The Argument for Nuclear Power

It is a bit concise because this is a speech I spoke in my communications class. This is not the exact speech because I improvised off of an outline that I had made. What I have written is based off of the outline, however:

It is well known that oil is not a reliable energy source. We are using it at an ever increasing rate, and it is costing us more as demand goes up and oil companies manipulate the economy. It is unclean, causing concerns for environmentalists, and costing us money to fix our environment. What if I told you that there is an energy source that is cheap, clean, reliable, and well researched? This energy source is nuclear power. Nuclear power plants are an energy source that is overlooked as a solution to our oil energy crisis. Nuclear power should be used as a major energy source instead of oil. It's cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient, so let me explain to you why nuclear energy is a great energy source to hold us over until we have the perfect energy source.


There's opposition to nuclear energy because people automatically think of the absolute worst that could happen, which of course is a nuclear meltdown. I would agree that of course a meltdown would be horrible. But, people forget that we have hundreds of nuclear power plants today, but no meltdowns. Why haven't you heard of any meltdowns recently? Well, probably because there has not been an accident in the US in over fifty years now. In fact, the only accident that occurred in the US was not catastrophic, due to the containment building built around the reactor. Nobody in the public was put in danger because of this. And, the reason why these things happened was mostly because of our limited understanding of nuclear energy and radioactivity. Other energy sources have caused more deaths than nuclear plants, for example, an estimated 15,000 Americans die prematurely each year from coal-fired power plant emissions. Of course nuclear energy is by no means a permanent energy fix. There is waste from it, but it is minimal and has no effects on the air quality, making it highly preferable to oil and coal in terms of 'green' standards.
This brings me to my next point. Nuclear power is green! Excepting natural power sources like hydroelectricity, solar power, and wind power, nuclear power causes absolutely no pollution except for the radioactive waste that is given off. It doesn't contribute to the scary greenhouse gases Al Gore fanatically preaches about. The U.S. Department of Energy and Energy Information Administration reports a direct correlation between the increase of dependence on nuclear power and a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions.


The objection to clean energy sources is usually the cost. However, nuclear power is also efficient, using little uranium to produce a lot of energy, which makes it cheaper than other energy sources. According to The Eagle Tribune Online, " The cost of producing nuclear-generated electricity is 25 percent cheaper than coal and less than one-quarter of natural gas!


One major political reason we need to abandon oil and adopt nuclear energy is our dependency on foreign countries. We buy most of our oil from middle eastern countries that support political factions based on radical Islams who are not only anti American, but these factions support and give money to terrorist groups. In a way, we are funding the terrorists. That's a major selling point on nuclear energy to any person interested in our power, wealth, and security as a nation.


It is practical to consider nuclear energy as an acceptable alternative energy source. It is relatively clean, it will release us from relying on other countries for energy, and it is cheap. Fears of a meltdown are unfounded, considering no accident has happened in the past 50 years due to careful monitoring and safety precautions. I encourage you to support nuclear energy and become aware that we are in need of a change in our energy usage.