Nuclear vs. Petroleum (Energy)
Dillon G. Nuclear Energy vs. Conventional Petroleum Energy
Through out the history of the United states the main source of energy has been conventional Oil, Coal, and gas energy, or better known as Conventional petroleum energy. However as the demand for electricity sky rockets the pollution produced from the traditional fossil fuel burning plants is reaching dangerous levels. Gas, coal and oil burning power plants are as of now responsible for half of America’s air pollution (tripod/online). Not to mention fossil fuels are the greatest contributors to global warming in today’s society.
Burning coal produces massive amounts of carbon dioxide which slowly eats away the protection layer of our Ozone. Coal also contains radioactive material. In Comparison a coal fired power plant emits far more radiation into the air then a Nuclear power plant. I would also like to mention that not just America but the world’s fossil fuels reserves are decreasing dramatically. You would think that over the years and after all the studies that have taken place about the dangers of conventional energy would have forced us to act upon this situation much faster, however in fact over the years the sulfurous coal which many plants use now causes way more pollution than coal used in the past. Most coal contains significant amounts of sulfur. After burning, this changes to sulfur dioxide and then eventually into sulfuric acid. If it is still not removed past a certain stage, burned sulfur is one of the main causes of acid rain (geocities/online). Another disadvantage of using coal as a source of energy is it produces very large quantities of ash that has to be disposed of, which creates a lot of smoke.
Natural gas is also one of the main components of conventional energy; however it too, is not so good for the environment but more importantly the world’s natural gas reserves are extremely limited. Like coal it also produces large amounts of carbon dioxide while also
Through out the history of the United states the main source of energy has been conventional Oil, Coal, and gas energy, or better known as Conventional petroleum energy. However as the demand for electricity sky rockets the pollution produced from the traditional fossil fuel burning plants is reaching dangerous levels. Gas, coal and oil burning power plants are as of now responsible for half of America’s air pollution (tripod/online). Not to mention fossil fuels are the greatest contributors to global warming in today’s society.
Burning coal produces massive amounts of carbon dioxide which slowly eats away the protection layer of our Ozone. Coal also contains radioactive material. In Comparison a coal fired power plant emits far more radiation into the air then a Nuclear power plant. I would also like to mention that not just America but the world’s fossil fuels reserves are decreasing dramatically. You would think that over the years and after all the studies that have taken place about the dangers of conventional energy would have forced us to act upon this situation much faster, however in fact over the years the sulfurous coal which many plants use now causes way more pollution than coal used in the past. Most coal contains significant amounts of sulfur. After burning, this changes to sulfur dioxide and then eventually into sulfuric acid. If it is still not removed past a certain stage, burned sulfur is one of the main causes of acid rain (geocities/online). Another disadvantage of using coal as a source of energy is it produces very large quantities of ash that has to be disposed of, which creates a lot of smoke.
Natural gas is also one of the main components of conventional energy; however it too, is not so good for the environment but more importantly the world’s natural gas reserves are extremely limited. Like coal it also produces large amounts of carbon dioxide while also