Intro and Bibliography

Nuclear power is an incredible advancement in alternative energy that takes advantage of the fission of the uranium-235 isotope. When the nucleus of this atom collides with slow neutrons, it divides by a process known as nuclear fission, that, once started, is self-propagating. The slow neutrons cause the nucleus to divide, releasing three neutrons and a significant amount of energy in the process. This energy is converted to heat in order to turn water into steam that turns a turbine, and the neutrons slow down with the use of control rods in the reactor so they may collide with more uranium atoms and start the process all over again. The products of nuclear fission continue to divide and release energy until they are no longer useful, and deemed nuclear waste.

The major appeal of nuclear energy is that nuclear fission provides a large energy output while emitting no greenhouse gases. In the past decade, efforts for alternative energies that do not emit harmful gases have increased dramatically, and nuclear power appears to be a solution to that problem. Looking at these facts alone, nuclear power is the most promising source of energy available at the moment, but its disadvantages cannot be ignored.

It is highly debated whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in nuclear technology. The uranium-235 isotope is a fairly limited resource that is not renewable with current technologies, and therefore nuclear power may not be an option for long. In this sense, the efforts to obtain energy from nuclear fission may not be worth the costs. Nuclear power plants are expensive to build and maintain, but do not operate long due to the dangerously high levels of radioactivity that build up in the reactor units. The radioactivity associated with nuclear energy provides the basis for the strongest argument against it. People are at risk from the beginning to the end of the process, which consists of mining uranium, converting it to energy, transporting the uranium and the nuclear waste, and storage of the nuclear waste. Nuclear energy can provide people with electricity while emitting no greenhouse gases, but the issue is whether or not that is a strong enough argument to ignore the potentially fatal effects it can have on people.

It is important to understand what nuclear energy can provide for people, and risks associated with it. In Poisoned Power, Senator Mike Gravel addresses his readers directly when he states:

You can challenge professional groups, like your state medical association, your state cancer, heart, and birth defects associations, university and high school biology professors, and your state and national representatives, to take public positions on the nuclear issue. If they plead too much ignorance, insist that they have a responsibility to learn, and help them do so (15).

What Senator Mike Gravel does not mention, though, is that nuclear energy affects everyone, whether they want it to or not. Anyone and everyone should get involved in the nuclear debate, and it is essential that they understand both sides and what is at stake.

Bibliography

Gofman, John W., and Arthur R. Tamplin. Poisoned Power: The Case Against Nuclear Power Plants. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, Inc., 1971.

Golding, Dominic, Jeanne X. Kasperson, and Roger E. Kasperson. Preparing for Nuclear Power Plant Accidents. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc., 1995.

Green Peace. 2010. 20 Jan 2010. .

Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2010. 20 Jan 2010. .

Reinig, William C. Environmental Surveillance in the Vicinity of Nuclear Facilities: Proceedings of a Symposium Sponsored by the Health Physics Society. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher, 1970.

Sierra Club. 2010. 20 Jan 2010. .

Wald, Matthew L. "Nuclear Power Gets Strong Push from White House." New York Times (2010). 29 Jan 2010. .

World Nuclear Association. 2010. 29 Jan 2010. .