Keoni Buenavista
Date: 05/08/2022
Prompt: Nuclear energy should be part of the solution to the problem of overconsumption of fossil fuels in America.
Out of the energy sources currently used in the United States, Nuclear energy is one of the most utilized. Nuclear power comes from Nuclear reactions to create electricity and this type of power is obtained by three different methods which include, nuclear decay, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion. Generally, generating electricity through fusion power is the focus of international research. Nuclear energy is a part of the solution to resolving the overconsumption of fossil fuels in the United States because it is safer compared to other energy sources, has no emissions, and is sustainable.
Historically, the first nuclear power plant or facility was constructed during the 1950s and has increased its electricity production capacity since then. During the first 10 to 20 years of nuclear power plants being utilized, they produced less than 100 GW of electricity. As technology improved, during the late 1970s, electricity production from nuclear plants grew to 100 GW and later onto 300 GW by the late 1980s to early 1990s. Disasters with nuclear power plants have raised controversy about their safety of them, and along with the high cost of construction, resulted in the global installed capacity only increasing to 390 GW by 2022. As of 2019, these nuclear power plants have made up about 10 percent (or 2,586 terawatt-hours worth of energy) of global electricity production. Currently, there are only 439 nuclear reactors for civilian electricity production use.
Nuclear power plants are thermal power stations that generate electricity by harnessing the thermal energy released from nuclear fission. A fission nuclear power plant is generally composed of a nuclear reactor, in which the nuclear reactions generating heat takes place; a cooling system, which removes the heat from inside the reactor; a steam turbine, which transforms the heat into mechanical energy; an electric generator, which transforms the mechanical energy into electrical energy.
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Despite some of the arguments against the use of Nuclear energy, nuclear power has one of the lowest levels of fatalities per unit of energy generated compared to other energy sources. Coal, petroleum, natural gas, and hydroelectricity each have caused more fatalities per unit of energy due to air pollution and accidents. Proponents say that nuclear power is a safe, sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions.
With being a low-carbon energy source with relatively little land-use requirements, nuclear energy can have a positive environmental impact. It also requires a constant supply of significant amounts of water and affects the environment through mining and milling. The risks that opponents of nuclear energy have often brought up relate to nuclear weapon technology and radioactive waste but these remain mostly only risks as historically there have only been a few disasters at nuclear power plants with known relatively substantial environmental impacts. In addition, nuclear power is one of the leading low carbon power generation methods of producing electricity, and in terms of total life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy generated, has emission values comparable to or lower than renewable energy. As of 2021, nuclear reactors worldwide have helped avoid the emission of 72 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide since 1970, compared to coal-fired electricity generation, according to a new report.