Nuclear Energy FAQs
Coinciding with the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, Climate Central takes a fresh look at nuclear power, which is a low greenhouse gas electricity source that is garnering increased attention as one way to combat manmade climate change. Nuclear power tends to evoke strong opinions. Proponents point to nuclear’s low greenhouse gas emissions, its proven ability over the last 30 years to safely meet an important fraction of US electricity needs — about 20% today, and the readiness of the technology for an expansion. Opponents point to risks with reactor safety, radioactive waste disposal, and nuclear weapons proliferation. On reactor safety, it is probably not a stretch to say that another accident like Chernobyl or Three Mile Island would halt any expansion of the industry, regardless of the benefits.
On the other hand, the world has been operating hundreds of nuclear reactors year in and year out since Chernobyl without any serious accident, suggesting that the lessons of Chernobyl have been well learned. To help better understand the many facets of nuclear power, Climate Central interviewed Professor Alexander Glaser, a nuclear physicist at Princeton University who works on issues of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.
Blog and Climopedia
- Chernobyl and Nuclear Energy: No Easy Answers
- Greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear electricity: low, but not zero
- Nuclear power in the future won't be too cheap to meter
- The costs for new nuclear power plants are uncertain
Feature Content
Videos
-
- Where in the World Is Nuclear Power?
- Over 400 nuclear reactors are operating today in 30 different countries.
-
- How Was Nuclear Energy Discovered?
- Radioactivity was discovered around 1900. Nuclear power, and weapons, followed several decades later.
-
- How Do We Get Electricity from Nuclear Energy?
- Energy released in splitting atoms heats water to make steam to drive a turbine-generator to make electricity.
-
- What Are the Benefits and Risks of Nuclear Power?
- Nuclear power has multiple benefits and multiple risks.
-
- How Are Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons Related?
- A facility processing uranium ore into nuclear power plant fuel can process the ore into fuel for a nuclear weapon instead.
-
- What is Nuclear Waste and What Do We Do With It?
- Radioactive waste is an unavoidable by-product of nuclear power that requires safe storage.
-
- What Are the Greenhouse Emissions from Nuclear Power?
- Greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power are low by just about any measure
-
- What Does Nuclear Power Cost?
- We don’t know what it will cost to build the next nuclear power plant in the US
Twitter Facebook YouTube Vimeo Pinterest RSS