Nuclear Energy Persuasive Speech: Sloan Warner

Energy is a pretty valuable resource in this day and age. Every single one of you are surrounded by something requiring energy I would bet over 95% of the time. I would say we have much different lives than someone our age who lives in a 3^rd world country. The difference between #firstworldprobz and #thirdworldprobz is enormous, and I would attribute the majority of that to the lack of energy provided to the third world countries. Energy directly correlates with quality of life and your life span as well. With that said, energy consumed is predicted to double by 2050 and quadruple by 2100, and fossil fuels are going to play a part in that no matter what, but if nuclear energy were to become a bigger competitor with these fossil fuels, it would slow the growth of fossil fuels in the future.

Now, I was looking for a documentary that would actually interest me in this project and I see the summary for Pandora’s Promise. It is basically about a bunch of environmentalists who once vehemently opposed nuclear energy, but eventually came to terms with the facts and are huge supporters now. That caught my eye, so I watched the documentary, and I was immediately convinced. Let me educate you on how nuclear energy works: Long story short, they use tiny uranium pellets which heat the water turning it to steam and creating energy. A 1 pound uranium pellet, the size of your finger tip, can produce as much energy as 5,000 barrels of oil. Moreover, in Iowa, they have developed plants which are considered the 4^th generation of nuclear plants and can recycle its own nuclear waste and create more energy. Even using the waste already created from all the nuclear plants before it. It can even use the nuclear warheads we have as a source of energy destroying the nuclear weapons and creating a clean source of energy at the same time. A win-win situation for all of us. Nuclear energy is truly amazing.

Now some of the haters of nuclear energy say that it is not safe and can meltdown too easily. It turns out that nuclear energy is the second safest form of energy. Now most people think that Chernobyl was a lot worse than it actually was. First of all, Chernobyl was terribly built and never copied in the west so we don’t have the same risk of meltdown like Chernobyl today. Secondly, only 28 people died in 1986 from the fallout and 19 more died between 1987-2004 and there were no deformed babies. Lastly, Chernobyl has deteriorated with time and that is why you see pictures of it looking like a nuclear ghost town. Only 1 reactor melted down and the other 3 were used until the late 1990’s. Today, they have created the integral fast reactor, which can prevent a meltdown even if all of the cooling systems don’t work. I can’t think of anything safer. One of the points the haters bring up to oppose nuclear energy is that it is radioactive and causes cancer. The truth is is that if you were to drink all of the steam coming out of the nuclear plant in one day, it would be less radioactive than eating a banana. If that doesn’t silence the haters, I don’t know what will.

Nuclear energy is incredibly economical and can create a safer America, too. France is very invested in nuclear energy and it produces 80% of the energy France consumes. France has the cheapest energy and is greener than Germany and Denmark. Nuclear is 6 cents per kilowatt hour being much cheaper than any of its competitors. Economically, this would allow people to spend money on products other than utilities. Ernst Moniz, the secretary of energy in the United States, said there is a possibility of a nuclear plant being built in Tennessee which would be bringing them many construction jobs and permanent jobs. Building a new nuclear plant is 1400-3500 construction jobs and 400-700 permanent jobs. The permanent jobs are also paid 36% above the average salary making them good jobs and helping out the local economy. Not only would a nuclear plant would be great for the economy but also for America. Being less reliant on oil as a source of energy will hurt all of the terrorists in the Middle East making them a weaker force to contend with.

So as we move on, I believe this country and moreover, the world should be investing more and more into nuclear energy because it is a safe, clean, energy with huge economic impacts. It has worked especially well in France and will make us less dependent on the Middle East in our supply for oil. Nuclear Energy is the energy of the future.