A Nuclear Solution?

By: Jeremy

As gas prices go up, reaching almost 100 dollars a barrel, there has been a demand for alternate energy. Many of those alternatives have come by way of water, wind and solar power but the question that remains is whether or not these sources of energy are efficient. There is an energy source that would be efficient, that is considered by many as clean and green but yet is not discussed as a serious solution to our energy crisis or global warming, this source is nuclear power.

To start off, I think it would be proper to answer what exactly is nuclear energy? Nuclear energy comes from the splitting of atoms, particularly the nuclei. To break it down a bit more, the atom is the smallest particle containing all parts of the element it originates from. There are three ways nuclear energy is released, through radioactive decay, fusion and fission. It is Fission, the breaking of a nucleus into two nuclei, which creates nuclear power. There are nuclear reactors to control the reactions so that they may use the energy to provide heat or electricity.

Part of problem with nuclear energy is the fact it has poor public relations. When the word nuclear slips of the tongue of the media or President Bush it usually is referring to terrorism or a coming cataclysmic event. The fact is when we think of nuclear power, we think Chernobyl or the three eyed fish on the Simpsons. Sadly, this is not a fair representation of nuclear power. Before we make any judgements on the source of power, we need to ask the three important questions: Is nuclear power safe, clean and afforadable? If we can answer these questions and receive positive responses, there is no reason why we cannot end the search for alternate energy.

Is nuclear energy safe? This is argued by many but the truth is the U.S. and much of the western world, depends on nuclear energy. The International Energy Agency or the IEA wrote that in 2004, nuclear power provided...