown. For example, a natural disaster can destroy a plant’s boiler room; if this happens the reaction of uranium-235(very radioactive) can’t be stopped if fission happens, leading to a meltdown releasing radioactive material into the environment. In a Generation II plant there are backup diesel generators that are designed to provide an emergency supply of electricity to the cooling system, is this is destroyed there will be no electricity to keep the cold water flowing, causing explosions, and the spread of radiation. The example is true, but scientists are working on a Generation IV plant that runs on thorium, which is four times more abundant than uranium and less radioactive, this is very efficient because it stops fission reactions and prevents a meltdown from happening.
Nuclear power plants are capable of producing large amounts of energy without polluting the air, and they also don’t release any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is
Energy is a controversial topic in the United States and the rest of the world. More than half of the energy we have comes from coal burning power plants. President Obama is working along with government agencies to build more nuclear power plants in the United States. Nuclear power plants produce large quantities of energy creating no air pollution and very little water pollution in the form of thermal pollution. The United States should build more Nuclear power plants, they are good for the environment unlike coal burning power plants which are major producer of carbon dioxide and contributor of mercury in our waterways; they produce a lot of energy, they don’t produce any air pollution or greenhouse gases, and the little pollution they create can be safely stored and carefully contained.
Many people are suspicious of this new technology simply because it can be dangerous if not taken precaution and it can lead to a meltdown. For example, a natural disaster can destroy a plant’s boiler room; if this happens the reaction of uranium-235(very radioactive) can’t be stopped if fission happens, leading to a meltdown releasing radioactive material into the environment. In a Generation II plant there are backup diesel generators that are designed to provide an emergency supply of electricity to the cooling system, is this is destroyed there will be no electricity to keep the cold water flowing, causing explosions, and the spread of radiation. The example is true, but scientists are working on a Generation IV plant that runs on thorium, which is four times more abundant than uranium and less radioactive, this is very efficient because it stops fission reactions and prevents a meltdown from happening.
Nuclear power plants are capable of producing large amounts of energy without polluting the air, and they also don’t release any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is