Monday, October 20, 2008

Nuclear Energy Question

Please answer ONE of the following questions by responding in the comment section.

  1. Discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy.
  2. The primary problem with nuclear energy is the radioactive waste that is produced. How would you suggest we deal with this waste as a country?

29 comments:

valentina perez said...

Discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy.

Pros...
Nuclear energy is give of a small amount of carbon dioxide. You can make a lot of energy from nuclear energy.

Cons...

Radioactive waste is a harsh unsolved problem that a cure hasn’t been found for. Once you dispose of the waste you have to watch it for the next 10,000 years. It is used to make nuclear weapons.

AdrianaGaytan said...

Some people suggest that nuclear energy is the source of the future others may disagree and say that it is a threat to the future. Nuclear Energy is a clean renewable resource that we use to produce electricity. It is responsible for producing about twenty percent of the world’s energy. This particular type of energy does not release any harmful gases that may harm our atmosphere nor does it release green house gases that may cause global warming. It also helps us reduce the need to burn fossil fuels that can contribute to global warming.
The only problem with nuclear energy is that the byproducts that are produced by nuclear fission is highly radioactive and can be harmful to both the environment and human life. Nuclear fission is simply a process used to extract energy needed to produce electricity. As power plants use this method not only is electricity being produced but also radioactive waste. There are three types of waste that are produced: high-level, low-level, and mill tailings. The waste can remain radioactive for up to thousands of years and exposure to it may cause many effects on the human body and treatment till this day has not been found. Many countries that produce nuclear waste are having trouble deciding were to store it; were it can be safely stored and out of harms way.

Alma Martinez said...

Pros and Cons.

Pros of nuclear energy
-does not harm the environment by releasing greenhouse gasses which trap heat and cause global warming
-renewable source of energy

Cons of nuclear energy
-causes radioactive waste which are very harmful to us and our enviroment
-there are three types of nuclear waste: high-level, low-level, and mill tailings and each of these can be radioactive for thousands of years.

trinhle92 said...

Discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy.

Pros: Renewable source of energy

Cons: The radioactive waste is harmful to people and the environment. It can be use to make nuclear bombs.

Daniel Gutierrez said...

Question 1:


As we all know is that many energy sources across the globe are more accessible and convenient to the human society and cheaper but yet they are profitable or at least to the petroleum industrial billionaires. Yes, as we see those large sums of profits come in trough the petroleum there is a major harm been extracted through those billions of dollars. It is carbon monoxide a very pollutant gas into our environment. Carbon monoxide is just one factor out of the many coming from the petroleum industries and fossil fuels, what this fossil fuel are its guaranteed damage that we are causing to our own home even if theirs only a limited amount of source coming out of the limited petroleum which in several years will be extinct. Who can guarantee us we wont extinct ourselves before then? Nuclear energy is one of our fossil fuel alternatives a source of energy to the world that releases no gas emissions into the environment but there is a by product to this unlimited source of energy in which scientist and humans have questioned this unlimited process of energy is really safe to the human society. A by product know as radiation that if inhaled to much by us the humans it leaves a fatal result amongst us. Yes it may be fatal if mishandled but if we are trying to friend a in dependable fuel source as more than just Americans but humanitarians we would weight these pros and cons and for better or worst leave the expenditures and investment calculations to the side if it is that we truly believe in a healthier alternative energy source for this planet.

mary said...

My response to the first question is that nuclear energy can have its pros and cons. First let’s look at the pros of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy comes from plants which can be grown easily. Nuclear energy does not pollute our oxygen. And when nuclear energy is tossed into waste it is completely isolated from our environment.
Now for the cons, nuclear energy is not really that safe. Nuclear energy can cause fires where people can get hurt. Although nuclear waste is isolated from our environment, the toxity that’s produced from the waste decreases slowly. Nuclear energy has allowed the production of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are used for war, which are not that safe either.

giselle said...

My response for the first question is that the benefits of nuclear energy does not pollute the air with nitrogen oxides, dust or greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. Nuclear energy benefits us because it produces electricity through the fission. Without electricity what would we do? Of course we need electricity so we can have air condition in our houses and materials, such as a flat iron to do your hair. There are many things that we need to do with electricity and because of nuclear energy we would not have electricity.
The cons of nuclear energy are that the safety is not very good. People fear from the consequences on people and the environment. It is said that, “The average dose any individual in the world receives each year from all of the activities in the peaceful nuclear fuel cycle.” There is also an example of people dieing because of the cause of nuclear energy. For example firefighters die because of this. It is a very high dose for them.

victoria_herrera said...

