America Needs Nuclear Power Essay -- Argumentative Essays, Persuasive

Nuclear world male monarch plants ar a safe, clean and reli able source of nix production. They are uniquely qualified to meet the growing pray for energy in the USA. It is estimated that the demand for power will grow two and a half pct per year. Even if the demand for energy didnt increase in the next but stayed where it is nuclear would still be the best choice for power production. Nuclear costs less and is environmentally cleaner than coal, which currently supplies about fifty percent of the power in the U.S. (Loewen 53). In addition nuclear has an exemplary safety record. The group of people who oppose nuclear and bring up renewable power sources, hereafter termed environmentalists, do so for very blend reasons. However, they fail to realize that renewables, wind and solar power, cannot supply the base-load electricity requisite for the power grid. They also dont realize that of the five power sources that can supply base-load electricity, coal, oil, hydroelectric dams, nuclear and natural gas, nuclear outranks the others both in cost or environmental safety or both. To construe nuclear power we need to have a general soul of how it is generated in most nuclear plants. This is a general description whole and makes no claim to encompass all the different variations possible for the figure of speech of nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy is produced from the nuclear fission chemical reaction of a heavy nucleus such as uranium captivating a neutron after which it splits into two fragments of nearly equal mass. This releases a considerable amount of energy and several more neutrons. The neutrons are then able to strike other heavy nuclei and cause them to fission, releasing more energy. This march occurring continuously results in a chain reaction in which umteen billions of nuclei may fission in a small fraction of second. In a nuclear reactor the self-sustaining series of fissions is carefully controlled. The commodious amount of energy released occurs in the form of radiation and the kinetic energy of the fission products expelled at high speeds. Most of the energy becomes thermal and is use to heat water and convert it to high-pressure steam. The steam is then employ to drive a turbine and the mechanical energy of the turbine is converted to electricity by means of a generator (Britannica). Environmentalists argue against nuclear power ... ...t line of nuclear power and it is probably the most well-managed waste in the level of the United States. This essay is not attempting to present nuclear as the perfect tense answer to the increased demand for power. Nuclear is not perfect, however, of the options available it comes the closest. kit and caboodle CitedCohen, Bernard L., The Nuclear Energy Option An Alternative for the 90s. New York Plenum Press, 1990.Lake, James A., Amory Lovins and hunter Lovins. Symposium Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power. Insight on the News 27 August 2001 40 45.Loewen , Eric P. Nuclear Power Can Help Solve Energy Crisis. theme Defense August 2001 52 55. nuclear energy. cyclopedia Britannica. CD-ROM. Chicago Encyclopedia Britannica, 1997.Norsen, Travis. The Enemies of Nuclear Power. The Business Journal Milwaukee 17 August 2001 43 - 44Oliver, Mike and John Hospers. Alternative Fuels? American Enterprise September 2001 20 29.Wardell, Charles. Nuclear Energy Comes Full Circle. Popular Science August 2001 38 42. Yelverton, Jerry. Nuclear Engineering. Vital Speeches of the Day 67 (2001) 655 659.