| Nuclear Energy has been touted as an alternative | | | | has been carried out since the bombing of |
| to mainstream electricity production from fossil | | | | Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War Two, and |
| fuel sources. But how does Nuclear compare to | | | | that many millions of casualties have occurred in |
| fossil fuels in the long run? | | | | conventional warfare since that same time. |
| Undoubtedly fossil fuels have serious issues | | | | The reality for us though is that nuclear power |
| associated with them. Peak Oil production is one | | | | relies upon supplies of Uranium and Plutonium that |
| such problem which will very soon make its | | | | are themselves limited. While these resources |
| presence felt at both the national and individual | | | | may have only begun to be exploited, it is certain |
| level. Another even more serious concern is the | | | | that if our current level of increase of energy |
| possibility of serious and perhaps irreversible | | | | consumption continues then Nuclear fuel will also |
| climate change brought about by pollution primarily | | | | face the prospect of its own peak production |
| in the form of Carbon Dioxide emissions from the | | | | level. |
| burning of fossil fuels. | | | | It cannot be a responsible decision to replace fossil |
| So how does Nuclear energy stand up as an | | | | fuels with another energy source that is also |
| alternative to fossil fuels in terms of a sustainable | | | | doomed to run out in the foreseeable future. |
| source of electricity production? There are | | | | While those proponents of Nuclear power proclaim |
| several concerns about Nuclear energy that have | | | | it as the salvation of our current situation they |
| given it a bad name. Reactor problems such as | | | | are not looking far enough into the future. |
| those that caused the Three Mile Island and | | | | To make correct, responsible decisions that take |
| Chernobyl incidents, along with several others, are | | | | into account not only our own welfare but also |
| far fewer in number relative to the scale of | | | | that of our children and their children, we need to |
| electricity production than compared to casualties | | | | adopt wide scale renewable energy in the form of |
| in the mining sector associated with oil and coal. | | | | Solar and Wind power. These proven technologies |
| Storage of Nuclear waste is also largely an issue | | | | have the capacity to meet our energy demands |
| of the past with technology now available to | | | | TODAY with no adverse future effects, assuming |
| store Nuclear waste in solid form, reducing | | | | they are implemented in an intelligent way. |
| virtually to zero the possibility of leakage, ground | | | | It is time for Governments around the world to |
| water contamination and so forth. | | | | stop looking for excuses and start making moves |
| Use of fuel enrichment to produce weapons | | | | that assure the coming generations a safe, |
| grade nuclear materials such as Plutonium-239 is | | | | energy rich and pollution free world. We need to |
| an unfortunate but essential part of the | | | | begin implementing massive scale renewable |
| economical use of nuclear fuel. It is worth | | | | energy immediately. |
| remembering that no aggressive nuclear strike | | | | |