Nuclear Power?

Question

Hi, I'm doing a project on the pros and cons of nuclear power and I was just wondering if you had any that I could use? It would be a great help! =]

Answer 1

I read an article in Discovery Magazine about using nuclear power a couple of days ago. There are currently only about 105 nuclear plants in the US (I'm pretty sure that was it), and it supplies about 20% of America with power. It is much better than burning coal, since 24,000 Americans are killed from the fine particles released into the air from burning coal annually. And one con of nuclear power plants is that to keep up with power demand, we would need to build 2-3 new plants a year. This doesn't sound like much, but it does start to pile up. Another con is it would probably be a target for terrorist attacks. The main reason people are scared of using nuclear plants, is because they think another Chernobyl of Three-Mile Island could happen again. Chernobyl wouldn't happen again because the nuclear power plants we have today don't have the flaws it had. And, our nuclear power plants have alot of containment, whereas Chernobyl had no containment. If solar and wind power don't catch on (Which by the way, only makes up for 1% of our power supply), then this is our best option. Good luck with that report, and hope I helped!

Answer 2

nuclear power is very safe and it has nearly no greenhouse gasses.

You should check out the site in my source

Answer 3

It is heavily regulated, and could attract terrorists.  Building a nuclear power plant takes *lots* of money (partly because of the regulation).  

It produces *some* greenhouse gas, from workers who have to commute long distances to plants in the middle of nowhere, and from escaped coolant used in the 'gaseous diffusion' enrichment process.  

. . . and Yucca mountain is not ready yet.

Answer 4

If you are concerned about green house gases being dumped into the atmosphere, then nuclear power should be your main choice.

Nuclear power can generate thousands of megawatts while generating absolutely no gases that add to "global warming".

Nuclear power is safe.  More people are killed in their bathrooms by accidents than by nuclear power.  

Nuclear is easily disposed of.  Nuclear waste is transported and dumped every day in this country.  No one knows it's going on, so no one cares, and no one is effected.

Nuclear plants power every Navy Sub and Aircraft Carrier.  The technology is proven.

The only reason to oppose nuclear is if the goal is to stop the production of energy and have everyone move back into caves, or they are just scared of modern technology.