I recently did some researching into nuclear power. I often had debates with colleagues at my former job about the most environmentally friendly source of energy. I should note that I used to work for an oil and gas engineer training company and that most of the colleagues I discussed this with were high-level petroleum engineers of one sort or another. The most common answer I heard was that nuclear was our best option for environmentally clean energy, but it’s not safe. That is true to an extent. There are currently 104 nuclear reactors in the U.S. It would require 410 to become fossil-fuel independent. These facilities could also create synthetic fuel for vehicles. More efficient nuclear plants can actually recycle carbon with carbon filters and create a hydrogen compound that can be used as fuel for vehicles. It could save 2.8 billion tons of carbon from being released into the atmosphere each year. However; There is no safe way to dispose of nuclear waste. Having that many nuclear facilities creates a lot of targets for terrorist attacks and a lot of potential for catastrophic mistakes. It opens the door for other countries to build nuclear reactors. Safer forms of alternative energy are being developed. Which brings me to the next point: Solar Power. With new technology growing rapidly in the field of solar power, putting our efforts there seems to be the best option. The sun produces more energy than we could ever use, and it’s clean, free, and renewable. A friend of mine recently sent me this article on Germany’s plan to be energy independent by 2050. The plan includes various forms of solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. I would like to see the Obama administration create a plan like this with definitive steps and dates for when we can be energy independent. I’d also like to see fossil fuels and nuclear power left out of it.
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Nuclear, Solar, and Ze Germans
