Does nuclear energy still have a part to play in this world?

Nuclear energy was introduced to reduce the amount of fossil fuels needed to generate electricity. Now that Japan's Nuclear reactor leaked, which caused a big headache not only for Japan but also for the surrounding countries, together with the Chernobyl incident in 1985, people are starting to think that nuclear energy is not a very good alternative, and that we should not have used it in the first place. I beg to defer.

Why is that so? Now, let's weigh the pros and cons and be rational about the whole issue.

First of all, we all know that fossil fuels are non-renewable. We learnt that in our primary school Science. Fossil fuels give out greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide which causes global warming. Considering that scientists around the world are warning of signs of global warming happening earlier than expected, we should be finding ways to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, hence, it does not make any sense for us to stick to the current source of energy, which is the fossil fuels. We have to find alternative sources of energy to save the earth. As a matter of fact, nuclear energy produces less carbon dioxide and other green-house gases and can help us preserve the earth. This is based on experiments carried out by the scientists and results were proven scientifically. Thus, we have to agree that nuclear energy is a greener alternative.

Secondly, nuclear reactors are able to produce more energy, they are also more reliable and uses less space. Many of those who are against nuclear energy are likely to suggest using wind, or solar energy. However, wind and solar energy are not consistent source of energy, and they do not produce enough energy for the world. Just imagine on non-windy day, where would the energy can from ? Are we going without lights for that day? Those who argue for solar energy may say solar energy is abundant, it is there as long as there is Sun. However, solar panels are costly. Although nuclear reactors may be quite expensive, it can generate a good amount of energy and is a consistent source of energy whereas solar panels are expensive and solar energy is also not consistent on rainy and cloudy days. Another concern is space. Nuclear energy takes up very little space, compared to solar panels. If we use wind, we need to use 1% of the world's land space just to generate the energy America needs. Now imagine how much space we need to generate the energy demand for the whole world.

Thirdly, contrary to what most people think, nuclear energy is actually safe. Since the time nuclear energy is used, there are just two major nuclear plant accidents, one in Chernobyl and the other one in Japan just recently. Furthermore, the reactors used in these nuclear plants are the old models, for example, the nuclear reactors that Japan used has only one protective shell. With the state of the art technology now, we can have generators with 3-4 protective shells which will make it a lot safer to use. Another reason for the leakage in Japan is the nuclear reactors are made to withstand 7.00 magnitude of earthquake and 7m tall tsunami. But the earthquake that hit Japan recently was 9.0 in magnitude and the tsunami was 20m tall. We need to understand that Japan's nuclear reactor was made 40 years ago, with the state of the art technology now, the new nuclear reactors can be made to withstand bigger earthquake and tsunami.

Taking all the above points into consideration, I strongly believe that nuclear energy still has a part to play in this world.

References:

http://www.ted.com/talks/debate_does_the_world_need_nuclear_energy.html - TED Debate