2 Responses

1. partially.

   while what you said is kind of true if you consider “world peace” not having world war 3 yet…. but otherwise i think you’ll be quite lonely saying that what we have today is peace.

   as far as the nuclear weapons, if a single nuclear missile were to be launched anywhere in the world it would nearly instantly throw us into a nuclear war. the cold war concept of mutually assured destruction isn’t a good thing if someone decides either they don’t care and just wants to harm us, or they think “hey, if we cripple them enough with this first attack then they can’t attack back” or whatever.

   as for the power, ever heard of chernobyl? the full meltdown which happened in 1986, i believe, caused world-wide panic because people didn’t know exactly what to expect. the clean up is still not 100% finished because there were some spots they simply couldn’t get close enough to to clean up. the cost of the clean up for that single incident outweighed both the cost of building every nuclear power plant in the world, and the the energy produced by every nuclear power plant in the USSR in a year.
   so that one incident showed the potential costs of nuclear power. perhaps if that, and 3 mile island (a partial meltdown in the US) never happened then we would have continued to vigorously research nuclear power and as a result today have safer and more efficient nuclear power plants, but as it is today people are still afraid of nuclear power. even in the last presidential election whenever either mccain or obama mentioned anything about new nuclear power plants ppl reacted negatively.

   in theory nuclear thechnology is a great idea, but in practice it can be extremely hazardous to the enviroment and have unforseen effects simply because the technology is still relatively new. i do not agree

2. I agree!
   PROS
   !. Fission is the most energy for the least fuel with current technology.
   2. Less fuel means less waste, and the waste is all accounted for, not released into the atmosphere to become someone else’s problem.
   3. Uranium is readily available, very common in the earth’s crust (about the same as tin)
   4. Economical – operating cost about the same as coal, fuel cost is a much smaller percentage of the total, therefore less susceptible to price fluctuations.
   5. Reliable – Nuclear power plants have very high capacity factors.
   6. No combustion, no Co, CO2 or SO2 released.
   7. Creates jobs.
   8. Reduce dependence on foreign oil/ fuel. Uranium available domestically and in oceans.
   9. High temperature reactors could produce Hydrogen as well as electricity.
   10. Fantastic safety record.

   CONS
   1. Irrational fear of all things nuclear.
   2. High cost to build and license, large initial investment for long term pay back.
   3. Publicly accepted high level storage facility not domestically available.
   4. Reprocessing facility not domestically available.
   4. High cost of personnel.
   5. Security concerns, terrorists, rogue governments
   Nuclear power, I believe is the best, safest, most reliable, current technology to provide energy. The plants operating now are safe and the new designs are even safer.
   Building 100’s of new nuclear power plants would improve the economy, reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign oil, create jobs, reduce pollution, and provide for future technological advancement.
   I have been working with nuclear power for about 30 years, I would be glad to have a Nuclear power plant or high level waste disposal facility in my backyard. My family and I live in a home within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant. (where I work) I have a great understanding of the risks involved and am completely comfortable with a plant “in my backyard”.
   Using Chernobyl as a reason not to build is like saying because of the Hindenburg I will never fly in a commercial airliner.
   Nuclear power has the smallest environmental impact of any current energy production method per unit of energy produced. One fuel pellet about the size of a pencil eraser produces the same energy as about 1 ton of coal, and if reprocessed 2/3 of what’s left can be reclaimed. Nuclear power is our best option for reliable, environmentally friendly, base-load electrical power.