Environmental Public Health

Discussion#5 (Environmental Health promotion).

1. Answer the following:

a. Are you in favor of meeting US energy needs through increased reliance on nuclear power? Defend your answer.

2. Respond to two of your classmates. There is not a specific length for your responses, but you need more than an “I agree” or “me too” statement.

Respond to the classmate:

Danielle

When I consider reliance on nuclear energy, the first thing that comes to mind is the lesser of evils. I think that the United States has to be reliant on an energy source and it appears most other sources that are environmentally benign will not work in all areas. For example, wind, solar and geothermal sources are not possible in some geographical areas of the country. Coal undoubtedly has connections to climate change through CO2 emissions. So then where do we turn for energy?

I do support the continued use of nuclear energy as I don’t see an alternative source that presents a better solution. As the Office of Nuclear Energy posits, there are reasons to believe that nuclear energy is clean and sustainable. Nuclear energy is a zero emissions source that generates power through fission and the heat released by fission is used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity without the harmful byproducts emitted by fossil fuels (Office of Nuclear Energy, 2020). Nuclear power releases less radiation into the environment than any other major energy source. Again, the worst offender is coal, a mineral of the earth’s crust that contains a substantial volume of the radioactive element’s uranium and thorium (Rhodes, 2018) Burning coal gasifies its organic materials, concentrating its mineral components into remaining waste which releases radioactive material into the environment (Rhodes, 2018). Additionally, the land footprint required is small and it produces minimal waste. In the future of nuclear reactors, there is a hope that they will be able to operate on used fuel, they will be more efficient and potentially even safer. While nuclear energy is not the best possible solution, as it stands to date, it is the lesser of the evils.

 

Cedrick:

I support the use of nuclear energy in the United States. Nuclear energy produces carbon-free electricity, which helps the environment by reducing damage to the atmosphere. Nuclear-generated electricity prevents the emission of carbon dioxide caused by other energy sources such as burning coal. With the use of nuclear energy, air pollutants are eliminated. For example, nitrogen oxide that produces smog, sulfur dioxide which produces acid rain, mercury, carbon dioxide and particulate matter like smoke and dust are non-existent and help reduce deaths within the United States due to cleaner air that people are able to breathe. Nuclear power generation is also relatively cheap, costing less than two cents per kilowatt-hour for operations, maintenance, and fuel (Moniz, 2017). Nuclear plants run twenty-four hours per day and seven days a week and are able to operate at full power more than ninety percent of the time, making it the most reliable energy source on the grid. Nuclear plants also allow for an increase in jobs within the United States, employing up to 700 workers. A downside to nuclear plants is construction issues along with the deterrent of licensing and regulation approvals.