Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy Use in Australia

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Nuclear Energy…Is it an option for Australia?

Yes, nuclear energy is an alternative to fossil fuels, but is it safe? No, I think not. Nuclear energy is a danger to the environment and everything in it and this report will detail the pros and cons of this risky alternative and look at other possibilities to care for our everyday energy needs.

It might help you to understand my views if you know how nuclear power works. There is a vast amount of energy found in the nucleus of the atom. This is where nuclear power comes from.

The fuel used by nuclear plants for nuclear fission is uranium. Uranium is non-renewable. Uranium, U-235, is used because its atoms can be split easily. Once uranium is mined the U-235 must be extracted and processed before it can be used.During nuclear fission, a particle called a neutron hits the uranium atom and splits it, releasing an immense amount of energy as heat and radiation. More neutrons are released and these neutrons go on to bombard other uranium atoms, and the process repeats itself. This is called a chain reaction.

Fission generates heat in a reactor, and then the heat boils water into steam. The steam turns huge turbine blades and as they turn, they drive generators that make electricity. Afterward, the steam is converted back into water and cooled in a cooling tower. The water can be used again and again. (This water use is also a concern).

After all this has occurred and the uranium can no longer be used, what do we do with it? Dump it in a nearby river? Or perhaps bury it underground, where no-one knows it’s there? “The issue of safe disposal of radioactive waste & outdated plants has not been resolved”, [1] says environmentalist David Suzuki. Jeremy Rifkin agrees. “Sixty years into ...

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...wer out weigh anything else. There are too many variables in the case. Nuclear plants can be controlled like the Three Mile Island plant, but then there is the case of Chernobyl. So due to the possible dangers of nuclear electricity, I am against it. But in the end do we want to benefit from hurting innocent people who are not even born yet? Think about it.

Works sited:

“If Planet Earth Could Vote”. An article by David Suzuki

“Going Nuclear-A Green Makes the Case”. By Patrick Moore, Washington Post-Sunday, April 16 2006.

“More threat than Panacea”. By Jeremy Rifkin, The Age-October 4 2006.

“Nuclear energy has a proven record of safety and security”. Michael Angwin, The Age-October 17 2006.

http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/TheGreatSustainabilityDebates-NuclearPower.aspx

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/nuclear.html

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