Argument Essay Outline

I. Intro
a. Thesis - Nuclear power is bad for people and for the environment because it is extremely expensive, it releases greenhouse gases in secondary processes, it emits radioactivity, and it creates toxic waste.
II. Costs
a. Building plants
i. Nuclear power plants are expensive to build, and are not guaranteed to get
licensed to operate after construction.
b. Decommissioning plants
i. Plants must close when radioactive levels are too high, and plants are meant
to cover this cost, but taxpayers often carry that burden.
c. Waste Storage
i. Building an underground waste repository is expensive, and Yucca Mountain is
proving that.
III. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
a. Mining
i. Extracting uranium out of the ground requires energy that tends to release
significant levels of carbon dioxide.
b. Transport
i. Nuclear fuel and waste can travel across the country by way of trucks and
boats, emitting greenhouse gases in the process.
c. Enrichment
i. The uranium extracted from the ground goes through an enrichment process
that increases the concentration of uranium that can be used as fuel, and
this process releases greenhouse gases as well.
IV. Radioactivity
a. Mining
i. The mining process exposes workers and the surrounding area to
radioactivity.
b. Transport
i. Fuel and waste must be transported long distances, passing through areas
that are highly populated, and some that have chosen not to have nuclear
facilities.
c. Waste Storage
i. Storage of nuclear waste is presenting a problem, as most people strongly
oppose having a repository near them because of the risk of radioactive
exposure.
V. Waste Storage
a. Yucca Moutain
i. The proposed repository in Yucca Mountain is not moving forward, and as of
now, America does not know where to store the nuclear waste.
b. France - Recycling
i. France recycles nuclear waste in order to extract the leftover uranium to
use as fuel. This requires more facilities, more transport, and more
exposure.


Bibliography

Cleveland, Cutler J., Robert Costanza, Charles A. S. Hall, and Robert Kaufmann.
"Energy and the U.S. Economy: A Biophysical Perspective." Science 225.4665
(1984):Web. 12 Feb 2010.

Greenpeace. 2010. 12 Feb 2010..

Kaatsch, Dr. Peter, Claudia Spix, Irene Jung , and Maria Blettner. "Childhood
Leukemia in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants in Germany." Deutsches
Artzeblatt International (2008): n. pag. Web. 12 Feb 2010.

Rascoe, Ayesha. "Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Dump Cost Soars". Reuters. 2008. 12
Feb 2010..

Sierra Club. 2010. 12 Feb. 2010..

World Nuclear Association. 2010. 12 Feb. 2010..