Nuclear Power, Too Valuable to Terminate
Nuclear power has be known in the energy business for centuries, but in recent decades it has become the number one alternative to fossil fuel. Commercial nuclear energy did not begin until the mid-1950s, and in 2011, nuclear energy powered more than ten percent of the world's electricity. With 439 nuclear reactors reported in 2012 in the world and counting, nuclear power has become the second most used energy source in the world, behind crude oil. The U.S. and many other countries, have invested a lot in many nuclear plants. At this point, other than hydraulic power, nuclear power is the second most environmentally safe commercial energy source. Without nuclear power, Canada's greenhouse emission would increase by twelve percent. Nuclear energy is the future of energy, and these facts will tell why.
Compared to Fossil Fuel
Electricity generating plants using fossil fuels emit large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Creating harsh greenhouse gases that extremely harm our ozone layer. But burning fossil fuel has been the number one resource for energy for centuries, and still tops nuclear and hydraulic power in the world for energy needs. Oil is hugely used in everyday lives with motor vehicles and other factors. Even though fossil fuel is our main energy resource, it is non renewable, and when extracting it from the ground, can create great damage to the environment around it. Not to mention the animal life surrounding the oil rigs. Compared to fossil fuel burning, nuclear power is largely more environmentally friendly. It emits no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and does not consist of drilling into the earth, damaging the ground and surroundings. It has a very small amount of waste by comparison. The waste from a nuclear power station is very small in volume and is fully managed and extremely secure at the nuclear sites.
 |
| U.S Energy consumption, 1950-2011 |
 | ||||||
| U.S. Electricity production cost, 1995-2012 |
As you can see in these two charts above, nuclear consumption between the years of 1950 through 2011, is dramatically different from natural gases and coal. While the production cost of nuclear energy is only 3.9/kWh, while oil production was at a high of 23.0/kWh in 2012.
Needs For Future Opportunities
One problem with current nuclear processes, is the expiration on nuclear reactors, and controlling the waste. In the video below, Professor Gary Was, of Michigan State Engineering, explains new theories to expand life expectancy on reactors and other ways to improve nuclear energy processing for the future
Sources
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Economic-Aspects/Economics-of-Nuclear-Power/
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Safety-of-Nuclear-Power-Reactors/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power
