Nuclear Power: The Best Hope for a Greener World Nuclear power has been a controversial topic ever since the power of the atom was brought into the public eye with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although modern nuclear plants could hardly differ more from those primitive atomic weapons, their legacy, along with the incidents at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima remain fixed firmly in the public consciousness. Although nuclear fission has the potential to generate immense amounts of power using a cost-effective fuel, opponents of nuclear power raise concerns regarding the high costs of constructing and maintaining the plants themselves, the difficulties in the disposal of radioactive waste, the threat of a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant, and the remote but still concerning threat of a full nuclear meltdown on the scale of Chernobyl. Proponents, including myself, argue that many of the issues with nuclear power arise from stifling overregulation and moratoriums on the construction of new, safer and more efficient plants, and that if more plants were constructed, mass production and standardization would lead to a significant drop in the price of constructing plants. …show more content…
It has proved to be a surprisingly divisive issue amongst environmentalists; although groups such as Greenpeace strongly oppose it, numerous high-profile individuals have come out in favor of nuclear power, including Carol Browner, the former administrator of the EPA, and Robert Stone, whose documentary film Pandora’s Promise featured the testimony of numerous pro-nuclear environmental activists, or “nuclear greens”. Ultimately, nuclear power is a divisive issue- even colleagues in a field may have opposing views on its necessity and