The demand for power is growing every day and with new gadgets launching every day to make our lives comfortable, we are unlikely to stop buying new gadgets or reduce the consumption of power. Adding to the woes of the inability to meet the supply-demand ratio, is the way most of use electricity in-sensitively, forgetting to switch off lights and fans, leaving PC’s and televisions ‘on’ even when they are not used.
Coal-fired power plants that produce more than 50% of a nation’s electricity are a major source of pollution releasing hazardous and toxic chemicals such as sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides. So, power plants are a major source of carbon dioxide emissions contributing heavily towards to global warming.
Solar and wind energy are great sources of renewable energy but their efficiency is heavily dependent on the climate which means they prove to be useless when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing and are not capable of meeting the ever-growing demands of power completely. Nuclear power plants are another option which the countries should be looking at as they are cheaper and less polluting comparatively.
Nuclear power is said to be the only clean, safe energy source capable of ensuring the continuation of our industrial civilization while protecting the environment. Nuclear power plants use the heat generated from nuclear fission in a contained environment to convert water to steam, which powers generators to produce electricity.
If you are thinking of the nuclear waste that will affect the environment, than think again. One gram of uranium yields about as much energy as a ton of coal or oil – it is the famous “factor of a million”. Nuclear waste is correspondingly about a million times smaller than fossil fuel waste, and it is totally confined and the gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are not released.
It’s time countries take a look in this direction soon.
