General Paper Essay

Question: Must we accept the fact nuclear power is the only practical solution to the world's energy needs?

With the economic uprising and the sudden development of infrastructure in China and India, we should not underestimate how much energy these two countries, which account for one-third of the world's population, need. Statistics have shown that the energy consumption of China and India has been increasing at an alarming rate over the past decade. And thus far, we have only been looking at these two Asian superpowers. The need for energy in other countries, developed or developing, is a bottomless pit. The hunger for energy is never curbed and to worsen matters, oil prices had skyrocketted and even peaked at US$75 per barrel in 2006. It is, therefore, no wonder why finding cheaper alternative to satisfy their demands for energy is amking its way to the top of the agenda list for many nations. And it is also no surprise that many countries in the world are considering nuclear power as the only practical solution to their energy needs.

However, is the world making the correct assumption?

The proponents of nuclear power often praise the physicist Albert Einstein, for the equation he formualted in the 1920s -- E = mc^2. it is more than just an ordinary equation. it paved the way for the research and development of a cheap and mass form of energy to meet the ever-increasing demands by the world for more energy. the brigade also claims that nuclear power is more environmentally-friendly. fowls are not brutally maimed, like how they are by the blades of a wind turbine; the ecology of the aquatic wildlife is not disrupted by the generators of a dam and by the floodings caused by it; and a nuclear power station takes up less land space than that of a solar power generator. Most importantly, supporters of nuclear power are awed by the sheer amount of energy a nuclear power station can generate, supplying power for up to one million homes, as in the case of the nuclear power station in Japan. Therefore, being relatively affordable, eco-friendly and able to satisfy the need for power of many, the proponents for nuclear power claim thta this is the only practical solution to the world's energy needs.

Yet, what the supporters of nuclear power failed to realise are the hidden flaws of this new technology, which can only be discovered upon close inspection. Nuclear power is only "affordable" because it can mass-produce electrical power for millions of homes, and in comparison to other sources of energy, like coal, oil, wind and hydroelectricity, nuclear power is much more cost-effective. However, acquiring the technology and expertise for nuclear power is highly expensive, especially if countries have not already attained a high level of scientific and technological development. Hence, nuclear power is not a practical solution for countries without a sophisticated level of scientific and technological development.

Furthermore, nuclear power can also cause equal, if not greater, amount of damage to the envrionment as comapred to other energy sources. no doubt that nuclear power is not guilty of causing air pollution, the Greenhouse Effect and global warming, the Chernobyl explosion in Czechslovakia in 1990 teaches us the consequences of any mishap related to nuclear explosion and leakage of radioactive substances. Flora and fauna in the vicinity of the 1990 accident perished, land became derelict and human beings suffered from deformity and gene mutation after coming into contact with the uncontained radioactive substances. Nuclear power is hence not a practical solution to meet enegy demands for small countries as the effects due to any leakage of radioactive substances could be easily magnified.

We do have other practical choices made available to us to meet our energy needs. Oil, for instance, is a good option. It fuels practically every single automobile on the roads and jets flying in the air, and it is also our main source of electrical power. Despite the widely-accepted view that the Earth's oil suplly may be emptied by 2050, new sources of oil are discovered yearly. Oil sand are discovered off the coasts of Russia in 2004, new oil wells are found dotting at North Sea and even the Gulf States have reported that they have discover new oil wells beneath their deserts. Even though oil prices are at US$45 per barrel, it is still comprably affordable than nuclear power and it is also the most commonly-used fuel for energy.

Hydroelectricity can also meet the world's energy needs. Currently, 10% of the world's energy is produced by turbines in dams, and this figure is expected to rise. The Three Gorges Dam built along the Yangtze River in China produces enough eletrical power for more than one million homes in eight of China's major cities. The world's second largest dam, Itaipu Dam built on the boundaries of Paraguay and Brazil generates power for three hundred thousand homes across both countries. The productivity of a dam is reliable. Even though damming rivers or waterfalls may flood the surrounding areas and kill wildlife, the effect is still relatively small as compared to the apocalyptic effect of a nuclear explosion.

Wind power can also meet the world's energy needs. Thus far, wind energy makes up 5% of the world's energy produced. Although a wind mill may be aesthetically-unappealing, and its turbine may cause innocent birds flying past to be injured, wind power is a very clean source of energy (unless you consider the blooshed due to the injuring of birds as 'dirty') and it does not emit any harmful gases into the atmosphere in the process of generating power. As wind is readily available in any place, this makes wind power another practical solution to the world's energy needs.

In a nutshell, no doubt that nuclear power does have its own advantages as compared to others sources, but we must be aware of nuclear energy's downside, like how one's negligence can cause calamity to Mankind and Mother Nature. Therefore, we need not accept the fact that nuclear power is the only practical solution to the world's energy needs, since there are also many other options available, like oil, hydroelectricity and wind energy.

Content: 20/30
Language: 14/20
Total: 34/50

Comments: Terence, a pleasure reading your essay! I especially liked your rebuttals to the practicality of nuclear power. Apt and varied examples with appropriate use of vocabulary throughout. Do make sure you make your stand clear in the introduction, though, and check your language.