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Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power

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In this day and age, nuclear power is seen as a menacing and unnecessary solution to providing the world with its energy and electricity. However, when looking at the facts nuclear power is far more beneficial than harmful, especially compared to some of the most common sources of energy being widely used today. Nuclear power has many advantages, some of them being environmental, international relations and safety. Some may argue that nuclear power may damage the environment with waste and mining, however recent research has proved that nuclear power is one of the more environmentally friendly sources of energy. These advantages greatly outweigh the possible disadvantages, making nuclear power the better alternative for energy and electricity. …show more content…
According to Stanford University, high level waste will incessantly continue to build up as we have not yet found an appropriate and permanent solution for disposing nuclear waste. (Madres, 2011). Although there are only temporary solutions for the disposal of nuclear waste, as explained by TheHiroshimaSydrome.com the majority of these waste products become non-radioactive after about 50 years because of their short half lives being between one day and five years. (Nuclear Waste: What is it?). This deterioration of their radioactivity makes them no longer harmful to our environment. This ultimately makes nuclear power the more environmentally friendly option. Another argument for why nuclear power is harmful to our environment could be the damage done by mining for uranium. According to greenlivingtips.org in attempt to mine for the necessary resource to provide for nuclear energy, uranium, the landscape and environment is destroyed. (Bloch, 2012). Although the surrounding landscape is often altered when mining for uranium, this environmental damage is incomparable to the damage done by coal powered energy. With the immense amounts of carbon dioxide emissions made by coal power the world is facing rapid and severe changes, many of them irreversible. In the article, “How Nuclear Power Can Stop Global Warming”, it states that nearly 64 billion metric tons of greenhouse gasses are kept from polluting our atmosphere when using nuclear power. (Biello, 2013). Despite the possible environmental disadvantages of nuclear power, when compared to other sources of energy being widely used today, nuclear power is evidentially more environmentally

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