More than half of all electricity in the United States is generated by fossil fuel-fired power plants (Background Coal). In some states, such as South Carolina and Vermont, more than half of the state’s power is generated through nuclear power (Metcalf), and Duke Energy Corporation says, “Nuclear power plants are important for the clean energy mix, providing a steady base to back up less consistent renewables like solar, hydro and wind power,” (Background Nuclear). Power consumption in the United States is on the rise, and fossil fuel and nuclear power plants are multiplying in quantity to provide for this demand. Fossil fuel-fired sources of power have been around since the Industrial Revolution, which was initiated in Great Britain in the late 1800s. Nuclear power emerged when scientists discovered its peaceful and humanitarian uses, shortly after the United States dropped the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fossil fuel-fired and nuclear-fired power plants are polar opposites when analyzing operating costs, power production and operation of the plants, and the byproducts of the power generation of each.
Nuclear and fossil fuel power plants have very diverse operating costs. The actual cost of running the plants goes in favor of fossil fuel-fired plants. In 2012, fossil fuel plants averaged at .373 cents per kilowatt hour for the power generation process (SAS). Nuclear plants averaged in at 1.160 cents per kilowatt hour for power generation (SAS). Fossil fuel plants also had a lower cost in maintenance, averaging .399 cents per kilowatt hour (SAS). Nuclear was almost double at .680 cents per kilowatt hour (SAS). The costs differences can be attributed to the operation of each type of plant and the...
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Hollins, CWO4 Stan E., USN (Ret). Personal interview. 3 Mar. 2014.
"How Do Coal-Fired Plants Work?" Duke Energy. Duke Energy Corporation, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
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Nuclear power has grown to be a big percentage of the world’s energy. As of January 18, 2013 in 31 countries 437 nuclear power plant units with an installed electric net capacity of about 372 GW are in operation and 68 plants with an installed capacity of 65 GW are in 15 countries under construction. As of end 2011 the total electricity production since 1951 amounts to 69,760 billion kWh. The cumulative operating experience amounted to 15, 15,080 years by end of 2012. (European Nuclear Society) The change that nuclear power has brought to the world has led to benefits in today’s energy’s usage.
Homeland Security. (n.d.). Fusion Center Locations and Contact Information. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.dhs.gov/fusion-center-locations-and-contact-information
Gasoline is one of the many conversation starters anywhere you go. People have different opinions on why gasoline prices are fluctuating at such a rapid pace. Some Americans have chosen a way of thinking towards the prices. Whether it be making up rumors or just plainly trash talking towards our government. You make ask yourself the same questions many economist do, why has the price of oil been dropping so fast? Why now? This a complicated question, but it boils down to the simple economics of supply and demand. Supply and demand means a relationship between how much of a particular product is available and how much of it people want, and especially the way that this affects the level of pricing. Now of course there would be a shortage of gasoline during the summer time when everyone is traveling
Semantically fossil fuels are a renewable source of energy, however given that it takes millions of years for the organic materials to be broken down and converted, it is wholly unrealistic to consider them as renewable. As the demand for fossil fuels increases and source diminish faster than they are replentished, the United States must work towards a renewable energy independent state using truly renable sources, both technically and in practice. With changes in the home, as consumers in buying goods and with alternative fuel sources backed by public trust and governmental involvement, the United States could drastically lessen its dependence on fossil fuels, foreign and domestic.
Carbon, Max W. Nuclear Power: Villain or Victim?: Our Most Misunderstood Source of Electricity. Second ed. Madison, WI: Pebble Beach, 1997.
U.S. Energy Information Administration. Independent Statistics & Analysis: U.S. EIA. March 15, 2012. http://www.eia.gov/countries/index.cfm?view=consumption (accessed March 16, 2014).
After the United States developed the atomic at the end of World War II, interest in nuclear technology increased exponentially. People soon realized that nuclear technology could be used for electricity, as another alternative to fossil fuels. Today, nuclear power has its place in the world, but there is still a lot of controversy over the use of nuclear energy. Things such as the containment of radiation and few nuclear power plant accidents have given nuclear power a bad image. However, nuclear power is a reliable source of energy because it has no carbon emissions, energy is available at any time, little fuel is needed for a lot of energy, and as time goes on, it is becoming safer and safer.
