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Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy ielts essay
What are the positive effects of nuclear power
Essay on nuclear energy advantages and disadvantages
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Nuclear Power In a world of ever increasing population there is a need to find a way to provide electricity for the world. There many different ways that electricity can be produced but some of the options are better suited for the Central Valley than others. The debate over Nuclear power has been growing for years and it is now time to create a more reliable power source for the Central Valley. Nuclear power should be considered to be a reliable source of power for the central valleys growing population. Nuclear power has been around for many decades and has provided reliable power to the American people. The first reactor that was used to provide electricity was on December 20 1951(US). From that point on the industry has expanded and many plants have been built. Recently some people here in the central valley are calling for nuclear power to be given a chance to show that it can safely and effectively meet the needs of California. The Fresno Nuclear Energy Group and a French company named AREVA believe that the Central Valleys west side would be the perfect place to begin work on building a new power plant (Osborne). They chose this site because it offers room for the building necessary facilities and according to Nancy Osborne’s report “the Valley's Westside which is now home to thousands of acres of farmland out of production due to water quality”(Osborne). The valleys Westside would be the place best suited for the development of a new power plant according to the report because it is not suitable to farm crops. A power plant that uses radioactive material has the ability to turn heat into electricity similar to a gas fired plant. In the picture below it is shown that works. When the reactor become hot it heats up ... ... middle of paper ... ... Nuclear Association. N.p., Nov. 2009. Web. 29 May 2010. . Dean, Tim. "New age nuclear." Cosmos. N.p., Apr. 2006. Web. 1 June 2010. . "End The Nuclear Age." Greenpeace. N.p., 2010. Web. 15 June 2010. . Osborne, Nancy. "Plans to Build Nuclear Power Plant in Fresno County." ABC30. ABC, 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 June 2010. U.S. Department of Energy. Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology. The History of Nuclear Energy. Washington: n.p., n.d. Department of Energy. Web. 13 June 2010. .
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.
Nuclear Power comes from the process of splitting Uranium Atoms (also called fission), which in turn releases copious amounts of energy in the form of heat. When the atoms are arranged in a reactor, the splitting of an atom will cause nearby atoms to split, forming a chain reaction. As the energy is released, it is sent through coolant tanks full of water, which is then heated into steam. The steam is channeled and used to spin a turbine, which in turn powers a generator,
Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.
When someone thinks of problems plaguing the world, nuclear energy is not the first thing that comes to peoples minds these days.[1]Nuclear power was once deemed the new energy of the future.[2]However, numerous nuclear power plant accidents around the world put a damper on that notion.The United States considers itself one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but 103 nuclear reactors currently operating within her borders, one was bound to fail sometime or another.[3]
Not only is nuclear power friendly to the environment, but it is almost always available, and many countries are starting to use it more. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind en...
The purpose of this report is to investigate the different views and opinions on the safeness and cost effectiveness of nuclear power compared to other forms of energy. This report will explain the issues and background of the debate, the importance of the issue, and the parties who are involved in this debate with their thoughts.
The Chernobyl power plant was built to satisfy a constant need for energy. The power plant was created to supply nearby cities—namely Pripyat and Chernobyl—with energy. Nuclear energy was a new alternative energy source that lightened the dependency on coal power plants.
the U.S two thirds of respondents don’t want to live 10 miles close to a nuclear reactor. Utilities find nuclear power less, there are new solar photovoltaic installation in the U.S are springing up.
Nuclear Energy is a method of creating electricity by heating water from nuclear reactions. The process allows for large quantities of electricity to be created from very little nuclear fuel. Nuclear Energy creates only a fraction of the world’s energy production; this is because many people are fearful of the possibility of a meltdown or any other form of a nuclear disaster. However, even with all the disadvantages and hazards Nuclear Energy creates, it could become the most beneficial form of energy in the future.
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.
The use of nuclear power in the mid-1980s was not a popular idea on account of all the fears that it had presented. The public seemed to have rejected it because of the fear of radiation. The Chernobyl accident in the Soviet Union in April of 1986 reinforced the fears, and gave them an international dimension (Cohen 1). Nevertheless, the public has to come to terms that one of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. The current largest sources of energy are the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. Fear of radiation may push nuclear power under the carpet but another fear of the unknown is how costly is this going to be? If we as the public have to overcome the fear of radiation and costly project, we first have to understand the details of nuclear energy. The known is a lot less scary then the unknown. If we could put away all the presumptions we have about this new energy source, then maybe we can understand that this would be a good decision for use in the near future.
The energy industry is beginning to change. In today’s modern world, governments across the globe are shifting their focuses from traditional sources of power, like the burning coal and oil, to the more complex and scientific nuclear power supply. This relatively new system uses powerful fuel sources and produces little to no emissions while outputting enough energy to fulfill the world’s power needs (Community Science, n.d.). But while nuclear power seems to be a perfect energy source, no power production system is without faults, and nuclear reactors are no exception, with their flaws manifesting in the form of safety. Nuclear reactors employ complex systems involving pressure and heat. If any of these systems dysfunctions, the reactor can leak or even explode releasing tons of highly radioactive elements into the environment. Anyone who works at or near a nuclear reactor is constantly in danger of being exposed to a nuclear incident similar to the ones that occurred at the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi plants. These major accidents along with the unresolved problems with the design and function of nuclear reactors, as well as the economic and health issues that nuclear reactors present serve to show that nuclear energy sources are not worth the service that they provide and are too dangerous to routinely use.
Today our society is using more energy than ever. With the increase in demand for energy, problems are presented that have to be addressed. One of the biggest and most prevalent problems is the need for clean, renewable, sustainable energy. On the forefront of these problems comes the following solutions: nuclear energy, hydro-electric energy, and photovoltaic energy. With the need of energy in today’s current world, exploring different ways of producing power are necessary. The differences and similarities of nuclear energy and alternative energy are important to look over and examine in depth, so that it is plain to see the positive and negative effects of energy production.
Nuclear power, the use of exothermic nuclear processes to produce an enormous amount of electricity and heat for domestic, medical, military and industrial purposes i.e. “By the end of 2012 2346.3 kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity was generated by nuclear reactors around the world” (International atomic energy agency Vienna, 2013, p.13). However, with that been said it is evident that the process of generating electricity from a nuclear reactor has numerous health and environmental safety issues.
With the depletion of fossil fuel resources comes speculations and debates about alternative energy sources. The world, including the Philippines, is practically dependent on a dwindling non-renewable source of energy. Today, experts are debating about and considering three options: Nuclear, Solar, or Wind Energy. Everyone has been accustomed to the bad image of nuclear energy as a result of the Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents above all others. The popular belief is that radiation from a nuclear meltdown is very harmful to humans and other living things—which is true—and that nuclear power plants are very dangerous and not ideal—which is not. According to Smith, et. al (n.d), all the nuclear disasters that ever occurred were caused by human error and natural disasters like tsunamis, not one because of system failure. Putting the false beliefs aside, with proper engineering and adequate maintenance by experts, a nuclear power plant is a very ideal and viable source of energy for the following reasons: