Essay About Nuclear Power And Electric Appliances

Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power
The worlds natural resources are being consumed at
an alarming rate. As these resources diminish , people will
be seeking alternative sources by which to generate
electricity for heat and light . The only practical short
term solution for the energy-crisis is nuclear power.
Nuclear power, however is not as safe as burning coal, gas
or oil in a factory it is in fact , much more dangerous,
There are dangers associated with a nuclear power plant
which far out weigh the benefits to society as a whole and
in part to the community living and working around the
power plant . About 20 percent of our nations total
electrical consumption per year is supplied by nuclear power
from the 100 or so nuclear power plants throughout the
country . Even though atomic power has been in use for over
50 years it was primarily a tool of war and destruction when
the war ended need for atomic bombs diminished . The
scientists who created the weapons were out of jobs . They
then turned this destructive power into huge plants
generating “clean and cheap ” electricity for the country .
It was called progress. Progress also brought with it
sickness , mutations , cancer and eventually death to those
exposed to high levels of radiation . Government declared
that nuclear power is safe and efficient . Also have big
Oil corporations who have a lot of money invested in nuclear
power and want to see as many plants as possible put into
and kept in operation . The truth is that accidents do
happen at nuclear power plants and at other facilities all
the time . An accident at a nuclear power plant has the
potential to be much more devastating than an accident at a
coal or gas plant because of the radiation that could be
released . An example of this is Three Mile Island in
Pennsylvania where there was a partial core meltdown in
march of 1979 and an “acceptable” amount of radiation
escaped into the atmosphere . However no amount of
radiation is acceptable if released as a result of an
accident at a nuclear power plant .
Is Nuclear Power necessary ?
Today many Americans adopt lifestyles that are based on
energy in-efficient devices . These include large
automobiles and electric appliances that require
electricity from energy-intense industrial processes . The
public is doing all it can to force nuclear power plants
into production by wasting electricity and the resources
which are used to produce it ( coal , oil , gas) and by
failing to recycle . Nuclear power has been promoted
world-wide as economically advantageous and necessary to
replace fossil fuels as the means of energy production in
the 21st century . However this is untrue . There are many
other economically viable and environmentally safe methods
of producing energy .These include solar power ,
hydroelectric power and wind power . Today one fifth of the
worlds total energy production either comes from either
wind ,water or solar power . It is estimated that