Nuclear power is generated by using electricity created during a controlled fission or fusion reaction (“Nuclear Energy.” Global Issues in Context Online Collection). Nuclear fission is a process that releases energy when a nucleus in one atom is separated into two nuclei. Nuclear fusion occurs when the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms are fused together producing a larger nuclei along with energy (“Nuclear Energy.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection). In the 1950s, the use of nuclear power became a realistic idea for countries with nuclear capabilities and nuclear power programs (“Nuclear Energy.” Global Issues in Context Online Collection). The international nuclear program grew rapidly and by 1999 there were 436 nuclear power plants in 32 different counties. The United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, India and France remain the largest users of nuclear energy since the 1990s; however, the dependency on nuclear power varies greatly around the world because of differences in the individual nuclear power programs availability of needed resources (“Nuclear Energy.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection).
Media coverage of such cases have made the public less comfortable with the idea of moving further towards nuclear power and they only opt for reducing human activities to reduce global warming. It is true that there have been some notable disasters involving nuclear power, but compared to other power systems, nuclear power has an impressive track record. First, it is less harmful and second, it will be able to cater for the growing world population. Nuclear power produces clean energy and it delivers it at a cost that is competitive in the energy market (Patterson). According to the US Energy Information Administration, there are currently 65 such plants in the Unite States (National Research Council). They produce 19 percent of the total US energy generation.
In economics, particularly microeconomics, demand and supply are defined as, “an economic model of price determination in a market” (Ronald 2010). The price of petrol in Australia is rising, but the demand remains the same, due to the fact that fuel is a necessity. As price rises to higher levels, demand would continue to increase, even if the supply may fall. Singapore is identified as a primary supplier ...
The use of nuclear energy has increased in the United States since 1973. Nuclear energy's share of U.S. electricity generation has grown from 4 percent in 1973 to 19 percent in 1998. This is excellent news for the environment. Nuclear energy and hydropower are the cleanest large-scale means of electricity production. Since nuclear power plants do not burn fuel, they emit no combustion byproducts—like carbon dioxide—into the atmosphere (www.nei.org). Nuclear power can come from the fission of Uranium, plutonium or thorium or the fusion of hydrogen into helium. Today uranium (U-235 and U-238) is most commonly used in the production of nuclear energy. The expa...
How Cryonics Works. In Science How Stuff Works. Retrieved December 29, 2013, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/cryonics2.htm Best, B. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. Cryonics Frequently Asked Questions. By Ben Best.
To begin, nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission, which is the splitting of an atom to start a chain reaction (“11 Facts”). This chain reaction produces massive amounts of heat. Nuclear reactors take advantage of this heat by pumping water into the reactor, which in turn produces steam. The steam then becomes pressurized through a pipeline and exits into a turbine (“How do Nuclear”). The pressurized steam causes the turbine blades to spin, producing power which is linked to a generator for use in the main power lines. When the steam passes the turbine blades, it goes past cooled pipes and condensates (“How do Nuclear”). After the condensation process is finished and the steam reverts back to water, it is pumped into the reactor again, thus completing the process of producing nuclear-based power.
Fossil fuels are an important part of life. When you turn on the lights, watch TV, or take a shower, the electricity that you are using is being generated by fossil fuels. The three types of fossil fuels are coal, crude oil, and natural gas. They all take millions of years to form, so they are considered to be “non-renewable”- eventually, the fossil fuels will all be used up. One dangerous biological effect of using fossil fuels is ocean acidification. Extracting and transporting fossil fuels can also be very dangerous. Environmentally damaging accidents such as groundwater contamination, land subsidence, and oil spills occur frequently. Global warming is another possible environmental effect. Fossil fuels have a crucial role in modern society, but since they are non-renewable and dangerous, we should reduce our dependence on them and explore alternative energy sources. Wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy are some examples of renewable fuel sources. There are also many things that people can do everyday to save energy (and, in turn, conserve fossil fuels).
The energy produced from nuclear reactions is very dense, providing almost ten million times more energy per atom than fossil fuels.2 In addition, nuclear plants are cost competitive, being no more expensive than alternative sources. Although there are huge initial start up costs, the only other expenses are the costs to process nuclear fuel, safely remove and store radioactive waste and daily upkeep of the plant.2