Nuclear Power

Essay by hullmat991College, Undergraduate August 2014

download word file, 9 pages 0.0

Matthew Hull

Rachel Glover

English 102

11/26/13

Essay #3 Persuasive

In 1945 when the first nuclear weapon was detonated it started off a chain reaction of in both the military and civilian research fields. Both sides of the life wanted to harness the potential that nuclear reactions held to create which at the time was seen as unlimited energy. In 1952 the first nuclear reactor for pure power generation was put online and soon more were to follow. Now nuclear energy is used in many fields of life from the military in submarines and ships, to civilian power generation. Nuclear power is in wide spread use around the world, but no more than in The United States. The usage of this power source has been claimed to be safe, clean and cost effective, however I disagree. It is my opinion that the usage of nuclear power should be phased out in The United States. Nuclear power is costly to operate, has no known viable storage method for the waste products, and has been known to have accidents that have long lasting effects. I intend to argue against the usage of this energy source while also talking about both sides of the debate.

Many people say that nuclear energy is clear energy, and while it is true that that if radioactive gasses or wastes were to enter the atmospheres it wouldn't create greenhouse gasses, we would still be left with a poisoned atmosphere. However that is not the worst of potential pollution that can be potentially released upon the world; I am talking about the heavily radioactive waste that is spent fuel rods from the reactors. It could be said that currently the most pressing issue with nuclear power is the question of what to do with the waste...