The Worlds Natural Resources Are Being Consumed At An Alarming Rate. A

The world's natural resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. As these resources diminish, people will be seeking alternative sources by which to generate electricity for heat and light. The only practical short term solution for the energy-crisis is nuclear power. Nuclear power, however is not as safe as burning coal, gas or oil in a factory it is in fact , much more dangerous, There are dangers associated with a nuclear power plant which far out weigh the benefits to society as a whole and in part to the community living and working around the power plant. About 20 percent of our nation's total electrical consumption per year is supplied by nuclear power from the 100 or so nuclear power plants throughout the country. Even though atomic power has been in use for over 50 years it was primarily a tool of war and destruction when the war ended need for atomic bombs diminished. The scientists who created the weapons were out of jobs . They then turned this destructive power into huge plants generating "clean and cheap " electricity for the country. It was called progress. Progress also brought with it sickness, mutations, cancer and event ually death to those exposed to high levels of radiation. Government declared that nuclear power is safe and efficient. Also have big Oil corporations who have a lot of money invested in nuclear power and want to see as many plants as possible put into and kept in operation. The truth is that accidents do happen at nuclear power plants and at other facilities all the time. An accident at a nuclear power plant has the potential to be much more devastating than an accident at a coal or gas plant because of the radiation that could be released. An example of this is Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania where there was a partial core meltdown in march of 1979 and acceptable" amount of radiation escaped into the atmosphere. However no amount of radiation is acceptable if released as a result of an accident at a nuclear power plant . Today many Americans adopt lifestyles that are based on energy in-efficient devices. These include large automobiles and electric appliances that require electricity from energy-intense industrial processes. The public is doing all it can to force nuclear power plants into production by wasting electricity and the resources which are used to produce it ( coal , oil , gas) and by failing to recycle. Nuclear power has been promoted World-wide as economically advantageous and necessary to replace fossil fuels as the means of energy production in the 21st century. However this is untrue. There are many other economically viable and environmentally safe methods of producing energy. These include solar power, hydroelectric power and wind power. Today one fifth of the world's total energy production either comes from either wind, water or solar power. It is estimated that by the year 2000 forty percent of the world's energy production will be from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear power. It is estimated that to meet, via nuclear power a quarter of the projected U.S. primary power demand in the year 2000 that the US would have to order a new nuclear power plant to be built every five days to compensate for the irradication of the coal, oil and gas powered plants. On the other hand if all U. S. nuclear power plants were shut down now, it would not make any difference at all. The existing electrical backup systems have reserves of power that can more than make up for the loss of the nuclear power plants. The nuclear power plants that are in use today are no more than large plants serving no purpose at all and endangering many peoples lives. With any large energy producing facility there are risks. The risks posed by a nuclear power plant however, are far greater than those posed by any other. Meltdowns, cancer, radiation, mutations and eventually death are all possible end results of the building of a nuclear power plant. Meltdown or the explosion of the main reactor itself can release tons of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. The meltdown of a nuclear power plant