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Nuclear energy: pros and cons essay
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Chapter 4 describes the horrific consequences of pre-1991 landfills. Humes writes, “Trash, sometimes with hazardous chemical waste mixed in, had been buried carelessly all over the country for decades without installing plastic barriers and other protections now deemed essential to containing landfill pollution”( 2013 p.92). Humes describes a tragic incidence near Niagara Falls, New Jersey in the 1970s. “In the 1950s, there was a residential community near Niagara Falls in New York. The community was built on what had been at one time a toxic chemical disposal site” (Humes, 2013, p.92).
When the nuclei of Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 undergo nuclear fission, they produce waste as a by-product, which is known as nuclear waste or “fission fragments”. (Leslie Corrice, 2015) This waste contains radioisotopes, which are radioactive isotopes that have long half-lives. This means that the radioisotopes are able to stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of thousands of years, which is extremely hazardous to the earth’s environment. Very commonly this waste contaminates water and ruins the quality of both air and soil, which in turn devastates the planet.
Nuclear waste should be stored at Yucca Mountain. There are many positive reasons of why the waste should be stored on Yucca Mountain, such as the fact that no one lives on Yucca Mountain. There has not been an recent earthquake on the mountain. There is also the fact that it does not rain a lot on the mountain. So this is why nuclear waste should be stored on Yucca Mountain.
In Richard A. Muller’s “Nuclear Waste”, he discusses the problem with left over nuclear waste and how it is causing headaches for scientists and politicians. The University of California at Berkeley professor agrees that nuclear waste does present a threat to our well being, but also states that society assumes there is a much larger danger than actually exists. Muller does a great job at proving his point by explaining how nuclear waste is not a forever lasting danger and by also providing alternative methods of storing the waste. Regardless of whether one supports the development of nukes, Muller mentions that this waste already exists and a solution must be made for it.
In “Nuclear Waste” by Richard A. Muller, he expresses his concerns about radioactive material in Yucca Mountain that will be left behind for thousands of years and the unfamiliar dangers that we face. He starts by stating that nuclear waste is one of the biggest issues that our government faces even though they highly follow their “safe” nuclear waste disposal. He stresses how the government prototype nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain is supposed to be so safe, but they built it on a site that was created by volcanic activity. Scientist have contemplated many different ways to dispose of nuclear waste, but they all seem like the worse than their previous ideas and some still are considering more nuclear power. After his intense evaluation
Chernobyl, Ukraine. April 26, 1986. A nuclear reactor had exploded due to poorly trained workers and a badly executed monitoring procedure. It took over 600,000 emergency workers and firefighters to end the madness. By the end, 63,000 square miles of land were impacted and could not be used for crops.
Nuclear power produces fewer carbon emissions than traditional energy sources because energy is not produced by burning molecules but splitting atoms. ‘An energy mix including nuclear power has the lowest impact on wildlife and Ecosystems’ as shown by a Conservation Biology paper. Consequently, greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by nearly half which shows the benefits and popularity of nuclear power use. Nuclear power has many environmental benefits such as small waste production, leaves no adverse effect on water, land or any habitats. By reducing fossil fuel consumption and switching to Nuclear Energy, we will sustain the environment, quality of air, improving the overall quality of
Wasteland is a documentary by Lucy Walker that depicts the lives of selected garbage pickers in Jardim Gramacho – a massive dumpsite found in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The film is about Vik Muniz’s 2-year journey back to his home country seeking to give back to an impoverished community through making images out of an unusual material – trash. The film featured 7 garbage pickers from the landfill, and each has a story that brought them to their current places. One unique thing about the whole creative process is that the pickers themselves became part of it. Vik imagined that as they work on their own and each other’s images, the pickers will not only show themselves to a broader world that is for now comfortably oblivious of their existence, but also see themselves differently (Fuchs, 2010).
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an essential cog in the metaphorical wheel of the Department of Energy. House and Senate Congressional Committees with jurisdiction over domestic nuclear regulatory activities is the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittees related to the NRC is the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety and the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the primary responsibility of regulating the use of radioactive and nuclear materials. Also, to safeguard the environment and the public health, to promote the common defense and security of the United States, regarding regulations of nuclear and radioactive
Omar Bradley spoken once that, “If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.” In the 1950’s, Ray Bradbury writes a stories about how technology could change the future. Ray Bradbury is a fantasy and horror author because at a young age he was interested in adventurous and fantasy fiction books. Which connects to the story called “There Will Come Soft Rains,” by Ray Bradbury and shows the truth of technology. Hence fourth, technology has harmed society.
Thesis statement: Though many speculate that the act of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) while not doing so on Europe (Germany and Italy) was racially motivated, racism played little to no role in these bombings. The United States of America and her allies were willing to end World War II at any cost, had the atomic bombs been available they would have been deployed in Europe. In the 1940’s there is no doubt that the United States of America was engulfed by mass anti-Japanese hysteria which inevitably bled over into America’s foreign policy. During this period Japanese people living in both Japan and the United States of America were seen as less that human.
President Harry Truman gave an executive order in 1945 to drop to atomic bombs in popular downtown cities in Japan. With the guidance of many scientists and political leaders President Truman made the extremely tough decision to drop the bombs. After listening to arguments from both sides President Truman came to the conclusion that dropping bombs would be the best thing to do for this war. It would also show that the United States had an extreme military power. Many American politicians were for the idea of dropping the bomb, because they believed that it was the only way to end the war and get Japan to surrender.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, relative of the infamous Judge Hathorne, is known for his novels and short stories. Young Goodman Brown is classic gothic short story. Goodman Brown has the choice between his wife Faith and the Devil, but it might be too late. Young Goodman Brown is filled with symbolism, from the pink ribbons on Faith to the cane in the forest. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism in Young Goodman Brown to show that one always has a choice between good and evil.
Nuclear energy may be the solution that eliminates our concern for energy production in the future, but it still remains a huge issue for the environment. Despite its wide use in many developed countries, nuclear energy poses many threats to both the
One cannot deny that some nuclear waste is produced and that it is radioactive. However, according to the World Nuclear Association in many countries, nuclear waste accounts for just 1% of all toxic wastes. This means that only a small amount of waste is produced and it would be easy to contain. Furthermore, the BBC states that you are able to reprocess nuclear waste and reuse up to 97% of it. This means that waste can be reduced even further and that that supplies of Uranium can be sustained for longer.
