I love this title. Conundrum usually meaning a unsolvable problem, is describing the debate over the Pros and Cons of nuclear energy. The article discusses both the positive(no C02 emissions while generating a lot of energy) and negative(waste/ potential accidents) aspects of nuclear power.
The former chair the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Richard Meserve, brings up other positive/negative aspects in the article. He says that nuclear power is not a lack of technology issue(which is a good thing) like that for the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from coal plants(a poke at supposed "clean coal"), but rather a high cost issue in a high interest rate economy that is especially bad for the lenghty building process of nuclear reactors.
The article proposes that the government could offer loan garuantees to alleviate the high prices. They should at least do this since we have built a stockpile of nuclear weapons without blinking an eye. That is all
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121309061
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Chris,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point concerning nuclear weapons and the rapid pace at which we built them. I think this shows the capability of the American people to meet challenges that we are faced. This should be an example as to America's ability to face global climate change head-on and the likelyhood that we as a nation can come out victorious. On the other hand I disagree with you on the subject of nuclear power. Although I believe that we should increase nuclear power I do not believe that we as a nation should concentrate on just nuclear power and we should use nuclear power as a back up for our energy. I believe this because of the potential shortages of uranium would limit our power use, the waste produced by the plants would take millions of years to decompose, and we would also run the rise of nuclear power plant meltdowns similar to those at three mile island. That is all.
Michael, I have to disagree with some of your points. I attended a Global Climate Change conference with Mrs. Logsdon, Nathan, and Greta this Tuesday and nuclear power was brought up many times. Times have changed since we stopped building nuclear plants nearly 30 years ago. Today it would reportidly take nearly 20 years to purpose, get approved, collect the necessary materials, and build a nuclear plant. Also, there are recycling programs that reuse spent uranium so that it requires less uranium to power the plant. Also, the waste, once used, is only radioactive for hundreds of years not thousands. Granted, this isn't a perfect solution and it comes with large risks but this could help serve as an integral piece of the puzzle from transitioning from dirty fossil fuels to clean electrons.
ReplyDeleteI think that using Nuclear power is solving a problem with another problem, and that's just not constructive! Sure, we may be eliminating coal (or attempting to), but we are creating a ton of other issues that we don't have answers to. Everyone knows what disasters could result from a plant malfunction; and, I can't believe that Nuclear power should even be considered as a viable solution because of just that. Then there's also the issue of waste, which has no place to go now, let alone a place for the tons of future waste. Also, as mentioned above, Uranium is limited. Why would we want to embrace an energy that is not sustainable? The solution to better energy is not Nuclear power. There are so many other options that are less harmful- solar, geothermal, wind, hydropower- it seems silly to even consider it!
ReplyDeleteI think that the biggest problem nuclear power faces is a negative predisposition from the American people. Since the plant malfunctions at 3 mile island and Chernobyl nuclear power has become much safer, however I think it will be hard to ever convince people of this. If used properly, a modern nuclear plant is just as safe if not safer than a coal plant. Like Alex said, there is a limited amount of uranium in the world, and in my opinion it would be better to put this uranium towards the construction of nuclear power plants rather than nuclear weapons.
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