Nuclear Power: Negative Side
I believe that "Nuclear energy is NOT the best way to meet the ever-increasing energy needs of the planet." We would like to define the term the energy needs, and in this debate it will only apply to the electricity energy needs of the planet. There are four main arguments that we would like to state.
Firstly, the radioactive waste generated by nuclear power plants lasts FOREVER. It is a deadly legacy to give to our children and there is no safe place to store it. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation calls nuclear power "an industry that's basically mortgaging 250,000 years of environmental safety through its radioactive waste.
Secondly, nuclear power is dangerous. Catastrophic accidents happen all the time due to disfunctions. Several recorded accidents include the Chernobyl, Fukushima Daiichi, Three Mile Island, and the Soviet Submarine K-19 disasters. The nuclear industry says that the risk of a serious accident at a nuclear reactor is small, on the order of one in a million years, yet an observed average frequency (five reactors suffering meltdowns in the last 50 years) is one in a decade.
Finally, thirdly, nuclear terrorism is not science fiction. To date, there have been six known direct attacks on nuclear power plants in France, South Africa, Switzerland, the Philippines, and Spain. Imagine a radioactive 9-11. The 9-11 commission noted in June 2004 that al Qaeda's original plan for september 11th was to hijack 10 airplanes and crash two of them into nuclear plants. Security tests are also insufficient, since the power plants are warned months in advance, and real attacks are not planned, thus rendering the tests almost useless. Nuclear power is an excuse to create nuclear bombs. Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, the Director general of the IAEA puts a further emphasis on this point with his statement "should a state with a fully developed fuel-cycle capability decide, for whatever reason, to break away from its non-proliferation commitments, most experts believe it
Firstly, the radioactive waste generated by nuclear power plants lasts FOREVER. It is a deadly legacy to give to our children and there is no safe place to store it. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation calls nuclear power "an industry that's basically mortgaging 250,000 years of environmental safety through its radioactive waste.
Secondly, nuclear power is dangerous. Catastrophic accidents happen all the time due to disfunctions. Several recorded accidents include the Chernobyl, Fukushima Daiichi, Three Mile Island, and the Soviet Submarine K-19 disasters. The nuclear industry says that the risk of a serious accident at a nuclear reactor is small, on the order of one in a million years, yet an observed average frequency (five reactors suffering meltdowns in the last 50 years) is one in a decade.
Finally, thirdly, nuclear terrorism is not science fiction. To date, there have been six known direct attacks on nuclear power plants in France, South Africa, Switzerland, the Philippines, and Spain. Imagine a radioactive 9-11. The 9-11 commission noted in June 2004 that al Qaeda's original plan for september 11th was to hijack 10 airplanes and crash two of them into nuclear plants. Security tests are also insufficient, since the power plants are warned months in advance, and real attacks are not planned, thus rendering the tests almost useless. Nuclear power is an excuse to create nuclear bombs. Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, the Director general of the IAEA puts a further emphasis on this point with his statement "should a state with a fully developed fuel-cycle capability decide, for whatever reason, to break away from its non-proliferation commitments, most experts believe it