Early on man realized that fossil fuels would soon run out, and so nuclear power was born.  It was glorified as the cleaner alternative to oil and coal power stations, promising lower emissions and environmental safety.  But has it really lived up to our expectations? And is it the ideal energy solution for the future? We think not.

Although nuclear power is efficient and responsible for about 25% of the world’s electricity production, it is flawed in many respects:

Nuclear power cannot solve global warming:

Once seen as the solution to global climate change, nuclear power is far from it. Everywhere along the nuclear chain – from the mining of uranium to its transportation to the construction of the power plant – greenhouse gases are emitted.

Furthermore, their construction takes too long to solve global warming. In fact, investing in nuclear power deprives other efforts – such as energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy – of further funding and development.

Nuclear plants release radiation:

The levels of radiation released in the air, water and soil are considered “safe”.  However, this standard is based on how it impacts healthy, white males and does not take consideration for children that are sensitive to cancer-causing radiation.

They create harmful radioactive waste:

From mining to milling, processing to enrichment, fuel fabrication to fuel irradiation in reactors, large amounts of harmful, long-lasting radioactive waste is produced. In addition to 20-30 tons of high-level radioactive waste per reactor per year, this includes so-called “low” level radioactive waste.

The current solution for the “disposal” or “storage” of this waste is unacceptable. There is no scientifically safe place to dump this waste, and new reactors would exacerbate the problem. Additional “low” level radioactive waste would have to be dumped in landfills or incinerated, polluting the water and air.

Nuclear plants are too costly:

At $6 to $12 billion each, nuclear reactors are not a cheap solution. Nuclear power has already been subsidized hundreds of billions of dollars. Why should we, the taxpayers, subsidize the electric utility companies’ investments any longer?

Development of nuclear technology brings war and terrorism:

This has been seen at the September 2007 bombing of Syria’s suspected nuclear site by Israel, and the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program. Reactors will always set the stage for atomic weapons production. So, as long as power plants exist, there will always be tension over the possibility of a nuclear attack. Furthermore, reactors are soft targets for terrorists to get hold of nuclear materials, so the more reactors built, the greater the risk.

Any accident will be catastrophic:

All nuclear plants are vulnerable to accidents or attacks. Nevertheless, if an accident did occur, the current evacuation plans are completely unrealistic. In addition, the Price-Anderson Act ensures the utility’s liability of an accident is limited to only $10.8 billion. This is absurb, considering a serious reactor accident could cause as much as $600 billion of damage. Once again, the balance would likely have to be paid by us, the taxpayers.

There are better alternatives:

What bothers us most is we already have better, cleaner, safer and cheaper alternatives available and ready to implement. Perhaps with the recent election of our new US government, nuclear energy will be put to rest and renewable energy will be harnessed on a larger scale.

But while we wait, it is possible to start harnessing renewable energy at home.  What’s more is, it does not cost very much and is rather simple to implement.  Various solar and wind power guides have already become available, which you can see in our reviews section.

Originally posted 2008-11-12 19:58:42.

If you're interested in making your own power at home, then why don't you Try Earth4Energy For Free? Also, have a look at our in-depth Earth4Energy Review. Thanks for visiting!

• What Is So Great About Renewable Energy? by Alexis Jameson For the various countries in the world to keep functioning energy is required. Traditionally non-renewable sources of energy have been used to power industries. However much of this is now reduced and renewable energy is much preferred method of power. Here are the reasons why everyone should......
• Solar Energy Facts: Winter's Coming Cut Energy Bills Now This year you don't have to dread winter, well at least you don't have to dread the high energy bills, there are numerous low-cost and simple steps you can take around your house that might help you lower energy bills. The great thing is if you spend some time......
• Renewable Energy From An Old Concept by Michael Edwards When doing the research for a article on new green products, I was unaware of many of the different ways to convert the energy of the sun into electrical power. I have written about solar cell or photovoltaic cell systems, so let's look at another type of......
• Understanding Wind Power Electricity For Future Use by Denzil De Vries Nations and states are investing money in to sustainable wind power electricity farms situated across rolling plains and shallow ocean shelves. Alternative energy sources are variable by nature and so wind power electricity is just one part of a larger alternative energy picture. Wind farms worldwide......
• Why Is Safe And Clean Energy So Important? by Steve Wilson So what is safe and clean energy really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about safe and clean energy--info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you. Solar is comically unsuitable for baseline power generation. Even forgetting it's 4X......

• Living Off The Grid Can Save Power At Home Before we get into what living off the grid means and how it can help us save power at home let us take a look at our present situation. First, are we facing a world power crisis? I think we all know the answer to that. Yes, we are facing......
• Not All Nuclear Technology is Bad A swords into ploughshares moment hit me today. It's the news, Isotope shortage may delay scans , that because three reactors are closed at once, the whole world supply of an isotope, molybdenum 99, which is used as a marker in body scanning, has been interrupted. In an astonishing pointer to......
• Greenwash Of The Week: Climate Greenwash Awards 2009 This week I have a special treat for you - the 6 nominees for the Climate Greenwash Awards 2009 over in Copenhagen. The awards have been organized to highlight how companies are greenwashing their behavior to claim they can be part of the solution to climate change, while they continue......
• Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days. Some of us are always looking to......
• Alternative Energy For Homeowners As home heating costs rise, and energy in general gets more expensive, many homeowners are turning to alternative means to power their homes. While many systems require a lot of effort to implement, there are quite a few that can be easy to install and quite economical. Whether it is......