The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power

1472 Words6 Pages

Abstract
Energy is a resource on which our very society is built around. Energy affects every aspect of our daily lives and is absolutely vital in our survival in the modern world as well as the of the preservation of Earth itself. This research paper will explore nuclear power, our previous understanding what it was, what its effects means for society on both a national and global scale, but most importantly, why nuclear power is the solution to our problems. We must face the reality that we cannot depend on coal, gas and oil for our energy needs if we are to combat global warming. To replace fossil fuels, many energy technologies have been considered, but nuclear fission technology is the only developed energy source that is capable of sustaining …show more content…

After the oil boycott of 1973, France decided that it needed to strive for greater energy independence. Over a time period of about two decades, France converted the major part of its electrical energy generating capacity from fossil-fuel-based to uranium-based. The cost of the nuclear power plants was kept low by producing them in a series of identical units and by minimizing the needed changes that were implemented in a coordinated way in all plants of a given series. In addition, delays during construction (that could have been very costly) were prevented by careful preparations by both the government and the utility (including good public information and an efficient licensing process, focused sharply on the significant safety issues). An important additional benefit of this reliance on nuclear energy is that per-capita emission of greenhouse gases in France is among the lowest for industrial nations worldwide and many times lower than in otherwise similar countries that have no nuclear power plants and that rely on a mix of fossil fuels and some contribution from renewables (e.g. Australia,