Nuclear and Climate Change
Recently, Climate change has been considered one of the biggest problems for humanity in the 21st century, and many environmentalists say that we should use renewable sources such as Solar and Wind. But, should we use renewables? According to Pew Research center and Gallup, an increasing number Americans think Nuclear is a good option to combat climate change. At least 58% of Americans think nuclear is good, and it has been increasing since 2016, with it skyrocketing since 2021. But why do an increasing amount of Americans believe that Nuclear is a viable option, especially after many Nuclear accidents including Fukushima in 2011, and Chernobyl in 1986. Is Nuclear good for the environment, and for humans? And what can we do about this problem?
Why Nuclear is good for the environment
According to the Department of Energy, Nuclear is the most sustainable source of energy for several reasons. One reason is the fact that Nuclear is sustainable is very clean, as it only produces steam. How this works is when the hot uranium atoms are in the reactor, they are places in extremely cold water. When a hot object meets a cold object, it creates steam which goes through a electrical generator and gets released at the top of the cooling tower, creating energy. Steam does not affect the environment in any way, so it is clean. Also, uranium atoms never run out, so we never have to stop using Nuclear, unlike fossil fuels, which could run out theoretically. On top of that, Nuclear does not occupy much space to produce tons of energy. In California, the Ivanpah Solar plant, one of the biggest in the world, is about the size oa midsize lake). If it were to produce enough energy to be bigger than a small nuclear Power Plant, It would cover an area that would be bigger than DC-Baltimore Area! Not Sustainable for the environment at all! Meanwhile, Nuclear produces a huge amount of Energy on a area the size of a middle school. It that was not enough proof on why it is good, Nuclear Energy is extremely dense, so if you got all the Nuclear fuel spent in a year, it would be smaller than a desk. So, nuclear is a good source of energy for the environment.
Why Nuclear is good for Humans
Although we just learned about the good things Nuclear does to the environment, what good will it do for humans? Well, according to the Department of Energy, Nuclear energy is extremely reliable, because they do not need regular refulings, as nuclear fuel can last for long periods of time. In a Gerald R Ford class supercarrier, it needs a nuclear refueling (at minimum) every 25 years. Aso, according to the World Nuclear Association, Nuclear energy is very cheap. Although costs for construction are high, they are decreasing, and the cost of maintaining and using Nuclear energy are low. However if you are still not convinced because of the accidents, then you should remember that Chernobyl was caused because of Power plant design problems, and the people working on it were not paying attention to their job. Also, the Communist government did not even try to rescue anyone until 3 days after the accident, when they bought relief crews to stop the fire. And even today(Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine), Ukraine still was constructing Nuclear plants, including Zaporizhia, one of the largest in the world. In the Fukushima disaster, that was caused by the earthquake and tsunami, which nobody can control. Nobody died in the disaster, even today, and more people were hurt during evacuations. Yet, even today, Japan is still building Nuclear Power Plants, along with other countries including USA and France. So, yes, Nuclear is good for the rest of humanity too.
Why Americans like Nuclear more
According to surveys conducted by both Gallup and Pew, an increasing number of Americans are supporting more than in recent decades. According to Pew, 50% from the left think Nuclear power is good, and 67% from the right think Nuclear power is good, and has been increasing since 2016, and skyrocketing from 2020. According to Gallup, 51% of Americans support Nuclear, and 47% do not, and the support has been increasing while the opposition have been dwindling since 2017. But what is causing this change? One major reason is the fact that more Nuclear plants have been built since 2016, with one currently being built in Georgia. Most of the support for Nuclear comes from Republicans, but there is an increasing amount of democrat support too.
The Problem and the Solution
Unfortunately, even though Nuclear has been proven to be clean, safe and reliable, lots of environmentalists think Nuclear is a terrible idea. Even though that Chernobyl could have been prevented, and Nuclear is not that harmful to the environment, Nuclear power plants in California and New York are still being closed. Even though Nuclear provides huge amounts of energy, even though more and more Americans think it is a good idea, even though Nuclear cannot run out, it is still is only is used by 8% of the American power grid. We need to change this. Unless we are going to let the entire American energy supply from foreign nations that are sometimes unfriendly(Oil and NG from Saudi Arabia or Russia), or unreliable expensive renewables(Solar and Wind), we should declare energy independence and make our own, clean, cheap, safe Nuclear energy. It’s not like it’s that hard to do, so lets do it!
Sources
– Office of Nuclear Energy. “Nuclear Power is the Most Reliable Energy Source and It’s Not Even Close” Department of Energy, 24 March, 2021. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/nuclear-power-most-reliable-energy-source-and-its-not-even-close. Accessed 12 January, 2024.
– Office of Nuclear Energy. “3 Reasons Why Nuclear is Clean and Sustainable”, Department of Energy, 31 March, 2021. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/3-reasons-why-nuclear-clean-and-sustainable. Accessed 12 January, 2024.
– World Nuclear Association. “Economics of Nuclear power.”World Nuclear Association, August 2022. https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/economic-aspects/economics-of-nuclear-power.aspx. Accessed 14 January, 2024.
– World Nuclear Association. “The Nuclear Debate.” World Nuclear Association, May 2022. https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/the-nuclear-debate.aspx. Accessed 14 January, 2024
– World Nuclear Association. “Chernobyl Accident 1986.” World Nuclear Association, April 2022. https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx Accesed 14 Jauary, 2024
– Rebecca Leppert, Brian Kennedy. “Growing share of Americans favor more Nuclear Power.” Pew Research Center, 18 August, 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/18/growing-share-of-americans-favor-more-nuclear-power/ Accessed 14 January, 2024
– Lydia Saad.”Americans Divided on Nuclear Energy.” Gallup News, 20 May, 2022. https://news.gallup.com/poll/392831/americans-divided-nuclear-energy.aspx Accessed 14 January, 2024.