Do We Really Need Nuclear Power Plants

There is aplomb energy all around us, it is just we lack the in-depth knowledge on how to harness it. Now wouldn’t it be a great idea if an Einstein could capture the strike of a lightning bolt with billions of Joules of energy. Just one strike would be enough to meet the domestic needs of an average household for a whole month. Energy is the most important component around which our modern world rotates, for we need energy to meet our industrial and domestic demands, and without it our world may as well go back to the Neolithic age.

Though we are at wits end to invent a machine like Doc Brown’s - of back to the future, we have placed our best bet in the nuclear option, which in itself possess threat to human existence. The Fukushima nuclear disaster must be still vivid in your dreams, it is very much so for the Germans who took to the streets in protest against nuclear facilities, which resulted in suspension of two nuclear plants in Germany. There is a major safety concern from nuclear plants and figures showed at least 88% of Germans are in favor of closures of all nuclear plants, and by 2022 the country is set to phase out all the nuclear facilities.

Okay, agreed fossil fuels are bent on changing the chemistry of our atmosphere, which spurred the evolution of humans, but nuclear powers can as well pack a punch to the human population. The call of the times is for alternate energy sources like, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydro-electrical and other renewable sources.

A photovoltaic system or a PV system which harnesses solar energy can go a long way in preventing thousands of pounds of CO2, the main villain of global warming from entering the atmosphere which is induced in the atmosphere by fossil fuels. It can also save the burning of tons of coal which further pollutes our environments.

Taking lessons from the Japanese nuclear disaster, China has geared up its march towards renewable energy source. From 2001 till 2013 its renewable energy production has increased from 27.8 Giga-watts to 183 Gig-watts, and by 2020 it will be able to meet 20% of the country’s energy demands. Going by consumption statistics China’s per capita power consumption is almost 4 times higher than US, and it is the most electrically charged nation of the world. If China can tilt its dependency from nuclear to other green sources to meet its growing demand, there is no reason why US or other countries around the world cannot follow the example and save our planet.

The nuclear power plants of US have further drawn the ire of the taxpayers, as the total construction cost of around 75 odd reactors in US was estimated at $45 billion, but Forbes claims that US actually spent $145 billion. This is a classical example of managerial disaster US is capable of, hope the authorities realizes the nuclear disasters and do more spending towards the cheap and better renewable energy sources than nuclear.