Nuclear Power Essay, Research Paper
We use many sources of energy. One of our major sources is oil. Oil has been around for a long time. It is used in lamps, and it is refined into gas. Plastic products are also made from oil. From the 1900’s and up oil has been used mostly in cars and boats. Oil is the most used natural resource we use (ChemCom 155). It is used the most because it is easy to find.
The next most used source is nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants started to emerge in the 1950’s. Russia had the first power plant (Keeler 39). Nuclear power plants are safe and very clean. Nuclear power is also very efficient. For every one million people in a city a nuclear power plant only needs 3 kilograms of uranium (Keeler 39).
The third power source is natural gas. Natural gas is used in many household products. The main product in the house is the furnace. Practically all home furnaces run on natural gas. The second thing in the house that could be run by natural gas is the stove and oven. Many homes have gas burners and gas stoves , but there are some homes that use electricity for the stove and oven. The next product is water heaters. Water heaters burn natural gas to heat water.
The main reason we use oil so much is because it is used in many things we use. Oil is used in cars, and it is refined into gasoline. The most important reason we use oil so much is because it is cheap.
We used coal because it was easy to get. Coal also burned for a long time. Since coal was easy to get it was sold for a very cheap price. We use nuclear power because it is clean and it produces large amounts of energy. Natural gas is the same it burns clean when it produces energy.
The effects of the energy we use now are terrible. When oil is burned it produces many harmful chemicals ( ChemCom 155). These chemicals include , carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Both of these chemicals pollute and are harmful to people. Oil is a non-renewable rsource, Oil will start to get harder and harder to find. The oil will be expensive to find and expensive to buy. Present day sources of oil will be gone in a little over 60 years (Discovery channel, Beyond 2000). Coal is already practically gone, They don’t use it because it costs too much to mine and doesn’t produce enough energy to make up for the price paid to mine.
Natural gas is clean and efficient. Right now there is a lot of natural gas, but it still is not renewable. That isn’t enough to produce the energy made by oil or nuclear energy. Examples of energy alternatives , such as wind mills have been around for centuries. In the 1600’s and 1700’s wind mills were used to pump water and crush grain. At the end of the 1800’s , 6 ? million farms has windmills ( keeler, 69). Now today’s windmills don’t pump water or crush grain, they spin turbines. Ever since the oil embargo in the 70’s people have been looking for energy alternatives. Wind power is very efficient and clean. It doesn’t pollute at all (Keeler , 69 ). Since technology keeps getting better, wind power gets better also. Now the most modern wind mill can generate 2500 kilowatts of energy at speeds of 45 miles an hour ( Keeler ,69). If wind get too high the wind mill shuts down automatically.
Solar energy is another non polluting energy alernative. Solar energy is collected by the sun from photovallic panels ( Keeler ,69). There are many test sites for solar panels. But they are located on the desert. The electric car is the most popular energy altenative. They have started appearing in california and some other states. Electric cars have gbeen around since 1908 Studabaker automobiles produced the first electric car ( New York Times p. 5bt ), but the car died out because gas powered cars could go faster and farther that the electric car. Now electric cars can go over 60 miles an hour and go 120 miles on one charge. The next electric car is perdicteed to go 71 mph and go 300 miles on one charge. The cost per mile of electric cars is 2 cents a mile. For a gas car the cost would be 5 cents a mile. In 1998 more than 5 major car manufacturers are going to produce electric cars (New York Times pb5t). Another to gas is the use of methanol and ethanol gas. They burn cleaner and they receive higher octane ratings (New York Times pb5t). These gases are made from corn and other grains making them cheap. The alternative to nuclear power plants is the use of fast breeder nuclear power plant. Fast breeder power plants make there own fuel. The plant makes normal uranium 238 to plutonium 239 (Atoms for Peace “movie”). The uranium left over from regular power plants is uranium 238. After the uranium is turned to plutonium it is supposed to back into uranium 238 and then start the cycle. Before this new power plant was tested President Bill Clinton cut funding. 50 years of research ended (Atoms for Peace “movie”).
Since the oil embargo in 1973 people have been looking for energy alternatives. Back then they looked to replace oil. Now we look for energy alternatives to stop pollution. The sources we use now pollute. The most polluting source of energy is oil and coal.
The next reason we look for energy alternatives is because we are worried about our planets resources will run out one day (ChemCom 155). In a little over 60 years the oil will practically gone.
The gas powered car can be replaced with the electric car. Instead of burning oil and using nuclear power plants we can use fast breeder power plants. The next thing that can be changed is the mining of coal. It can be replaced by solar or wind power.
Right now we can’t change all these things at once. We can’t change because the energy alternatives will not provide enough energy to meet our demands. One example is the electric car it doesn’t go as far as gas powered cars. The second alternative is hydroelectric power. The problem is that it only works were ever there is running water. Another alternative is solar power. Solar power only works when the sun is up. If we used that as a major source of energy we would have no electricity at night. The next alternative is wind power. Wind power only works when the wind blows. Sometimes the wind doesn’t blow hard enough to produce enough electricity.
All these problems with energy alternatives can be solved . If we keep on researching with electric cars we could make them go just as fast and far as a gas powered car. When gas cars came out in the market they didn’t go very fast or as far as they do now. Hydroelectric power can be put on more rivers. We can also make more dams. Right now our solar power runs only when the sun is up
Bibliography
simple. People have become more violent. People want to see something realistic.
Not only is television more violent ,but also the video games played by millions of children. Instead of playing “pong” on an “atari” peoples hearts are being ripped out in the game “Mortal Kombat”. Technology has played a big part in video game violence. As the game systems got better so did the graphics.
After another ten years television violence and video game violence will probably be even better than today’s violence
|