How much does nuclear energy contribute to global warming?

Question

Please include sources! Thanks!

Answer 1

It does not much under normal operatiion unsure of effects of a meltdown and waste storage cancer rates are issues not related to global that dog nuclear power

Answer 2

None.  Nuclear power creates heat from nuclear fission, not burning fossil fuels.

Nuclear power has the ability to generate thousands of megawatts without producing any green house gases.  And the waste that is created by a nuclear power plant during a year will fit under your desk.

Clearly nuclear power is the best solution for global warming.  

So why are environmentalist against it?  Why would they rather raise taxes than eliminate carbon?

Answer 3

Very little and only during the construction.  You can thank the same folks that propose the AGW theory for the demise of nuclear power in the U.S.A.

Answer 4

Virtually zero, only from the small amount of waste heat in the discharge cooling water.  They do not emit greenhouse gases under any circumstances.

Some nuclear critics claim greenhouse gases are emitted during construction of nuke plants, which is a really cheap shot because greenhouse gases are also emitted during the fabrication and installation of solar panels and wind generators.

Answer 5

Unlike the rest of the world I believe that global warming is caused by heat and not greenhouse gases.  If you do a heat balance on the biosphere, the incoming and outgoing heat rates must be close to equal for an equilibrium condition to exist, for global warming the incoming rate must be greater than the outgoing rate.  Heat disapation is through radiation, conduction, convection, etc.  The primary source of incoming heat energy is the sun with significant contributions from terrestial sources.  Since nuclear energy releases stored potential energy from the earth, is contributes a little bit to global warming.  As more energy is released by burning trees on a global scale this is the primary cause of global warming.  This has the compounding effect of destroying a heat sink for incoming solar radiation.  Trees convert solar energy into their life mass.  About 0.2% of the world is being deforested each year and this is the major cause of global warming.  As it turns out, the burning of wood creates greenhouse gases corresponding to the heat that is producted, therefore, it is only incidental that the concentration of greenhouse gases is proportional to global warming.

Answer 6

Coal, oil, and gas, our air turned sour

What was once the devil now has it's hour

Encasement domes and a cooling tower

Witness the new dawn of nuclear power

Answer 7

It is correct that nuclear power creates heat from nuclear fission, and not burning fossil fuels and  does not releases C02 into the atmosphere.

However large amounts on energy is used in the construction of these power stations, which are made from concrete. Concrete constantly  release C02 into the atmosphere, that's about it in terms of the contribute to global warming from nuclear power .