• Question: Why did we create things like neuclear power plants if they destroy our environment???

    Asked by eviej26 to Amy, Drew, Julia, Kimberley, Sara on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Drew Rae

      Drew Rae answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi Evie,
      Everything we do has some impact on the environment. Dams, coal power stations, oil-tankers, and aluminium smelters (needed to make solar panels) have all caused far more damage to the environment than nuclear power plants. To live like we do, we need lots of energy. If we got rid of cars, planes, household manufactured goods, processed food, most of the meat in our diet, more than one or two sets of clothes, telephones and most of our heating and air conditioning, the world’s population might be able to get by on as much energy as we currently use even as the population rises over the next few years.

    • Photo: Amy MacQueen

      Amy MacQueen answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hey evie!

      We need lots of energy and nuclear power plants are an efficient way of doing this. However they are also harmful to the environment. That’s why a lot of effort must be put into finding cleaner, less dangerous and more renewable sources of energy! 🙂

    • Photo: Julia Griffen

      Julia Griffen answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hey evie… nucelar power plants can produce alot of electricity, and if we ignore the waste issues for a moment, it produces electricity fairly cleanly and efficiently… So the issue of watse… the major byproduct of a nuclear power plant is radioactive and if released into the environment can have dramatic and devastating results including cancers, severe illnesses and deaths.. However if the waste can be safely dealt with maybe the pro’s could out weigh the cons.. guess its about managing risk!! Now adays people are moving towards more renewable and cleaner energy that doesn;t have the issue of hazzardous waste!… hope that clrifies a few things 🙂

    • Photo: Sara Imari Walker

      Sara Imari Walker answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hi evie! Contrary to popular opinion these days, nuclear power is actually one of the cleanest power sources we use. Its certainly much much cleaner than oil or coal. Both have hugely devastating impacts on our environment, both on the small scale (i.e. oil spills or coal factory disasters) and on the global scale (i.e. global warming). But we still use all these things because we have become so dependent on them. That’s the major problem,
      as Drew mentioned, none of us could live the lifestyle we have become accustomed to without some type of major energy supply! So we have to have something.

      I personally think nuclear power is much better than some of the other options like coal and oil. However, it is subject to the occasional disaster which can be quite devastating, just like for oil or coal. What we need to do as a society is become more mindful of our energy usage and work together to find better solutions like using solar, wind, and geothermal energy. In the long run we will be much better off!

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