Nuclear power: our energy future or danger to society?
generate | derive | advantage | consume | contaminate
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Do the Math
Do the Math
Americans consume about four times as much energy as the average human. Many people are looking for cleaner, greener ways to produce energy. Nuclear power has many advantages. It doesn’t contribute to climate change, and it can be produced in the U.S. But nuclear opponents raise several concerns. One is nuclear waste. Nuclear waste derives from the nuclear reactions that create nuclear energy, as well as from the mining and enrichment of nuclear fuel. If nuclear waste is not stored properly, it can contaminate soil and water. Some nuclear waste will remain dangerous for thousands of years.
In the 1970s, Yucca Mountain in Nevada was proposed as a site for long-term storage of nuclear waste. This generated a lot of controversy, which continues today. Many Nevada residents don’t want a nuclear dump in their home state. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency set safety standards for Yucca Mountain for the next 10,000 years.
Option 1:
Option 1:
The average American lives about 80 years. How many lifetimes is 10,000 years?
A. 125 lifetimes
B. 130 lifetimes
C. 135 lifetimes
D. 210 lifetimes
Option 2:
Option 2:
An appeals court ruled that the 10,000-year safety standards for Yucca Mountain were inadequate. After all, some nuclear waste may be dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years. Revised EPA safety standards now cover the next million years. Write 10,000 and 1 million in scientific notation. How many orders of magnitude separate the two numbers?
Discussion Question:
Discussion Question:
With increasing concern about climate change, traditional energy sources like oil and coal are falling out of favor with many people. The advantages of nuclear power may seem appealing. Many experts say nuclear power is safe. They say that many of the fears people have about nuclear power derive from misinformation and from the confusion of nuclear power with nuclear weapons. But nuclear waste remains a problem. A long-term, ultra-secure facility is needed. But, given the fact that leaks could contaminate the local environment, no one wants this facility to be in their backyard. The federal government cut funding for the Yucca Mountain project in 2011 and has not yet made a new plan for where to store nuclear waste long-term. Meanwhile, nuclear power plants continue to generate nuclear waste. Where should the waste go?
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