Nuclear Power - Part 3

The U.S. energy economy is heavily fueled by coal, petroleum, and other fossil fuels (coal accounts for well over two times more than anything else.)  So why break tradition and start going nuclear?  What are the advantages? Well, there are several.  To list just a few:
1. It's Healthier.
2. It's safer.
3. It's "greener".
4. It's much cheaper.

It's Cleaner and Healthier - It's no secret that the burning of fossil fuels creates  pollution--and lots of it.  Burning coal is the number one source of mercury in our environment today.  In addition, coal-based energy production is one of our largest contributors to greenhouse gases.

It's Safer - According to the International Energy Agency's study Environmental and Health Impacts of Electricity Generation, from 1969-1992, in the coal power plants studied there were a total of 3,600 accident fatalities, not including post-traumatic casualties and severe injuries.  This averages out to be about one death for each 3 GWa of energy produced - a rate 4-thousand times greater than that for nuclear energy production.  Not to mention the deaths and illnesses caused by coal-burning pollutants.

It's "Greener" - There are two possible sources of environmental risk to take into account when considering nuclear power.  The first is that nuclear power is harvested by heating up water.  If dumped straight back into the river or lake it came from, the temperature change will affect the water's capacity to hold oxygen, and therefore fewer fish will be able to thrive in that water.  The solution is to cool down the water before returning it to the environment.  When you think about nuclear power, you may envision those hour-glass shaped towers with steam billowing out the top.  Those are simply water-cooling towers.  Nothing more.  The second risk to consider is the risk of radioactive waste leaking into the environment.  The solutions here are many.  First on my list would be re-using the radioactive isotopes still left over.  "Spent" fuel rods still have usable fuel in them (why do you think they're still radioactive), so why not use it?  Second, new storage techniques minimize the risk.  We can now turn these wastes into a durable glass, which certainly won't be "leaking" anything.  When compared to more traditional energy production methods, nuclear power is by far better for the environment.

It's Much Cheaper - When considering how much we use, coal is very expensive.  The US alone spends around $500 billion on coal every year.  We don't produce near enough to be energy self-sufficient.  However, we have in the US right now, enough Uranium-235 to be energy self-sufficient for a full century.  Apart from that, Uranium is still cheaper than coal.  1 kilogram of U-235 costs about $2.5 thousand to purify and enrich.  That much Uranium will produce 360,000 kWh, or in other words, about 77 cents per kWh, whereas coal costs $50 to $70 per kWh.

All in all, nuclear energy is the smart way to go.  So why don't we go nuclear?  For starters, the media hypes it up so that the public is afraid of it.  If somebody dies in a nuclear accident, the whole country hears about it (note that the US hasn't had a single death in nuclear power generation for 25 years).  On the other hand, people die producing fossil-fuel based energy every day, but we don't hear about those accidents.  So let's start by being informed.  I hope I've given you an idea about how it all works.  That way, when it comes to voting on these decisions, you'll be able to make an informed decision.  It's time to start considering these issues, and it's time to start taking action.