What would you suggest as an alternative?
h20 car thing
solar
wind
electric.
i just don't like nuclear.
We don't have the capacity to store electricity the same way we can store gas and oil. The bulk of our electricity has to come from sources that can generate power at all times. Wind and solar electric generation cannot run at all times so they provide excellent supplements to power, but not the base load. Hydrogen for devices like automotive fuel cells requires electricity to create the hydrogen, and that goes back to primary power sources.
In some regions, non-fuel power generation is possible. The most important is hydroelectric power which requires dams and reservoirs to cover land, and then only where there is enough vertical drop and enough water to generate the power. Geothermal and tidal generation can be used in a few locations that have sufficient natural power to harness.
The fuel-based sources include coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium. The first three are the major contributors to carbon dioxide emissions in the air, and all the preceding sources are not sufficient to replace the total electricity needed. That leaves nuclear power from uranium.
ok. But what happens if something goes wrong?
Of course things can go wrong for any power technology. Oil spills, refinery explosions and and coal mine collapses tragically happen. The response is to improve safety, and nuclear power is no exception. Since the era that gave us Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, the world has made major strides in overall design and safety technology. We don't see the improvements in the US because we stopped all public work on nuclear technology 30 years ago, but countries like France and Japan have continued research and engineering. Newer designs lower the possibility of release of radioactive material and limit the amount that would be released.
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