Nuclear Energy – To use or not to use Uranium for energy production in Australia.

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Many countries around the world generate electricity by harnessing energy from nuclear fission of ‘fuel’ such as uranium rather than burning fossil fuel. As an example, the electricity produced by burning 17,000 kg of fossil fuel can also be produced from 1kg of uranium, but should Australia use it? Australia has always used fossil fuel to power thousands of homes and businesses. There are four main fossil fuels; Coal, Natural gas, Oil and Petroleum. Fossil fuels are deep inside the Earth and are made of deceased animals and plants.
Although fossil fuels are well developed, cheap and reliable there are still many downsides, mostly ones that have a negative effect the environment. Fossil fuels take millions of years to reproduce, they are buried deep within the Earth where heat and pressure make the fuels. Climate change, global warming and the greenhouse effect are the main negative impacts. Essentially climate change is any long-lasting important changes to a weather pattern which can last millions of years. The greenhouse effect is when earth absorbs the sun's rays and radiates the heat back out into space. However the gas fossil fuels produce trap the heat and reflect it back, which is the cause of global warming. There are even more harmful effects on the environment that fossil fuels bring, such as the burning of oil which causes air pollution and poisonous gases that are released into the air as a result of burning coal, which results in acid rain. However there is an alternative, Renewable energy. Renewable energy is any form of energy that comes from natural sources such as, sunlight, wind and rainwater. These sources are good because they are reliable and always renewable. The only downside to this is that it is difficul...

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...the amount of land a power plant would take up on average is about 200-400 acres so it would be difficult to locate a power plant in Australia. Also the amount of money required to build and maintain a plant in the billions. There is also waste disposal. But not having any climate change or greenhouse gas is better than worrying about where to bury the radioactive waste, it’s not like there is only one planet to put it. The safety of our environment is worth the cost of a power plant and wouldn’t matter 100 years from now. The amount that fossil fuels is effecting the environment is worrying, plus there’s the fact that it’s not renewable when nuclear power is immediate. Nuclear power is definitely something Australia should consider. In the end, we are putting a stop to fossil fuel and getting more energy from it. Basically we are paying for a cleaner environment.

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