There are two main reasons why nuclear energy has been attractive in the discussions of global energy supply. One major reason is the problem of global warming which is the major cause of climate change. For the past 100 years, the earth’s temperature has been increasing due to the gradual increase of heat waves which were trapped in the atmosphere because of the large amounts of greenhouse gases (Cravens 8). There are many problems and treats that are associated with global warming such as societal, economic and environmental problems. Another main reason is the reduced dependency on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are non-renewable which means its supply is decreasing every time (New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources np).
If the nuclear marine propulsion systems are not included, the nuclear power plants provide about 13 percent of the world’s energy supply in 2012. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are about 437 operating nuclear power plants which are located in 31 countries (Baek 134). The developed countries are investing large amounts of their resources on the development and improvement of nuclear power harnessing technology. Due to the increasing population and increasing environmental problems, the world needs a reliable energy supply which could provide carbon-free electricity. Nuclear energy is one of the major sustainable energy supplies nowadays. However, there are serious problems that are associated with the nuclear power technology such as radiation as well as toxic wastes (World Nuclear Association np).
The objective of this essay is to argue that nuclear power will play a vital role in the sustainable development of the world’s major cities as well as the development of some rural areas. The government should invest more on the research and development of safer nuclear power technologies in order to reduce the problems that are associated with it. People should also reduce their dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels and rely more on the sustainable energy supplies such as nuclear power.
In the modern times, the consumption of fossil fuels is still larger than the consumption of nuclear fuels. It could be problematic since the use of fossil fuels in the generation of electricity produces large amounts of greenhouse gasses (Rashad & Hammad 211). According to the energy Information Administration, 80% of the energy consumption of the world comes from fossil fuels (Baek & Pride 6). The most common fossil fuels used in the power generation plants include petroleum, coal and natural gas. The electricity generation from fossil fuels is accompanied by the emission of greenhouse gases which could result to serious environmental problems. Each year, the electricity generation from fossil fuels emits about 21.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide which is one of the greenhouse gases (Baek & Pride 7).
In the United States, 90 percent of the carbon dioxide gas emission came from burning fossil fuels for energy generation (Cravens 8). High amounts of greenhouse gas emission came from the urban areas such as large cities in developed countries. Due to the trend of increasing population in these urban areas, the emission could also increase since the demand for energy will also become larger. The world needs sustainable energy supply that could provide electricity to large cities in the future. The world also needs to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels since the environment could not afford large emissions of greenhouse gases (New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources np).
One major solution to the problem given by the production of electricity from fossil fuels is the sustainable energy source such as nuclear energy (World Nuclear Association np). Unlike the fossil fuels, the use of nuclear energy for electricity generation does not emit greenhouse gases. Nuclear fuel is one of the major sustainable sources of energy which is clean and safer for the environment. According to most economic and environmental studies about power generation, the shift in nuclear power from fossil fuels could greatly reduce the carbon emission. It could result to reduction of the greenhouse effects and mitigation of the problem of global warming (New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources np).
There are many advantages and benefits that the nuclear energy could provide from the electricity dependent society such as urban areas and large cities. Aside from the less carbon emission, nuclear energy is also a more efficient energy source than the traditional fossil fuels. Only a small amount of nuclear fuel is needed to produce large amounts of electricity unlike fossil fuels. According to the IAEA, only a single pellet of nuclear fuel such as uranium which is as large as a coin is needed to generate electricity that could be produced by almost 150 gallons of petroleum (Baek & Pride 6). Nuclear energy could be very useful in space explorations, marine transportation and generation of electricity for large energy consumers such as urban areas or large cities of developed countries.
Another main advantage of nuclear energy source is its economic potential. Even if the investment or the construction costs of the nuclear power plant is higher than the traditional plants using fossil fuels, the conversion efficiency of nuclear fuels could compensate the cost (Baek 133). Raw materials are the main source of costs of energy production in power plants. Unlike, very low amounts of nuclear fuels are needed to produce large amounts of electricity. The economic potential of nuclear power generation could be advantageous to the energy consumption of high population density areas. The economic potential of nuclear power generation could also benefit the progress and development of transportation sector due to its very high fuel-to-energy conversion efficiency (Rashad & Hammad 211).
Most of the arguments against the use of nuclear energy are focused on the potential danger to people living near the nuclear power plants (Baek 134). Accidents could happen anywhere and nuclear power plant is not an exemption. Leaks as well as damages to the equipment used in the power generation using nuclear fuels could result to serious damages such as what happened in the Chernobyl. Radioactive wastes are also problems to the nuclear energy production since it could cause potential public health problems (World Nuclear Association np). However, these problems could be reduced by developing more advanced and more sophisticated nuclear plant technologies. People should invest on developing or improving the technology of energy generation from nuclear fuels.
The population of the earth is increasing while the fuel sources are decreasing. The world could not afford anymore reliance on traditional fossil fuels due to the increasing effect of global warming. The world needs to shift to sustainable energy source and one potential alternative is the nuclear power. All of the fuel sources have their own disadvantages even with the nuclear energy generation. However, it could always be mitigated or reduce just by focusing on the improvement of the technology. Nuclear energy is very clean and very reliable due to its efficiency in energy conversion. It could help in cleaning the earth from other pollution created by the harnessing energy from the traditional fossil fuels. It could also be the key for the energy demand for future generations.
Works Cited:
Baek, Jungho. A Panel Cointegration Analysis of CO2 Emissions, Nuclear Energy and Income in Major Nuclear Generating Countries. Applied Energy. 2015. Print.
Baek, J., & Pride, D. On the income-nuclear energy-CO2 emission nexus revisited. Energy Economics. 2014.
Cravens, G. Power to Save the World: the Truth about Nuclear Energy. New York: Knopf. 2007. Print
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. The Basics of Nuclear Energy – Why Nuclear Power. Nd. Web. https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/why.html.
Rashad, S., & Hammad, F. Nuclear power and the environment: Comparative assessment of environmental and health impacts of electricity-generating systems. Applied Energy. 2010. Print.
World Nuclear Association. World Energy Needs and Nuclear Power. 2015. Web. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Current-and-Future-Generation/World-Energy-Needs-and-Nuclear-Power/.
