At the end of January, I realized that I had studied many aspects of today’s energy industry, but every book I had read had failed to mention positive aspects of nuclear power. While there undoubtedly many risks that are associated with nuclear power, I thought there had to be some kind of benefits to nuclear power, or the world would have outlawed it by now.
It was definitely a very productive month for me. I think it really assisted me in seeing nuclear power and the energy industry as a whole, in a new light. For me that was really amazing, because it helped to make my Senior Project an even more rewarding experience, by shifting my point of view in an unexpected way.
The two books that I read this month were Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy and Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Energy Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America's Energy Odyssey. I read Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy first. This book was about a woman who grew up near Yucca Mountain during a time when it was being discussed as the potential largest nuclear waste storage site in history. Her childhood was filled with constant fear of nuclear fallout. She spent her time with her friends planning for what she saw to be the imminent destruction of our world by nuclear disaster. Needless to say, by the time she became an adult she was more than terrified of nuclear power. However, one of her closest friends was a nuclear engineer that eventually changed her views and convinced her that nuclear power is much better than a “temporary solution” to our energy crisis. Nuclear power was first developed in the 1940s, about 70 years ago. This fact alone shocked me; every other book I have read had led me to believe that it had been developed much more recently. That alone made me think nuclear energy was much safer than I initially believed. The number of nuclear accidents that have occurred in those 70 years is very small. And all of those nuclear accidents were caused by bad decisions and poor planning.
This book also taught me that the hazards of nuclear power are much smaller than we have been led to believe. Obviously there are some unavoidable hazards coupled with the use of nuclear power, most involving the potential accidents that could occur during the period of radioactive decay. However, the volume of those wastes is much smaller than I was led to believe as well. Americans are the largest energy consumers, per capita, in the world. It takes an Indian citizen 20 years to consume as much energy as the average American consumes in one year. However, the solid waste produced from a lifetime of energy consumption at the level of an American take up the space of a soda can. Nuclear power also produces absolutely no air pollution, and does not add to the problems causing global climate change.
The second book that I read was Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Energy Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America's Energy Odyssey. This book also dealt with many common misconceptions associated with nuclear power. Nuclear power has been feared by Americans since the accident at Three Mile Island and we have failed to accept advances in the nuclear power industry, since the 1970s. Americans have remained ignorant of the benefits of nuclear power and everything good associated with it. Nuclear power supplies about 20% of energy in our country, but no one seems to have anything nice to say about it. This book discussed how a major problem with improving the technology and safety of nuclear power is that no one wants it around, even though they fail to realize its benefits and how our everyday lives are improved by it.
This month many exciting events occurred in the world, and in the US, involving nuclear energy. The US approved plans for a new nuclear power plant for the first time in almost 35 years (a plant to be built in Georgia) and discussed the possibility of using the same plans for plants in South Carolina and Florida. However, the US also made the decision to shut down a plant in Michigan that the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) has deemed unsafe, proving that our nuclear safety standards remain high. Iran also announced that it has developed the technology to make its own uranium fuel rods and will no longer depend on western nations to supply it with nuclear fuel rods.
I also got the amazing opportunity to talk to Mrs. Jones AP Environmental Science class about my project. They seemed really interested in it, which was really cool and I think that really helped me decide what I want to talk about in my final presentation. I really liked it, because they asked a lot of questions and became very involved in the discussion and it seemed like they learned a lot. It was definitely a very rewarding experience for me!
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