Essay: nuclear power pros and cons

Paragraph 1: pros More energy produced per hour than through other innovative energy harnessing techniques Works 24 hours a day not dependant on uncontrollable circumstances No sulfur of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gases) produced Costs less to maintain than a windmill field/ solar panel field

Paragraph 2: cons Disastrous radiation can escape if a meltdown occurs Can be used as a weapon very easily Radiation is invisible Radiation lasts a long time and can make a place uninhabitable Costs a lot to construct Uranium is difficult and expensive to mine

Paragraph 3: my opinions

Nuclear Power: pros and cons

Nuclear power plants are a very useful source of power as they can release energy quickly and fairly easily. To produce as much power per hour as a nuclear power plant, one could either use 240 000 acres of wind farm or 20 000 acres of solar panels. This is a lot of space compared to the approximate 1280 acres needed for one nuclear power plant. Also, that doesnt include the different rates of energy production. Nuclear power plants arent dependant on uncontrollable circumstances such as wind and cloud cover. Another pro of nuclear power use is that no carbon dioxide is produced through the processes. It also costs much less to maintain a nuclear power plant than a wind or solar field.

Despite all the positive aspects of nuclear power, there are many negative effects as well. One of these is the dangerous nature of the process. If a mistake is made at a nuclear power plant, a nuclear meltdown can occur. This means that lethal quantities of radiation can escape from the plant and can potentially cause an area to become uninhabitable, this is what happened at Chernobyl. Radiation is by far the biggest concern most have with nuclear power plants. Radiation is invisible and can be deadly because it actually alters ones DNA. On another note, the fact that radiation from nuclear power is so dangerous makes it an excellent weapon; this can be conceived as good or bad depending on ones point of view. When the Americans dropped the first atomic bond on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, there was devastating fallout. Thousands got radiation poisoning and died because of it. Another con of nuclear power is the cost and difficulty associated with actually getting the uranium from the ground.

My opinion on the whole thing is that nuclear power is necessary for us to continue living the way were used to, with a seemingly unending amount of electricity. We are quickly running out of coal and fossil fuels to burn and we need to find a sustainable source for our power. Despite the fact that both solar power and wind turbines are very useful and considered to be very ecofriendly, it is my opinion that nuclear power is the key. I think that its benefits and or need for it greatly outweigh the dangers that we face when using it.