At Home Nuclear
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Countless people are afraid of the word “nuclear.” After all, it’s the name of a weapon that can wipe cities off a map. However, the future of Earth could very well depend on the energy of splitting the atom. Our energy consumption, as of right now, is too unsustainable and dangerous. Urban air pollution from fossil fuels is thought to cause about 3 million deaths worldwide a year. In contrast, though, nuclear energy is efficient, sustainable, eco-friendly, and safe in comparison to fossil fuels and even other green energies. Other green energies just aren’t cut out to ensure the survival of the planet.
But why?
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Well, nuclear fission energy is more simple than many people realize. Rods of Uranium-235 are clustered together, and the fission reaction from the uranium heats water to generate steam that rotates turbines and powers your home. The rods last for a rather long time, and there are no carbon emissions. Waste (which is scarcely produced) then can be easily and securely stored underground.
Most of the waste was even confirmed to be able to be converted into new usable fuel by Professor Peter C. Burns at the University of Notre Dame, enhancing energy efficiency and lowering the cost to make more rods. Compared to other ways of energy, nuclear energy is the most efficient with energy production, generating up to 807 TWh year with a 91% energy efficiency rate (coal stands at 59% respectively). However, we aren’t using the full potential of nuclear energy on purpose. That comes from the fear of nuclear accidents, the cost to convert, and the lack of political support. For example, the recycling of nuclear waste is illegal in the U.S because of proliferation paranoia, and Chernobyl, which was the product of exceedingly poor equipment and administration, is labeled a “tragedy at the hands of nuclear energy.” The real cause of such an accident is none other than corrupt authority.
Defeating these roadblocks is our key to providing growth in industry performance, a sustainable future, environment, and energy developments.
But, many leaders and energy experts are still not on board with the kind of tomorrow we need. Some debate that uranium metal is limited, but it’s not as limited as the resources needed for all other energy forms. Nuclear energy is, however, one of the most regulated and competent forms of energy, and if we can endow advancements for nuclear fission and fusion energy, we can obtain the key to authentic unlimited energy within both types of nuclear reactions. Nuclear energy is rather cheap to sustain and can be run anywhere in the world, meaning everyone could have carbon-free nuclear energy.
Without carbon emissions, global warming could come to a steady halt if we all depended on the most proficient energy source. We need political leaders behind us now more than ever advancing the front on this development. Nuclear energy, along with Earth, depends on us to make a change, and to give up our love of the depleting fossil fuels. Is saving a few dollars worth the expenditure of ecosystems? Our future depends on a wide-spread change in thinking that shows the world that it’s safe, sustainable, and low-cost. We need everyone to know that we don’t have to live with the fear of global warming and species extinction. Our solution is right here, ever-present in our very own governments and nuclear power plants.