I personally don't like the idea of nuclear energy being a main source of energy in the future, especially in a tiny island in Singapore. No matter how many safety features a nuclear plant has installed, and no matter how many times a nuclear plant has been proven to be safe by scientists, I still feel that there is no guarantee of our safety when it comes to the use of radioactive material like uranium. As they always claim, science has many unexpected results. I, for one, wouldn't want to see what unexpected results lie ahead with nuclear energy. Yes, I agree that the two main nuclear disasters in the past were not due to the technology within the nuclear plants but rather, the people who constructed and operated the plants. The disaster at Chernobyl resulted because the soviet union tried to cut corners in construction to save money and the nuclear incident at Three Mile Island resulted from an error by the operator guy. Yes, the plant itself may be safe for use but human error is unavoidable, and there are many unforeseen circumstances out there that are not within our control. I definitely wouldn't want to take that chance of making a mistake while operating a nuclear plant because even the smallest percentage of error/accident can be culminate in the extermination of an entire town or even an entire state. Another concern is the leakage of radioactive waste. Nuclear plants emit some radioactivity into the air and water during operation but these releases are regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. However, there have been examples in the past few years of unauthorised release of radioactive waste into groundwater. Although very few have resulted in detectable increases in radioactivity in public drinking water, more problems could arise if this is uncorrected.
No doubt, nuclear energy would prove to be a very viable resource alternative once it can e proven to reach the same efficiency level as our current energy sources. However, I feel that it would defeat the purpose of using sustainable energy if we wipe ourselves in the process of using it.
Having said that, I am not completely against the idea of using nuclear energy. I just feel that they should not be a main energy resource especially for Singapore. If a nuclear plant was built in Singapore and an accident would happen, our entire island could be wiped out in seconds! Countries that should be exploring nuclear energy are those that have extensive land mass or mountainous regions and hence enough land to build buffer zones for the nuclear plants or have then built in caverns. Countries like the United States, especially, have these resources. For these countries, I feel that nuclear energy is viable because damage would be minimised even in the event of a massive nuclear explosion. Small countries like Singapore may not be so lucky. For Singapore, I think it would be more viable to invest in osmotic power and solar energy rather than nuclear plants, or buy nuclear energy from other countries.
Here's a video I found on a possible alternative source to uranium for nuclear power:
Key Takeaways:
- Short-step objectives vs Long Stretch objectives: There is value in both. Short-step objectives give people more confidence and inspires them to keep improving in small bites because they are easily achievable and realistic. Long stretch objectives, on the other hand, may seem like over-ambitious goals but they encourage a whole new perspective and way of doing things. It forces people to rethink and reinvent current methods in an entirely different way because we would be unable to achieve that target using these current methods.
- In order to safeguard the rights of developing countries, developed countries should enter a mutual agreement with them when they decide to build energy plants in developing countries. This includes energy security for the developing countries (a guaranteed portion of the energy produced,), job security, revenue and training and expertise transfer to the locals.
- It is important for developing countries to address short term issues like food and water supplies. However, they despite the lack of funds, developing countries should also invest in long-term issues like sustainable energy production because they would never progress if they choose not to do so. The challenge then is to get the right balance between the two.
No comments:
Post a Comment