Nuclear Energy

            What do you think of when you hear the term nuclear? War? Bombs? Destruction? It actually could be a clean and renewable energy that can sustain our country for a long time. Many people are against nuclear energy because of the possibility of an accident and fallout, but I believe America could use this resource to help lower the country’s dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels.

            When you see a nuclear power plant you think that it is hurting the environment because of the giant cooling tower with smoke coming out of it, but that “smoke’ is actually only vapor which is harmless. Nuclear waste is defiantly harmful, but the output of it is low, and can be properly contained. Ronald Regan even said “All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.” We need uranium to make nuclear energy, but if our mining technologies continue to improve, our supply should last us roughly 60,000 more years. It is defiantly more reliable for the future that most other energy sources.

            Building nuclear power plants aren’t cheap, but the energy obtained from one will defiantly pay for itself over time. They are cheap to operate, and the energy they produce is cheaper than coal and other fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is basically using uranium to boil water cleanly and efficiently. It is simple idea and the energy output could compare to coal and oil if given the right resources.

            Nuclear energy has been deemed dangerous by the majority of the public.  People remember huge accidents like Chernobyl or Fukushima, and I agree that they were great tragedies. What you didn’t know was that for every person killed from nuclear energy, 4,000 more are killed from the production of coal. As long as regulations are kept, nuclear power plants are a safe place to work.

            Many clean energy sources are cheap and efficient, but don’t always produce a lot of energy. Nuclear energy could be used alongside other clean energy sources to for maximum effectiveness. In the future, nuclear energy should be used more to help ease the reliance on fossil fuels until the point we don’t need them anymore. Nuclear energy is the best choice for the number one energy source for a cleaner future.