First reason:Nuclear energy saves lives
In 2013, a study by NASA showed that nuclear power avoided the deaths of approximately 1.8 million people. Even including the number of victims of Chernobyl and Fukushima, nuclear energy ranks last in death per unit of energy produced. Although nuclear waste is toxic, it is usually stored somewhere, while toxic fossil fuel by-products are released into the air that we breathe everyday. So just by reducing the amount of fossil fuel burned, countless cases of cancer or lung disease and accidents in the coal mines were avoided.![]() |
Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash |
If you have to choose between a lot of dangerous stuff put in deep holes and many many many dangerous things released into the atmosphere, the first solution seems more logical. Nuclear power seems far more dangerous, however. Simple catastrophic events burn in our memories, while coal and oil kill in silence. It's like the death rate between planes and cars. Even in the best case, it would take at least 40 years to change towards 100% renewable energy. So as long as we continue to use fossil fuels, nuclear will save many more lives than it will destroy.
Second reason:Nuclear energy reduces CO2 emissions.
Nuclear is probably much less dangerous for the environment in terms of climate change than fossil fuels, our main source of energy. Since 1976, approximately 64 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases have not been released into the air thanks to nuclear power. And by the middle of the 21st century, it could rise to 80-240 gigatons more. Human energy consumption continues to increase. According to the forecasts of the American government, China alone will add the equivalent of of a new 600MW coal plant every 10 days for the next 10 years. China already burns 4 billion tonnes of coal each year.Coal is inexpensive, relatively abundant, and easy to access. So it is unlikely that humanity will stop using it soon. Nuclear power may be the only way to cushion the effects of climate change and to prevent catastrophic global warming caused by humans. Compared to other things we do, nuclear is relatively clean energy. So even if it’s a good idea to quit nuclear in the long run, that would be a good solution for the next 100 years or so, compared to the alternatives.
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