Benefit Of Nuclear Energy

Oil, coal, solar, wind, or nuclear, energy sources have become a permanent necessity of modern society, and consequently, a hotly debated issue. Since energy holds such a prominent role in the world, it affects political decisions, relationships between countries, the economy, and the environment; it has become the core of most day-to-day activities. Nuclear energy has come to the forefront of these sources because of its relative newness and seemingly limitless supply of energy. Congress debates proposals for funding nuclear energy because many believe that it is the technology for the future with the supply of oil becoming harder to control and solar and wind technologies not being expanded or fully developed. The benefits of nuclear energy

Nuclear energy, according to West’s Encyclopedia of American Law (2008), is defined as “a form of energy produced by an atomic reaction, capable of producing an alternative source of electrical power to that supplied by coal, gas, or oil.” This occurs through a process called fission which creates energy through the splitting of uranium atoms. A nuclear power plant thus uses the heat that is produced during the fission process to create steam in order to run the turbines creating electricity. It is important to understand how nuclear energy and the nuclear power plants work because many confuse them with plants that create nuclear weapons. A nuclear power plant does not produce nuclear weapons meant for mass destruction. The technology needed to create nuclear weapons is very different than the technology that is used to create nuclear energy in power plants. Both processes use the U-235 isotope of natural uranium, however, the nuclear fuel used to power an electrical plant is enriched for 3%-5% of the total amount of

Nuclear power is one solution to the problem of greenhouse gases. Moore (2005), the founder and chief scientist of Green Spirit Strategies, states that “a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) seems unlikely given our continued heavy reliance on fossil fuels. An investment in nuclear energy would go a long way to reducing this reliance and could actually result in reduced CO2 emissions from power generation” . He also speculates that nuclear energy would be a solution to securing the United States’ energy and meeting the energy demands of the nation. Nuclear would play a large role in reducing the greenhouse emissions and solve the climate problem in order to assure that there would not be an escalation in global warming (Knapp et al, 2010). Some suggest that renewable energy sources would be able to achieve the same ends as nuclear power in providing a clean energy source to reduce emissions for the environment; however, they would be unable to meet the increasing energy demands. Compared with nuclear energy, the renewable sources are unable to replicate the type of power generation that is needed to power the grids making nuclear energy a better choice. Loudermilk (2011), a research associate for the Institute for National Strategic Studies, warns that “On the global level, without nuclear power, carbon dioxide emissions