I think that the country needs to come together and figure out a master solution to this wide problem. They should start out small and work state by state. Because medical hospitals along with factories use a lot of the nuclear energy and gave a lot of waster, it is very hard. I think we should either try to either create an alternative or another use for the waste.
Just as the quote goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, we should try and use the waste as a productive matter. Burying it or using it with decay. The scientists can make or invent something productive to change the waste into a resource.

Martin Puente said...

Some say that the nuclear energy sorce is a great idea that can be use for our own benefit in the future, and some say that it may change our future to a bad way. Nuclear energy is a clean source that we use to create electricity.The only problem with nuclear energy is that it is harmful for the enviroment and to the humn life on the long run.

Stephanie Canchola said...

1.
Pros-
* nuclear energy does not contaminate our air
* produces electricity

Cons-
*Radioactive waste harms the human body, scientist still havent found a cure
*Terrorist can attack
*can be used to build nuclear weapons

nicole_torres said...

Discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy.

We use power every day. It no longer is a luxury but more of a necessity. Nuclear power has been a big help in producing most of the energy that people use around the world. Since we use it so much lets point out the pros and the cons about it. First of all, using nuclear power systems generate a low level of carbon dioxide that cannot harm us or the atmosphere so badly. Also, one power plant can produce high enough levels of energy.
Now, for the cons of nuclear energy. nuclear energy is very dangerous. Exposure to the radioactive waste can be harmful not only to humans but to the earth to. Not to mention the many possibilites of an accident or at terrorist attack taking place and wiping us all out of the earth. These nuclear power plants will help us with the production of electricity but will raise many security issues. Also adding that these nuclear plants cannot just be built from several months to a year, it can take about 15 to 20 years to build in areas.

alexfranco said...

The pros would be that this technology is readily available; it does not have to be developed first. Also, it is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant. The cons would be that the energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium. Uranium is a scarce resource; its supply is estimated to last only for the next 30 to 60 years depending on the actual demand. During the operation of nuclear power plants, radioactive waste is produced, which in turn can be used for the production of nuclear weapons. In addition, the same know-how used to design nuclear power plants can to a certain extent be used to build nuclear weapons.

Martin Puente said...

My response is that nuclear energy can have its pros and cons. Nuclear energy makes plants grow easily. And one positive thing about nuclear energy is that does not pollute the oxygen.And once energy is tossed into waste it is completely isolated from our environment, which is good for our earth.

LuisNetro said...

Discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy.

The pros of nuclear energy does not harm the environment and does not cause people any problem. This type of energy is renewable, and it does not contribute on the increasing of global warming.
The cons of nuclear energy that can be very harmful because this is all the opposite of the pors. This type of energy helps global warming to increase and it also damages the ozone layer by releaseing green house gases.

Erika Cruz said...

In my response for the second question, there are several things that as a country we can do to get rid of the radioactive waste. One way is to build a place were this wastes do not harm communities, making sure that this "dump" places are safe for this waste to be put there. Also making sure that this waste does not get into our water, or land.

gutierrez.c said...

In my response to the second question would be that they are several way that we as a country can find several ways to store the radioactive waste.
One way that we can plan on doing it is storing it underground were we don't have to breath it and in a couple of years we might be able to re-use it again. We can also find other ways to storage all this nuclear waste.

Angela Villarreal said...

Is nuclear energy an advantage or disadvantage to our enviroment?
Nuclear energy produces electricity in a clean and renewable way. Nuclear energy does not produce greenhouse gasses that will contaminate our enviroment and cause global warming.
Nuclear energy has a consequense and it is the radio active waste that is harmful to the enviroment and livingbeings.A cure to the harms made by the radio active waste has not yet to be found.

Edgar Espinoza said...

1.Not everyone agrees that nuclear energy is the way to go but it has its own pros and cons. The pros of nuclear energy are that for starters by using nuclear energy there will be a less need for the burning of fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is also a clean method for producing energy, for example, there are no harmful gases, smoke, or green house gases released that will be harmful to the atmosphere or add to the problem already intact of global warming.
However, there are also cons to nuclear energy. Nuclear fission is highly radioactive and is therefore harmful both to people and to the environment. Even though this would not be that big of a problem if it would only last a while, it is because nuclear waste actually lasts being radioactive for thousands of years. With that being the case there will soon be no other place to store this radioactive waste making it a huge threat.

Symone' Cooper said...

Pro: Nuclear energy is a reliable clean source of energy.It also cuts down on fossil fuels.This is something that we really need to try to help save not only our environment but also our planet in general.

