Nuclear Energy vs Various Energy Sources

 

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As the world’s population increases and there is continued comparison to the current western European, Japanese, and North American living standards, there is likely to be demand for more electrical power. Energy sources available in the world include coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, and gas. In addition, fusion had been originally proposed as the long-term source.

Every form of energy generation has advantages and disadvantages as shown in the table below.

Source	Advantages	Disadvantages
Nuclear	Fuel is inexpensive Energy generation is the most concentrated source Waste is more compact than any source Extensive scientific basis for the cycle Easy to transport as new fuel No greenhouse or acid rain effects	Requires larger capital cost because of emergency, containment, radioactive waste and storage systems Requires resolution of the long-term high level waste storage issue in most countries Potential nuclear proliferation issue
Coal	Inexpensive Easy to recover (in U.S. and Russia)	Requires expensive air pollution controls (e.g. mercury, sulfur dioxide) Significant contributor to acid rain and global warming Requires extensive transportation system
Hydroelectric	Very inexpensive once dam is built Government has invested heavily in building dams, particularly in the Western U.S.	Very limited source since depends on water elevation Many dams available are currently exist (not much of a future source[depends on country]) Dam collapse usually leads to loss of life Dams have affected fish (e.g. salmon runs) Environmental damage for areas flooded (backed up) and downstream
Gas / Oil	Good distribution system for current use levels Easy to obtain (sometimes) Better as space heating energy source	Very limited availability as shown by shortages during winters several years ago Could be major contributor to global warming Very expensive for energy generation Large price swings with supply and demand Liquified Natural Gas storage facilities and gas transmission systems have met opposition from environmentalists.

 

CONCLUSION:

Throughout the world, we need every energy source we can get – including NUCLEAR. As one can see from the table above, all energy sources have BOTH advantages AND disadvantages. Nuclear has a number of advantages that warrant its use as one of the many methods of supplying an energy-demanding world. Even with conservation efforts, energy demand has been and will continue to increase. Other factors can accelerate that increase, e.g. the proposed shift to electric cars to meet environmental air quality goals. In using each and every one of these forms of energy production, we need to make sure we conserve as much as we can so we leave sources for future generations. Energy suppliers need to ensure that they do not contribute to short and long-term environmental problems. Governments need to ensure energy is generated safely to that neither people nor the environment are harmed.