Energy Bill: Truth or Bust

One of the scariest debates in the world today stems from the depths of the cold war when the need for mass produced energy met the vast supply of the uranium which fuels monstrous power plants which thrive with a life of their own. Nuclear power, as well as Nuclear weapons has been in controversy for years. Of course the politics have changed a bit as the cold war has subsided, but the cold hearted realty behind a threat of a massive meltdown still remains the same. Not long before we rounded the new millennium one of the most devastating manmade disasters foraged mankind. The meltdown at Chernobyl was the first instance of a Nuclear Power Plant taking on a life of its own. The unstoppable force of the harnessed Nuclear Power devastated the Ukraine abroad. At the time so many of these plants already existed within the world, that wide spread fear of a meltdown was an even colder war in itself. Many people died of the effects of radiation poisoning and the exposure to these effects was wide spread. One of the coldest facts about a meltdown is that even after burying the sight with tons of concrete, this area will remain hazardous and radioactive for thousands of years. One by product of nuclear fission is plutonium 239. Lai and Morrison state, “Plutonium is a man-made waste product of nuclear fission, which can be used either for fuel in nuclear power plants or for bombs.’ Lai and Morrison continue, “The hazardous life of a radioactive element (the length of time that must elapse before the material is considered safe) is at least 10 half-lives. Therefore, Plutonium-239 will remain hazardous for at least 240,000 years. (from the article The Nuclear fact sheet,  by Leslie Lai and Kristen Morrison, © Nuclear Age Peace Foundation 1998)

In America today many Nuclear Power plants power the country. Though many countries have fought to gain there stake in the Nuclear Holocaust which currently exist, the Nuclear Regulatory Committee cannot actually green label the idea of building more Nuclear Power Plants. This does not mean there will be a meltdown anytime soon, but if it does happen it is a bit more catastrophic than the some disasters from alternative sources of energy like water, wind, solar, and even oil. In the long run oil is polluting the atmosphere everyday and causes many smaller catastrophes in the world today. Some people who fly in planes believe them to be safer then automobiles because the risk of an accident may be decreased. Unfortunately we all know that would be the one accident you would have to worry about. In other words there is greater risk of injury due to a car accident, but a greater chance of surviving on the ground. Nuclear power relates to flying as opposed to driving an automobile, or in this case using oil or natural gas. The risk of using nuclear power plants is always realistic, sometimes dormant like a sleeping giant.  One that if awoke could raise an eternal hell without warning, in the surrounding area. In the past several years many articles relating to the general health and safety of people living within the vicinity of Nuclear Power plants have been ignored by many politicians. This accounts for wide spread concern as the years fly by and these facilities become more historic and more likely to succumb to futuristic problems. Let’s face it, with age these plants begin to leak radiation into the atmosphere, into the water, and become more prone to disaster. The Nuclear regulatory commission has fought the idea of building new power plants for all of these reasons.