Saying “No” to Nuclear Power As of 2003, 49,000 metric tons of nuclear waste has been produced in the United States alone. Every day, more and more of this incredibly dangerous substance is released into our planet’s soil. Nuclear power seems like a good idea on the surface, but obviously, it is not the answer. Nuclear power is too dangerous, too expensive, and unable to be contained, therefore it should not be the world’s primary source of energy.
Some experts say that nuclear power is a good idea because it does not harm the environment in ways that other power sources do. According to Bradford A. Peter and Mark Lynas, authors for the Wall State Journal, nuclear energy produces a miniscule amount of greenhouse gases, while fossil fuels produce …show more content…
According to Matthew L. Wald, author of “Nuclear Waste Solution Seen in Desert Salt Beds”, scientists believe that storing the radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors in salt beds deep beneath the New Mexican desert will provide an effective solution to the energy crisis. Even though this plan may work in theory, we must take a broader perspective on this absurd idea. In the article, Wald also points out that the team in New Mexico has already been experiencing multiple major drawbacks. During construction, a truck carrying uranium, a very dangerous substance, had caught fire. As a result, the truck emitted large amounts of smoke and dangerous chemicals into the site, resulting in a complete evacuation of all personnel and effectively halting all mining operations (H). Seeing that even a facility as advanced as the one in New Mexico is incapable of storing the dangerous and unstable substances produced by nuclear power, it’s no surprise that there isn’t a solution to the nuclear waste dilemma. According to the book Alternative Energy by Neil Schlager and Jayne Weisblatt, plutonium, a substance produced by nuclear power plants, takes 24,000 years or more to reach its half life, meaning that it is stable and safe to approach. The book also states that as of 2003, 49,000 metric tons of nuclear waste has been produced in the United States alone (G). Finding a decent solution as to where to store this potent, long-lasting substance is blatantly unreachable by modern science. Other methods, like storing the waste in on-site tanks have also proven to be ineffective. Shannon Dininny, author of “Storied Nuke Plant Becomes Environmental Wasteland”, stated that the commonly used AY-102 model nuclear material storage tank has been discovered to have been leaking waste between its two thick layers. Dininny also stated that in February 2013, 69 of these tanks were
Some experts say that nuclear power is a good idea because it does not harm the environment in ways that other power sources do. According to Bradford A. Peter and Mark Lynas, authors for the Wall State Journal, nuclear energy produces a miniscule amount of greenhouse gases, while fossil fuels produce …show more content…
According to Matthew L. Wald, author of “Nuclear Waste Solution Seen in Desert Salt Beds”, scientists believe that storing the radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors in salt beds deep beneath the New Mexican desert will provide an effective solution to the energy crisis. Even though this plan may work in theory, we must take a broader perspective on this absurd idea. In the article, Wald also points out that the team in New Mexico has already been experiencing multiple major drawbacks. During construction, a truck carrying uranium, a very dangerous substance, had caught fire. As a result, the truck emitted large amounts of smoke and dangerous chemicals into the site, resulting in a complete evacuation of all personnel and effectively halting all mining operations (H). Seeing that even a facility as advanced as the one in New Mexico is incapable of storing the dangerous and unstable substances produced by nuclear power, it’s no surprise that there isn’t a solution to the nuclear waste dilemma. According to the book Alternative Energy by Neil Schlager and Jayne Weisblatt, plutonium, a substance produced by nuclear power plants, takes 24,000 years or more to reach its half life, meaning that it is stable and safe to approach. The book also states that as of 2003, 49,000 metric tons of nuclear waste has been produced in the United States alone (G). Finding a decent solution as to where to store this potent, long-lasting substance is blatantly unreachable by modern science. Other methods, like storing the waste in on-site tanks have also proven to be ineffective. Shannon Dininny, author of “Storied Nuke Plant Becomes Environmental Wasteland”, stated that the commonly used AY-102 model nuclear material storage tank has been discovered to have been leaking waste between its two thick layers. Dininny also stated that in February 2013, 69 of these tanks were