Con:Radioactive waves on the other hand are bad. These are extremely more tough on the environment.This isnt the only reason why, oyu also have greenhouse gases and co2 emissions being released. The radioactive waves are high, low, and mill tailings.

cano.antuan said...

Some of the pros c and cons of nuclear energy are as follows:

Pros
-Clean
-Efficient
-Renewable
-No more energy dependence

Cons
-Nuclear Waste
-No cure for radiation poisining
-Nuclear Apocalypse(More Nuclear Energy, more Nuclear Weapons)
-Nuclear Failure( Meltdowns)i.e. Chernobyl.

Valeriano Rios said...

Pros:
able to make tons of energy
does not release green house gases
renewable source
Cons:
Racioactive waste harmful
can be used to make nuclear bombs

Gustavo Navarrete said...

Nuclear energy is a great source for alternative energy. But like every other energy source, it has its pros and cons.

Nuclear energy sounds like a good idea, being cheap and renewable. By using this method of energy, ninety point one percent less carbon dioxide is realesed into the atmosphere. This energy sources is great, so why would it be feared?

Well, thats the problem, just like any other energy sources nuclear energy has its cons. The waste released by the production of this energy source is radioactive waste. But what does this waste harm? We'll, pretty much about everything, it is harmful to the soil. But if thats not enough to scare you, it also causes damage to humans, and till this day there hasnt been any cure to the damage caused.

LucellePhan said...

Nuclear energy is a clean renewable resource and is produced by its highly radioactive. The pros of nuclear energy release gases that are not harmful to our atmosphere and environment. It is not involve in green house gases that could cause to global warming, therefore, it is absolutely clean and harmless. We use nuclear energy to produce electricity which we use in our daily life. This way we can conserve the amount of burning fossil fuels and less dependent on energy.

One of the cons of nuclear energy is the radioactive waste. Because power plants produce electricity from nuclear energy, radioactive wastes produce as well. This radioactive waste is harmful to both human life and environment and the more waste there are the more contaminated the environment is. Another problem with nuclear energy is the creation nuclear weapons that may cause chaos to our country. As the amount of nuclear waste grows, we have no more space to store these harmful wastes away from the society.

Anonymous said...

Discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy


the PROS
for Nuclear energy is that we can use it to make more energy, to supply millions. with small amounts

the CONS would be that we can use it as a weapon to for ecample Nuke other countries, the after math of doing that would give poeple in that area radiation which is very harmful. kill. not just us but the environment we live in can also be affected.

Carlos Estrada said...

Nuclear energy has alot of pros and cons.

Among the pros;
-it is renewable
-does not produce harmful greenhouse gasses
-does not contribute to global warming
-will decrease our dependence on fossil fuels

Among the cons;
-produce nuclear waste which is harmful
-can be used to produce nuclear weapons
-causes radiation

RoseNguyen said...

My answer pertains to the first question. There are advantages and disadvantages to everything, including nuclear energy. A benefit of nuclear energy is that it emits low amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Another plus is that nuclear energy is clearer and it replaces the use of fossil fuels. Last but not least, it can produce alot of energy even though it may not look like it can.

Disadvantages includes that it still emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. There is also no way to officially get rid of the radioactive waste. Drawbacks include that it can break down and stop working completely. Nuclear energy consists of Uranium, which is scarce.

Carlos Estrada said...

CARLOS RUIZ SAID.......
Pros:
Clean
Efficient
Does not produce co2 emissions
Does not contribut to global warming
Renewable
Does not require fossil fuels

Cons:
Produces toxic waste
Harmful to wildlife
Used to develop nuclear weapons

Monica :) said...

Nuclear energy is another type of energy. It can be used to provide the United States with electricity and in other ways. There are many pros to nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is clean compared to other sources. It does not emit harmful gasses that can contaminate the atmosphere. It is also a renewable type of energy and this is a big pro because it will not run out so easily.
Although nuclear energy sounds good, it has some cons that should be considered. First, nuclear energy emmits radioactive waste. The radioactive waste emited from nuclear energy takes thousands of years to dissappear. The nuclear waste also contaminates the earth greatly. All this waste would not be bad if there was anyway to store it, but in this case no storage is available. The nuclear waste would exsist in the open, making things worse.

angelgue said...

What would be the best way to get rid of raioactive wastes. First of all we must find a place where no humans leave and is almost empty. That place would be a dessert near a mountain and dig a deep hole. After is done radio active wastes will come and be place in them by trains. Then when the wagons of radiactive wastes are place we close a massive door. The area has also to be well secured 24 hours so no one will get access to the radiactive wastes and use them to build nuclear weapons.