NUCLEAR POWER
Claire Foster-Gilbert © 2006
Nuclear power provides a great deal of energy
and does not emit carbon to do so in the way that coal, gas and oil do.
It provides a source of energy that does not contribute to climate
change. It can be produced locally: it does not need to be imported
from other countries, and so it helps to give a country fuel security.
However it is a substance that has to be handled carefully and leaves waste
products behind that are highly toxic.
Reasons why nuclear power may be the answer to
the
Generating the energy we need in our own
country must be preferable to relying on sources within politically unstable
territories.
Renewable
energy sources can be created close to people’s homes where populations are
sparse, but the current development of renewable technologies cannot provide
enough constant energy to fuel larger conurbations. A nuclear power plant
near a city will ensure energy in the vast quantities and concentrations
needed, while renewables could work elsewhere.
The
environmental cost and the efficiency of energy is greatly increased if it
doesn’t need to travel. This would be the case for nuclear power stations
close to cities, where the need for a reliable, constant source of large
amounts of energy is most needed.
We are in a
position to open more nuclear power stations now, whereas renewables technology
is still in its infancy by comparison. If the problem needs a solution
urgently, nuclear power is the way to go.
Reasons why nuclear power may not be the answer
About
36,000 tonnes of uranium is mined each year to meet current needs to fuel
nuclear power stations. The European Commission estimates there may be
only 2-3 million tonnes of exploitable uranium sources globally. At
current projections of nuclear capacity, uranium mining operations will need to
increase by 100% within 10-20 years, at which rate uranium will run out within
30-40 years.
It is
claimed that the highly toxic spent uranium fuel rods can be made safe, but
these claims have not yet been fulfilled. Do we trust that given enough
investment, scientific researchers will be able to find a way? If we do,
and the scientists fail us, we leave a deadly legacy to the generations that
come after us.
Nuclear
power allows us to be profligate. Reduced energy sources, or renewable
energy sources, that demand us to live more simply, place constraints on human
greed. Are we finding the energy source that gives us as much energy as
we want, and leaving the mess to our afterbears?
What about nuclear fusion?
Nuclear
fusion is claimed by some to be the answer. It does not use uranium and
is therefore, in theory, limitless. Its waste products are thought to be
less toxic than those of nuclear fission. However, the technology is
still relatively new; there are problems in the management and containment of
such energy, and even if the waste is less toxic, it is still toxic.