ABSTRACT
Advocates promote nuclear energy as clean and safe and believe that it must be in the mix of future energy sources. Most of the world’s 6 billion poor people need electricity to begin the process of rising economically. Nuclear energy does not depend on sunlight or wind to generate electricity. In addition, new generations of small reactors currently at the experimental stage will replace those presently in use. The advanced technology of these reactors will ensure efficiency and safety. A carbon-free energy source has much to celebrate when compared to the carbon dioxide effects of coal, oil and natural gas on the planet’s rising temperatures. The opponents argue that the construction, licensing, and operation of a nuclear power plant take seven or more years. Mining uranium, building the power plants, providing water to cool the reactors and disposing of radioactive wastes adds carbon emissions to our atmosphere. Finally, producing weapons-grade plutonium makes the world a more dangerous place. Both India and Pakistan developed nuclear weapons before making the transition to peaceful uses.
