nuClear your mind about Nuclear Energy
It is one author's opinion to solve our future energy crisis by means of nuclear energy. James Lovelock, author of The Revenge of Gaia, argues that the most important features of an energy source should be its measure of output and its cost efficiency. He reviews all of the existing forms of energy that we currently produce includeing wind, biofuels, fossil fuels, hydro, natural gas, and also nuclear.
Nuclear energy is not the end of the world; it is a means to keep it lasting longer. It is safer, more efficient, and contains less wasteful byproducts than we could ever expect from an energy source. There are two energy processes that are derived from nuclear energy: fusion and fission. I don't know how either of the two work specifically but I do know that they are both somewhat related to how the sun generates heat. Imagine the power to generate the sun's energy at our disposal. The good among us would use it for the betterment of mankind, and the bad would ultimately use it for its destruction. Both have already occurred.
The easiest way to comprehend the benefits of nuclear energy is to imagine this visual:
"Burning fossil fuels produces 27,000 million tons of carbon dioxide yearly, enough, as I mentioned earlier, to make, if solidified, a moutain nearly one mile high and with a base twelve miles in circumference. The same quantity of energy produced from nuclear fission reactions would generate two milion times less waste, and it would occupy a sixteen-metre cube." -John Lovelock
Radioactivity is not harmful to Gaia. It may lessen the lifespan of an organism but it is nothing in comparison to our clearing of lands for farming and the eliminating of rainforests. Just imagine a 16 meter cube of waste compared to the mountain that Lovelock describes. I can't imagine all forms of transportation switching to nuclear power right away, but it's certainly not outside the realm of possibilities.
Gaia: a Final Plea
My plea for Gaia can be summed up in the following paragraph.
The more carbon that continues to flood the air the warmer it will get. Large amounts of carbon continue to be secreted from cow farts and racecar drivers. The hotter this planet gets the more ice will melt away. Our planet's albedo, which is its ability to reflect light from the sun, is diminishing. Ocean levels are susceptible to rise which would lead to the annihilation of major coastal cities and would result in millions of refugees around the world. The only way to put the brakes on a likely irreversible heating of our planet is to invest in the right forms of energy. Because let's face it, we rely on energy like older celebrities rely on botox. The smartest energy source to pursue further is nuclear energy. It's safe, efficient, and does not produce a lot of waste. Just don't let terrorists use it for the wrong reasons.
And so the lobbying will continue...
~Anthans
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