ENERGY AWARENESS

ESSAY

Christopher Graham

Nuclear power, or nuclear energy, is the use of nuclear processes, to generate useful heat
and electricity. The term(s) include nuclear fission, nuclear decay, radiation, and nuclear fusion.
Radiation is comparable to smoking, or drinking alcohol, or breathing city smog. Too much of
all those things is harmful, and there is no threshold that is saying there is absolutely no harm but
it is something that won't automatically kill us as long as we do it in moderation. We are always
exposed to radiation which shows that some radiation isn't harmful. From current studies,
emissions of harmful elements have remained controlled.
Presently the nuclear fission of elements in nuclear energy is in the direct service of
humankind, with nuclear decay processes, primarily in the form of geothermal energy, and
thermoelectric generators, uses making up the rest. There is an ongoing debate about nuclear
power. Personally, I feel as if nuclear energy is not always bad, if used for the right things.
Companies such as the World Nuclear Association, the IAEA and Environmentalists for Nuclear
Energy agree with me when I say that nuclear power is a safe, sustainable energy source. The
opponents of the previous companies, Greenpeace International and NIRS, say that nuclear
power poses many threats to people and the environment. They bring up the nuclear power plant
accidents including the Chernobyl disaster, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and the Three
Mile Island accident.
All of the events that were I stated were accidents and those dont happen very often.
Especially, since we now have all of the advanced technology to warn us when a meltdown is
going to occur. The World Nuclear Association stated In terms of lives lost per unit of energy
generated, analysis have determined that nuclear power has caused less fatalities per unit of
energy generated than the other major sources of energy generation. Energy production from
coal, petroleum, natural gas and hydropower has caused a greater number of fatalities per unit of
energy generated due to air pollution and energy accident effects. However, the effects of nuclear
energy is not bad. It helps humans and the environment. The only reasons there are accidents
with nuclear power plants is because humans were making mistakes. All of the disasters and
accidents were man made problems.
Economic costs of nuclear power accidents is high, and meltdowns can make areas
uninhabitable for very long periods. The human costs of evacuations of affected populations and
lost livelihoods is also significant. That is why we have to advance in our training and
knowledge about nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy isnt all about sustainable energy its more
to it than just that. Along with sustainable energy sources, nuclear power is a low carbon power
generation method of producing electricity. An analysis of the literature on its total life cycle
emission shows that it is similar to other renewable energy sources in a comparison of
greenhouse gas generated.
With all of this from the beginning of nuclear power stations in the 1970s, to having
prevented the emission of approximately 64 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse
gases, gases that would have otherwise resulted from the burning of fossil fuels in thermal power
stations. According to the IAEA, during 2012 worldwide, there were 68 civil nuclear power
reactors under construction in 15 different countries. In the USA, two new Generation III
reactors are under construction at Vogtle. U.S. nuclear industry officials expect five new reactors

to enter service by 2020. In 2013, four aging, uncompetitive, reactors were permanently closed.
Japan's 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which occurred in a reactor design from the
1960s, prompted a re-examination of nuclear safety and nuclear energy policy in many countries.
This statement further proves my point, us as a people need to update our knowledge,
understanding, and equipment when dealing with these types of things. Following Fukushima, in
2011, the IEA halved its estimate of additional nuclear generating capacity to be built by 2035.
In 2011 nuclear power provided 10% of the world's electricity in 2007, the IAEA reported there
were 439 nuclear power reactors in operation in the world, operating in 31 countries. Since
commercial nuclear energy began in the mid-1950s, 2008 was the first year that no new nuclear
power plant was connected to the grid, although two were connected in 2009. Annual generation
of nuclear power has been on a slight downward trend since 2007, decreasing 1.8% in 2009 to
2014 with nuclear power meeting 1314% of the world's electricity demand. In the US, while the
coal and gas electricity industry is projected to be worth $85 billion by 2013, nuclear power
generators are forecast to be worth $18 billion.

References

http://www.energylens.com/articles/energy-awareness

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/fusion.html

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Current-and-Future-Generation/Nuclear-Power-inthe-World-Today/

http://www.nei.org/