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Nuclear Power, way the panic? The other day I was at a coffee shop having casual conversations. Somehow the topic of green energy was introduced and a debate broke out in the peaceful setting. I stayed quite most of the time due to the fact I did not want to bring anger down on my head. One person was preaching the power of nuclear energy, the other the evils of nuclear waste. I had some knowledge in the area, but had not checked my facts.
The fear of the great atomic power has been instilled in me since I was a small boy. World War Two, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island all horror storied of a terrible curse that mankind had brought on himself. The question rose in my mind during the conversation, why the fear?
I Googled the subject,(just to get some idea to look) and received millions of pages. The first few pages were all anti-sites. So I went to the department of energy. They site was very helpful which was very different for a government site. I was surprised. Some of the major issues that the anti-site had was what to do with nuclear energy. That made sense to me, I had been taught the dangers in school.
The United States is powered by %20 nuclear power. The last reactor was built in 1973! There is less then 150 plants in the country. The total amount of waste that all of the plants have accumulated, including the navy and weapons, is 53,000 metric tons. Sound like a lot. Its not. The government site put it in perspective. All of the rods would fit in a 100x40 field. That is the playing field of a football field. and it would be 10 feet high. That is it.
What are we afraid of? That is a tiny amount. Zero Americans have died from nuclear power. But how many people have died from coal and its mining process. I like it, we should use it will wind and solar so we can be "Green" and get energy independence.