Running head: TACKLING FUTURE ENERGY CHALLENGE

NuclearEnergyastheSolutiontoEnergyChallenge
ShuYiNeoh
ArgumentativeEssay
ENGL106i
Mrs.Park
April16,2015
PurdueUniversity

Authorsnote
CorrespondenceconcerningthisarticleshouldbeaddressedtoShuYiNeoh,First
YearEngineering,PurdueUniversity,WestLafayette,IN47906.
Contact:sneoh@purdue.edu

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Abstract
Renewable energy, from my preliminary research has shown a drastically
appealing future. After the identification of the potential of renewable energy in providing
humans the solution to the energy challenge ahead, I conducted an interview with an
energy expert, Mr. Carter about his thoughts on the potential of renewable energy.
However, I realized through a lengthy process of research that the limitations of
renewable energy made it exceptionally hard to overcome. Hence, I have decided that
while renewable energy technology is taking a long while to catch up to solving the
energy challenges, my argument is that nuclear energy is the way to go. I have numerous
researchers (Kharecha, 2013; Freed, 2014; Chu, 2012; Brook, 2014; Corner, 2011)
supporting my argument. While both systems are flawed, I remain adamant that nuclear
energy is the most realistic approach to tackling energy challenge.
Keywords: Nuclear energy, energy solution, energy challenge

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NuclearEnergyastheSolutiontoEnergyChallenge
Introduction
Toharnessnuclearenergy,thereareseveralreactors,whichincludesthenuclear
fusionreactor.Asthisisahighlyadvancedtechnology,onlycertaincountriesacrossthe
globeharnessenergythroughnuclearenergy.Oftentimes,theregulationtowardsnuclear
energyreactorissostrict,thatttakesadecadeormaybemoretobuildonesinglereactor
thatpassesthestandardsoftheNuclearEnergyAssociation.Thereareseveralreasons,
despitethecomplexityofnuclearenergythatmakesitanattractivesourceofenergy.In
comparisontoallotherformsofmajorenergyprovider,coalandpetroleum,nuclear
energyisabletogeneratesimilaramountofenergywithsignificantlylesseffectstowards
theenvironment.Asthepopulationhasincreasedbyfourtimestheoriginaltimesof
ChristopherColumbus,theenergyconsumption,isincreasedby10times(Lee,2011).
Withenergydemandincreasingatsuchrapidity,nuclearenergyisthebestsourceof
energytofulfillthedemand.
NuclearEnergyastheSolution
Firstly, nuclear energy is a form of energy that stems from the fission of
subatomicparticles.Themostcommonformofradioactivesubstancesusedisuranium.
Uponthementionofnuclearenergy,onecannotavoidmanyinstanceswheredeathsare
causedbythemeltdownofnuclearpowerplant,whichcauses radiationofextensive
degreethatinturncausesdeathandcancer.TheclassicexampleincludestheChernobyl
andFukushimaincident.Whilenuclearpowermeltdownareoftenlargelyreportedwith
adverseeffects,scientificpapershaveconcludedthatthedeathcausedbynuclearpower,

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arefarlowerthantheavoideddeaths.AccordingtoKharecha,(2013) Globally,we
calculate4900suchdeaths,orabout370timeslowerthanourresultforavoideddeath...
About25%ofthesedeathsareduetooccupationalaccidents,andabout70%aredueto
airpollutionrelatedeffects (p.1).Scientistswerealsounabletoconclusivelyattribute
deathstoradiation,evenfromthemajoraccident,mainlyThreeMileIsland,March1979,
and Fukushima Daiichi, March 2011 incident (Kharecha, 2013). It has been clearly
embeddedinthemindofthepopulationthroughthemediathatnuclearenergygeneration
istobeabsolutelyavoidedforthemassimpacttowardshumanpopulation.However,
mankindcannotignoretheprobabilitythathumanshaveavoidedmoredeathwithnuclear
energygeneration.
Themainreasonwhyfossilfuelsaresodependeduponisduetothefactthat
generationofenergyusingpetroleumisconstant,aslongasthesupplyofpetroleumis
constant.Thisfeatureisprominentlyillustratedasoneoftheoutstandingtraitnuclear
generationhas.Whilethesameisarguablewithusingcoalasthemeansofgenerating
energy,itisalreadyprovenstatisticallythatcoalandgasgenerationarefarmoreharmful
thannuclearpower.Fuelswitchingfromfossilfuelstocoalwillcauseevenmoresevere
climateconditionforseveralreasons.Thecarboncapturetechnologyistooimmatureto
bedependeduponasadependentconstraintotheemissions.Thecurrentusablenatural
gas,likeshalegasconsistsofhundredstothousandsofgigatonnesofcarbons,which
causesmajorclimateglobalwarming(Pushker,2013).Thisbringsustomyprevious
conclusionofrenewableenergybeingthesolution.AsoptimisticasIcanget,thegap
between the ability of renewables to generate energy as compared to fossil fuels is

