Pro Nuclear Energy

Introduction

In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower made his “Atoms for Peace” speech, declaring that nuclear energy could be used to provide energy to “power-starved areas of the world.” In 1955, Arco, Idaho, became the first town in the United States to be powered by nuclear energy, and today there are more than 100 nuclear power plants in the United States. Still, the United States remains deeply divided over nuclear power, with some arguing that it is a viable method of generating cheap, clean energy and others contending that nuclear power plants are expensive, dangerous, and leave behind a legacy of nuclear waste that we still do not know how to manage. With the prospect of “peak oil” looming over the world and growing concerns regarding greenhouse gases and environmental devastation related to mining, refining, and burning fossil fuels, the nuclear power debate is incredibly polarizing (Harper , 141).

Discussion and Analysis

Nuclear power is the largest source of emission-free energy in the United States, providing 70 percent of the nation's carbon-free energy; one out of every five homes and businesses in the United States gets its electricity from a nuclear power plant. Further, 16 percent of the world's electricity is supplied by nuclear power, produced by 440 nuclear reactors in 31 countries; the United States has more reactors than any other country, with 104. France, with 59 nuclear reactors, generates 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power—a higher percentage than any other country in the world. Further, in relation to nuclear waste, many of France's nuclear power plants reprocess spent fuel rods back into usable fuel, which defuses some of the arguments regarding nuclear waste.

Nuclear power plants do not contribute to global warming, and nuclear energy proponents also claim that they do not emit pollutants that contribute to haze, smog, or to human health problems. Nuclear fission, unlike the burning of fossil fuels, produces neither sulfur dioxide nor nitrogen oxides—the pollutants that cause acid rain. Further, nuclear fission is the source of energy that provides the most power for the smallest amount of fuel; one pound of uranium can supply the same energy as 3 million pounds of coal. This low fuel requirement is part of the reason why nuclear power is so cheap.

Another reason that advocates support nuclear power is that it reduces the United States' dependence on fossil fuels in general and, more specifically, on foreign oil. In fact, even many environmentalists have joined the ranks of those supporting the expansion of nuclear power in the United States, noting that the threat of global warming, considered by many to be the most pressing environmental threat today, makes nuclear power more attractive than many once thought. While no new nuclear reactors have been built in the United States since 1973, the Department of Energy recently approved a nearly $10 billion loan for the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia. While many environmentalists reacted negatively to this news, many others welcomed it.

It should be noted that among environmentalists who ...