In light of recent events, I have been considering the wisdom of nuclear power. It's been said that nuclear power is not forgiving of either human malice or mistake. The high magnitude earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunami ended in tragedy for the island nation. The three backup protection measures that were programmed to protect the plant from a meltdown all failed one after the other by a seeming fluke, a great and terrible synchronicity.
My father, who is now a computer consultant, used to work with Babcock and Wilcox, the company who designed the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generator. He was on a team who helped to prevent a complete meltdown after the failure of the facility. I haven't been able to talk to him about it in detail, but from what I gather, he also wonders about the wisdom of nuclear power especially considering his close work with the issue. Three Mile Island is the infamous event that ended the nuclear revolution (and prevents a new one from taking place) in the United States. People have developed a "not in my back yard" (NIMBY) stance about most power producing facilities especially nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy is expensive in terms of both money and time. Getting water and air permits to build a new plant, convincing lawmakers and citizens that the plant is necessary to pave the way, and building the facilities can all be resource consuming. Nuclear energy, though considered a "clean" energy to some, can have negative effects on the ecology of an area. These plants necessitate massive amounts of water to keep the reactor running safely (this is why we see nuclear plants built on large bodies of water) and release steam into the atmosphere. Something I did not know until recently: water vapor is considered a greenhouse gas by scientists meaning that it traps heat in the earth's atmosphere (beneficial to a point but detrimental in excess). Also, different ecological systems depend on water temperatures to remain in certain ranges, so when a power plant uses water to cool its reactor, water is warmed and later returned to the original body of water. This can harm the wildlife living in the body of water because natural processes are dependent on water temperature.
I wish I could make a decision about nuclear power. It seems like a good option because of our need to switch from fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), but maybe it would be better to spend the next few years developing renewable energy technology that could propel us into a sustainable future. The cost, otherwise, is too great.
On a happier note, the Fresh Food Company (Aramark) on our campus is celebrating Earth Month (a grander version of Earth Day) starting April 4th where they will focus on water and energy conservation. SEA and SGA will be partnering with Aramark to advertise Mercer's new recycling program, so look for us April 18th!