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nowhere near the actual growing demand. While there is a huge part of the human
populationgoingagainstnuclearenergygeneration,nuclearenergyhas theabilityof
generatingenergywithoutcausinganyformofclimatechange,besidesbeingableto
generateasmuchenergyascoal.Afteralmost30yearsofdeclineinstudentsgraduating
as nuclearengineers,thereareasuddenspikeinthisfield,allbecausepeoplestarts
recognizingtheimportanceofnucleargenerationofenergythatiscompletelyemission
free,withhugepotential(Freed,2014).
Oneofthemainconcernsamongthepublicwouldbemanagingtheexcesswaste
afterthegenerationofenergyfromalltheradioactiveparticles.Todemandforabsolute
zerowasteisimpossibleregardlessofwhatformofenergythereisavailableevenright
now. Hence, the best way is to make these waste recyclable, which in fact, is a
technologycurrentlyholdsagreatpromise.Agesago,betweentheperiodof1964until
1994,theArgonneandIdahoNationalLaboratories,wasabletocreateIFR,theintegral
fastreactor,thatuses99%ofnuclearfuel,leavessolittlewastethatdecayswaybelow
thebackgroundlevelofradiation,within300years,shuttingitselfdownautomatically,
coolsitselfindefinitelyevenifthesystemfailsorthefacilityisabandoned(Brook,2014).
Withfurtherresearch,Ihavefatethatthetechnologycanfurtherbeenhancedtomanage
thewasteevenbetterthanitalreadyis.Nuclearpowerplantsaregettingmoreadvanced,
withhighregulatorystandardsbeforeanuclearplantisallowedtooperate.Thenuclear
plantisconstantlyregulatedandupdated.TheDepartmentofEnergyofUnitedStatesare
alsosupportingtheresearchonthedesignsofnuclearpowerplants(Chu,2012).

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Thewidelyanalyzedtopicregardingnuclearenergyhasagreatemphasisonthe
publicacceptanceofexploringnuclearenergygenerationasthesolutiontoourenergy
challenge.Publicopinionmatters,andmaymakeorbreakthedevelopmentofnuclear
energy.TakingUnitedKingdomasanexample,thepublicwithmajorconcernsover
climatechangeandenergysecuritymanagedtoshifttheenergypolicyinfavorofnuclear
energy as it is classified under lowcarbon technology. However, many reports have
shownhowmajorityofpeoplearereluctanttoacceptnuclearenergyasthemethodto
addressing the greater energy needs. Based on a national British survey, the public
remainsdividedinopiniononembracingnuclearenergy(Corner,2011).
Conclusion
Energygenerationusingnuclearenergyisjustthealternativewhilesearchingfor
abettersolutiontotheenergychallenge.Thereasonthatnuclearenergyisthemost
feasibleatthemoment,isduetothefactthatthegapbetweentheamountofenergy
generatedbycoalandpetroleumascomparedtorenewableenergyistoofaragap,andto
tighten the gap, will take up to several decades. The correlation between developed
countryandenergyconsumptionprovesthatthemoreadvancethecountryis,thehigher
the usage of energy. All across the globe, countries are developing, and with high
development rate, the energy consumption is on the rise (Lee, 2011). While nuclear
energyisabletosupplythedemandofenergy,itisalsoabletodosowithoutemitting
carbontotheatmosphere,withresources thatareabletosupplyenergyforthenext
centuriestocome.Iamconfidentthatnuclearenergyshouldbedevelopedtosuitenergy

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generationforhumanusage,insteadofbeingleftoutas partoftheenergysolution,
seeingthatithasahugepotentialtowardsthesolution.

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References
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Carter, N. (2015, February 27). Personal interview.
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http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/kharecha_02/

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Lee,S.,Saw,S.(2011).NuclearFusionEnergyMankindsGiantStepForward.
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