Should United States Use Nuclear Energy?

Regardless of the various definitions of renewable energy, nuclear energy meets every reasonable criterion for sustainability, which is the primary concern of countries. The United States should use nuclear energy for three primary reasons: first, it produces more cost effective energy than any other non-renewable resource. Second there is no release of greenhouse gasses which contribute to global warming, and finally nuclear energy is the most reliable source of power in the world today. Nuclear power produces electricity that is less expensive than coal and natural gas while providing more energy for use. The Energy Informative Organization supports this claim when the author states, “Generating electricity in nuclear reactors is cheaper …show more content…
This claim is supported by Energy Future when the author contends, “It has been determined that the amount of greenhouse gases have decreased by almost half because of the prevalence on the utilization of nuclear power”(Energy Future). Our nation utilizes nuclear power for twenty percent of our electricity and this has cut back our greenhouse gas emissions by fifty percent. Ideally, if every country depends on nuclear power for electricity as a world we could virtually eliminate the greenhouse gases produced by power plants. Energy Future declares, “Nuclear energy has the least effect on nature since it doesn’t discharge any gasses like methane or carbon dioxide, which are primary ‘greenhouse gases’”(Energy Future). As previously states, the cut back on emissions would help attack one of the problems of global warming. Authors from the Nuclear Energy Institute agree with those at Energy Future when they state, “Nuclear energy is by far the largest source of electricity that doesn’t emit any air pollution”(Nuclear Energy Institute). Nuclear power has become the largest source of clean electricity, as well as the most …show more content…
Energy Future expresses this when they state, “As solar and wind energy are dependent upon weather conditions, nuclear power plants have no such constraints and can run without disruption in any climate conditions”(Energy Future). Therefore no extra fuel is needed as it would be in a coal or natural gas plant. The Nuclear Energy Institute reinforces this claim when the author voices, “Reliable nuclear power plants generate vast amounts of electricity, and extreme weather brings their value to the electricity grid into sharp focus”(Nuclear Energy Institute). In certain situations of extreme cold nuclear energy is the best case scenario. The plants don’t need extra fuel for different weather conditions. As the author from Nuclear Matters explains, “Nuclear energy remains the world leader in reliable dependable electricity production in part because nuclear plants require refueling only every 18-24 months”(Nuclear Matters). In contrast, coal and natural gas are continually refueled, whereas nuclear plants are refueled every one or two years. This demonstrates that nuclear energy uses the least fuel and produces the most