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6 questions

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Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power plants don't burn fossil fuels—so they don't pollute. In fact, the air, water and soil around nuclear plants are so clean that almost all have their own nature preserves. Endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, bluebirds, baby seals, eagles, turtles and marine life—you will find them all at nuclear power plants, enjoying the benefits of clean living.

Nuclear plants, providing 40% of the increase in electricity generation since 1973, substituted for fossil-fueled generating plants that would otherwise have been built. The challenge of the coming decades is to meet rising electricity demand while fulfilling the nation's commitments to reduce the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. These commitments include amendments to the 1990 Clean Air Act.

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Advantage and Disadvantages(Questions):

a) Is the energy source renewable?

Yes, Nuclear Energy is a renewable source. We will never run out of matter, and the very small amount that you need to produce such a huge amount of energy makes it seemingly impossible to run out of fuel.

b) Does the energy resource produce much power, enough for a home, village, or city, from one power plant?

Nuclear Power has enough energy to power whole cities, even multiple cities. 2 pounds of deuterium can produce as much energy as 6.6 million pounds of coal.

c) Is the energy resource available all the time?

The energy resource can be harnessed at any time as long as their's a reactor.

d) Does the energy resource need to be transported to the power plant?

Yes, only certain areas contains fuels such as deuterium or uranium.

e)Does the power from the plant have to be transported over long distances?

Yes, power plants are usually farther away from cities for safety in case of meltdowns or accidents.

f)Is the energy resource polluting (in transportation, power production or with waste products)?

The energy resource is not polluting in transportation or in power production. Although the waste products cannot be permanetly removed for a long time. The waste takes a long time to decompose.

g)Is the energy resource plentiful?(in how many parts of the world?)

The energy resource may not be that plentiful, and only can be found in some parts of the world, although you only need a very small amount of the resource to power a lot.

h)How expensive is it to produce the power?

To produce the power requires quite a lot of money because of the reactor, it costs a lot for a reactor to be built, and the transportation of the fuel requires a lot of money for safety.

i)Is the technology for the energy resource easy to use?

The technology required to harness nuclear energy is still under research, and usually only skilled professionals can actually manufacture and sustain nuclear reactors.

j)Can this energy resource provide power for automobiles?

Nuclear Energy cannot be used to power automobiles because of the large area it requires for a reactor to be built.

k)How much technology is currently available for this energy resource?

Nuclear Energy is still not plentiful in all areas of the world. It is still under research and has only so many reactors that are used around the world. They are still many safety issues that have to be solved before more technology can be made.

Ratings

From 1 to 5

a)Renewable or Non Renewable 5
b)Enough power for a city, for a village or for a home? 5
c)Available all the time, part of time or seldom? 4
d)Resources shipped long, or short? 1
e)Plant can be close to users or far away. 3
f)Non-Polluting or Polluting? 3
g)Plentiful or scarce? 3
h)Expensive or cheap? 1
i)Easy to use or hard to use? 1
j)Could power automobiles. 1
k)Currently available and widespread or scarce. 3

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