Solar energy is better than nuclear energy
As the world’s supply of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal is disappearing rapidly the search for alternative energy sources is being stepped up. Most countries in the developed world have programs in place to encourage exploration of alternative means of providing electric power to homes and industry and the search is also on to find an efficient and affordable fuel source to drive our cars and trucks.
To date, the emphasis on alternative energy source experiments can be broken down into a fairly small set of options. The search for alternative methods of generating electricity is divided between those turning to the sun, the sea or the wind and those turning to science and nuclear energy.
It is unlikely that the future lies in the ugly installations to harness wind and wave power. Apart from the visual impact of such installations the bottom line remains that when and where there is no wind there is no energy. Relying on tides and waves to generate electrical power is not as fickle as depending on the wind but these installations are expensive to build and install and could never be used in the volumes required to provide all the electricity even a small country would require. And of course they are not an option at all for countries without a substantial coastline.
At the present time it would seem that the practical solution comes down to a choice between solar energy and nuclear energy so which of these is the better option? The answer is clearly solar power, a clean, viable, sustainable option.
The sun shines daily on most of the planet and delivers billions of joules (the standard unit of measurement) of energy to the earth everyday. Some of this energy is absorbed by all the creatures and plants living on the planet, and some is absorbed in the form of heat by the land and the oceans. But most of it is simply bounced back into space, what we might call lost energy. There is no valid reason why we should not avail of this lost energy to provide electricity and heat in our buildings.
People are accustomed to the idea of large, centralized generating plants providing power to tens of thousands of homes and factories and in truth it is not practical to build such a generating plant to run on solar power. But there is really nothing to stop governments from insisting that every dwelling, shop, factory, hospital etc. is provided with solar panels so that it can generate its own electricity and providing grant aid or tax incentives to have the work done. The initial cost would be high but the long-term benefits would more than compensate for that initial investment.
It is certainly a better option than building up an ever-increasing pile of nuclear waste, by-products of the nuclear generating process, garbage that will be radioactive for thousands of years and which will form a large and dangerous part of our legacy to future generations.
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