Nuclear Energy Can Prevent Climate Change

America relies heavily on foreign sources for the energy to run the country. The issue has received much media attention due to the political and economic implications it will have in the near future. This problem could at least be partially solved by using technology that already exists, rather than relying heavily on ones that have yet to come to fruition. America’s energy woes – specifically its reliance on fossil fuels – can be solved by reviving nuclear energy with the use of politics to tackle perceived dangers, technological advancements to make them more feasible, and public outreach to promote acceptance.

Nuclear power has been around for decades and can be easily utilized to help meet America’s energy needs. With energy security and climate change being two of the many issues at the forefront of America’s problems, there is a growing need to find solutions. While alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar, and geothermal have great potential, they are technologies that still need to be refined and perfected. In contrast to that, nuclear energy has been around for decades and is utilized to a limited extent already. Instead of relying on the future for our growing power needs, using the past may be at least part of the solution. By investing in nuclear energy, a good portion of our energy needs can be easily met. This is already the case in parts of Europe where nuclear power contributes to large portions of their energy needs. According to Balat, France acquires about three-quarters of their electricity through nuclear power (2007). Although nuclear energy alone cannot be the entire solution, it can provide a large portion of the solution. It is widely known that America is going to need to find alternatives for...

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... the power plant. In turn that means the operators need to invest in proper security and management to keep the waste from being a growing problem. Furthermore, for nuclear energy to gain traction a public support base is needed. Without the public approving of what is going on, nothing can happen. There needs to be a general consensus on what needs to be done and what is acceptable. Operators of plants as well as governments need to prove that they are capable of managing the power plants. Aside from hydropower, nuclear power is the only proven energy source that does not contribute greenhouse gases to climate change. Nuclear power is only one part of a larger solution that is needed to reduce America’s contribution to climate change. Nuclear energy is beneficial in the long run and can prove to be a good starting point in the development of cleaner energy sources.