Reopell,+Sherr,+Emond


 * Nathan Sherr ** **Barry Reopell ** **Jonathan Emond **

=**﻿Nuclear Power **=

// The Problem at Hand? //

// The Solutions // // Benefits //
 * The demand for energy has jumped in the United States and abroad. Along with this demand is the need for controlling or eliminating harmful greenhouse gases. Most of the problem areas for these green house gas emissions come from transportation and electricity. Both are more than 30 percent above where they were in 1990(Winters, 39). As the neighborhood power plant company begins to examine additional ways to produce electricity for my area, I believe they should look towards nuclear power as the best option for our future. **
 * Th[[image:nuclear-plant-near-gent.jpg width="141" height="190" align="left"]]e first nuclear reactors were built in 1951 and today there are 103 commercial nuclear power plants in 31 states producing 20 percent of the electricity used in the United States (Sikkema, Savage, 12). That percentage as well as number of plants is predicted to grow, with many people believing that we are in a “Nuclear Renaissance”(Sikkema, 12). President George W. Bush is the most pro-nuclear president in the past two decades, stressing that the United States must reduce its dependency on foreign fossil fuel sources. **
 * Nuclear power does not emit C﻿O or any[[image:plant.jpg width="351" height="308" align="right"]] other greenhouse gases. It is the world’s largest source of emission free energy, producing no air pollutants, such as sulfur particulates, or green house gases (Sikkema, 15). Using nuclear power in place of other energy sources will actually help to clean the air, preserve the Earth’s climate, avoid the formation of ground level ozone and prevent acid rain. The use of nuclear power plants has prevented tons of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide from entering the earth’s atmosphere. “Nuclear power plants were responsible for more than a third of the total voluntary reduction in green house gas emissions reported by the U.S. companies in 2004 according to the Energy Information Administration. Emissions reduction from using nuclear energy amounted to 143 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, 36 percent of the 391 million metric tons of total carbon dioxide equivalent reductions reported (Sikkema 15). **
 * Nuclear energy is also cheaper than coal and fuel price volatility doesn’t affect generation costs like it does in plants burning fossil fuels (Hansen 8). I[[image:NuclearPowerPlant1.jpg width="330" height="232" align="left"]]t is cheaper to build a nuclear power plant than to build a plant powered by coal. As a result of the Three Mile Island accident, new plant construction was halted and the industry was forced to meet stricter regulation standards with diligent planning and scheduling, as well as well thought out engineering and better employee training programs. With a few years of experience under their belts, nuclear plant owners began to trim time between outages and plants became more efficient, reliable and less costly to operate and maintain (Hansen, 8). **

// Alternatives //
 * Nuclear power also boasts the lowest impact on our environment. This includes water, land habitat, species and air resources. It is truly the eco-efficient power, producing more electricity in relation to its environmental impact. Nuclear power is the worlds most emission free source of power (Sikkemar 14-15).[[image:greenhouse_gas_emiss_trans.gif width="297" height="282" align="right"]] **
 * Nuclear power plants have an unprecedented safety record. The lessons learned from the Three Mile Island accident and the diligent government regulations and oversight, an unequaled commitment to personnel and public safety have resulted in a safety record that is second to none (Hansen, 8). The plants that are currently up and running are increasing their capacity each year by adding power uprates. The countries around the Western world that are looked at as the models for greenhouse gas efficiency all rely on nuclear power for production of electricity. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">There are downsides to nuclear power. There is the potential for radiation leaks. This has been carefully scrutinized since TMI as mentioned above. Nuclear reactors also produce radioactive waste. Facilities today make sure that waste is carefully contained, packaged and stored. Today spent fuel for electricity production is stored on site at the nuclear power plants (Sikkema 15). The operating statistics of today’s nuclear power plants are impressive and make a compelling case for future plant construction. If today’s plants are more than 30 years old and have overcome all of the adversity they met in their early years and have been able to attain reliability, safety and performance then I am in favor of a nuclear plant to meet my future electricity needs (Hansen 8). **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Because of the current state of the Earth’s atmosphere and the high level of pollutants, acid rain and threats of Global warming, I am not in favor of building a traditional fossil fuel plant in my neighborhood. Fossil fuel is the leading contributor to these eco-ills. Also the construction cost in building an efficient fossil fuel plant is greater than the cost of a nuclear plant. We as Americans can not depend on foreign fuel, or other unsustainable fuels. As China<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> and India<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> become more and more industrialized it will become more difficult and more expensive to depend on foreign imports. Energy demand is increasing and I believe that the future is not with the development of new fossil fuel plants. [|How it works Video] **
 * Wind power is a more interesting possibility for electric power. It is a renewable, nonpolluting source of energy. However, unlike nuclear power it is not as eco friendly. Large wind farms, especially those like the Nantucket Sound proposal will degrade the seascape. Marine and bird life will also feel the effects of these 440 foot turbines. Patterns of mariners, fishermen and tourists will be disrupted. The placement of wind turbines in the ocean are governed by very rudimentary laws and regulations at best, at worst they are non-existent (Hoagland, 56).**
 * Electricity production from wind has grown by 30 percent ( Anonymous 24). Government policy has encouraged development of wind power by offering tax credits and accelerated capital depreciation for facilities powered by wind. The ocean attracts wind farms because the wind is stronger and more consistent over the open areas. Also placing the turbines here is cheap because the “land” is actually a public resource, the ocean, and it is not privately owned. This is clearly an attempt to privatize the commons, in the case of Nantucket Sound we are talking 24 square miles of heavily used waterway. There is little to no precedence for wind farming in the US because there are no provisions for renting areas of the ocean to wind farmers as there are for natural gas and oil producers (Hoagland 58).[[image:wind-turbine.jpg align="right"]]**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">When it comes to Nantucket Sound, this project ceases to be hypothetical. On a clear day we will see these 130 giant turbines, with arms reaching 417 feet above the water and visible for 26 miles. They will be placed 6 miles from shore with hundreds of flashing lights warning airplanes and the noise from these turbines will be audible from shore. There will be a transformer substation 100 feet above the sound housing giant helicopter pads and 40,000 gallons of potentially hazardous oil (Kennedy 2005). **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Wind power on a small scale is beneficial. The single 248 foot tall wind turbine placed on the campus of the Mass Maritime Academy<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> will produce a $300,000 savings per year for the Academy with a pay back of less than five years. Over the lifetime, this turbine will produce more than $7 million worth of electricity for the Academy( renewable energy 1). Wind power definitely has a place in our energy portfolio, just not on natural treasures or National Parks. Given all of the uncertainties surrounding the effects on the ocean environment, ecosystems and the policy of privatizing common land I am not willing to sign onto a wind farm at this time. **

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Work Cited **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Hansen, Teresa. "Nuclear Energy's Brilliant Future." Power **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Engineering International (2006): 30-32. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Hoagland, Porter. "Which Way Will The Wind Blow." Oceanus Magazine **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">43(2004): 56-59. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Kennedy, Robert F... An Ill Wind Off Cape Cod<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">." The New York**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Times 16 Dec 2005, web.ed: op-ed. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Sikkema, Linda. "Nuclear Renaissance." State legislatures **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">March(2007): 12-15. **


 * ABC.net/nuclear power **
 * Graphafdc.energy.com/plants **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Winters, Jeffrey. "Carbon Loaded." Mechanical Engineering **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">April(2007): 37-39. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">"Utility-Scale Wind Turbine for Mass.<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> Maritime Academy." 25 Apr **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">2006. renewable energy access. 26 Apr 2007 []. **