Nuclear Energy And The Environment
In our society, nuclear energy has become one of the most criticized forms
of energy by the environmentalists. Thus, a look at nuclear energy and the
environment and its impact on economic growth.
Lewis Munford, an analyst, once wrote, "Too much energy is as fatal as too
little, hence the regulation of energy input and output not its unlimited
expansion, is in fact one of the main laws of life." This is true when dealing
with nuclear power. Because our societies structure and processes both depend
upon energy, man is searching for the most efficient and cheapest form of energy
that can be used on a long term basis. And because we equate power with growth,
the more energy that a ...
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reasons. First of all, the waste product, i.e. plutonium, is
extremely radioactive, which may cause the people who are working or living in
or around the area of storage or use, to acquire leukemia and other cancers.
They also show how billions of dollars are spent yearly on safety devices for a
single reactor, and this still doesn't ensure the impossibility of a "melt
down." Two examples were then given of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, in 1979,
when thousands of people were killed and incapacitated. Finally, the
environmentalists claim that if society wastes less energy, and develops the
means to use the energy more efficiency, then there would be a definite decrease
in the requirement for more energy producing plants.
On the other hand, some business men and economists say that the present
conditions should be kept intact, as the other forms of energy, e.g. oil,
natural gas and coal, are only temporary, in dealing with surplus, and give off
more pollution with less ...
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Nuclear Energy And The Environment. (2006, December 4). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Nuclear-Energy-And-The-Environment/56556
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"Nuclear Energy And The Environment." Essayworld.com. December 4, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Nuclear-Energy-And-The-Environment/56556.
"Nuclear Energy And The Environment." Essayworld.com. December 4, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Nuclear-Energy-And-The-Environment/56556.
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