5 Reasons Why Nuclear Power Is The Future

Over the last decade, there has been a global drive to shut down nuclear power generation. The main reasons cited for this drive are public security, nuclear waste and the risks of uncontrolled nuclear reactions. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 is a good example of the worst scenario coming true. Allegedly, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami combo caused the accident that caused so much damage.

Is it worth risking such disasters just for the sake of energy? What is it about nuclear energy that still drives humanity towards it? Even after considering the drawbacks, this article tries to go into 5 reasons why nuclear energy could hold the key to humanity’s energy needs:

1. Nuclear Energy is a Cheap Source of Energy

Nuclear energy has been the subject of debate ever since it was harnessed for the first time. In fact, this debate was so strong that it almost resulted in a total ban on nuclear power. But, a few years later, the scientific community revisited its opinion and started working to make nuclear power safe. This time, they also took into account the externalities involved in other sources of energy generation such as pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The main driving force behind all this rethinking was money. It turns out that nuclear energy is not just cheap but also much cheaper than other sources of clean energy such as solar and wind energy, when considering long-term running costs. The costs have been continually dropping due to research and development. If we look at the lifetime costs per unit of electricity generated, it is clear that nuclear plants give us more bang for our buck over their lifetimes.

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2. Nuclear Energy’s Carbon Footprint is Not As Bad as You Think

While it is true that nuclear energy does release radiation and other forms of ionizing energy, the levels of radioactive output are generally too low to cause major health issues for people living near a nuclear plant. The fact that nuclear power plants do not emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere makes up for whatever carbon emissions they do release into the atmosphere. This makes nuclear power cleaner than fossil fuels like coal and oil. Nuclear energy has been able to reach its current status with very little in terms of research or development in recent years (compared to other forms of energy technology). Imagine what could happen if there was some serious investment in nuclear technology!

3. Nuclear Energy is Safer Than You Think It Is

The argument against nuclear energy often goes “there are too many risks involved in using it” or “we don’t have any backup plans for when things go wrong” or “there are too many unknowns with nuclear power” etc. While these arguments may seem valid on the surface, they do not take into account the progress that has been made towards making safer reactors which are much less prone to accidents or malfunctions. There is no doubt that there are still some hurdles which need to be crossed before safe commercial scale nuclear power can become available anywhere in the world, but these hurdles are being addressed one-by-one with every passing day. Countries like China are taking this challenge head-on and investing heavily in new reactor designs which are completely different from what we see today. Some designs even involve novel ways of handling waste while others just use molten salt instead of water to cool down reactors. These new designs may eventually prove themselves to be safer than existing designs and may provide humanity with access to cheaper electricity while reducing our carbon footprint along the way!  

4. The Future is Nuclear (Whether We Like It or Not)

Our primary source of energy is the sun. The sun is powered by nuclear fusion (whether we like it or not). If humanity is to be an inter-galactic species, harnessing nuclear energy is our best bet. Any other form of energy we know is derived from nuclear energy. Our understanding of nuclear energy is currently lacking as far as nuclear fusion is concerned, but within scientific communities, it is well known that nuclear fusion could hold the key for humanity as a species. While this has not much to do with current generation nuclear fission reactors, nuclear fusion research requires a lot of funding, patience, and support, if we are to develop further.

5. Nuclear Energy Might Be Indispensable

It is not just about the future, though. Nuclear energy has been shown to be a clean and sustainable source of energy and it could help humanity mitigate and adapt to climate change more easily than any other form of energy we know. Many countries around the world have already started looking at nuclear power as an indispensable option for their energy needs. For example, Germany decided to phase-out its nuclear plants after the Fukushima disaster, but it is now starting to slowly bring these plants back online after realizing that solar and wind alone cannot produce enough electricity to cover all its needs. France on the other hand is set on sticking with nuclear power and has only increased its reliance on nuclear power in recent years. If we consider the long-term picture, we can see that while we may still lack knowledge about some aspects of nuclear technology (most notably, how to handle waste without contaminating the environment), nuclear power is here to stay. There are many countries which are already planning on using nuclear power to fuel their economies for decades to come. It might be a costly mistake not to invest in this clean source of energy, especially when it can help us mitigate and adapt to climate change more easily than any other form of energy we know!

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