Kelsey Harrison

COMM-1270
12/4/2022
Nuclear Energy: Can We All at Least Agree It’s Better Than Fossil Fuels?

When you think of nuclear power, what comes to mind? Barrels of green goo out in the

desert, like in Fallout? Or perhaps fish with three eyes, or people mutating strange, psychic

powers? While these things are all interesting sci fi concepts, they are not what nuclear power is.

Nuclear power is a technology that is relatively young, greatly misunderstood, and steaming with

potential. That was a fission joke, if you know, you know. Today, I’ll talk to you about nuclear

power and why I believe that, compared with fossil fuels, it is better for the health of people, the

planet, and the economy.

Before I can tell you guys about why I think nuclear power is so great, I have to talk

about it’s less-than-great competition, fossil fuels. According to the Environmental and Energy

Study Institute, fossil fuels are releasing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the

atmosphere, about 70% of it. Why is this so bad? Well, does water and air pollution, ocean

acidification, sea level rises, or extreme changes in weather sound fun? Okay, maybe that all

seems a little bit distant. After all, we are far inland, maybe it’d be nice to have a beach closer

by? Let me put this another way. As the EPA explains, other chemicals like nitrogen oxide get

let lose into the environment by fossil fuels, leading to massive algae blooms that basically get so

big they kill everything in their ecosystem. So, your ‘surf and turf’ is gonna have a little more

“turf’ when all the fish and crustaceans die out.

A slightly less exciting menu is the least of our problems, though. Base on the Natural

Resources Defense Council’s summary, particulate matter from fossil fuels killed 8.7 million

people around the world in 2018, or one in five people, according to the newest research.

Particulate matter is small but dangerous. It kills by entering the lungs, bloodstream, and organs.
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Asthma, cancers, and heart disease are just some of the illnesses we know come from fossil

fuels. With more research over time, we may learn of even more. Not a comforting thought. It

should be noted, also, that most of the people to get sick and die from this are the elderly, the

young, and marginalized people, especially from the global south.

It is not just civilians, the people working in the gas, coal and oil industries are vulnerable

to injury, too. According to the Center for America Progress, between 1968 and 2011, at least

3,827 coal miners, 77 oil workers, and 892 natural gas workers died of accidents while working.

A study by the Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety, and Environmental Education found

that there were “highly hazardous conditions” in 90% of oil refineries they visited. That is a

frankly scary number.

But, hey, at least the pay is good, right? The fossil fuel industry employs a lot of people,

doesn’t it? Well, yes, if we ignore the fact that, according to Forbes, 31,600 jobs from petroleum

manufacturing, 7,100 coal sector jobs, were lost in 2021, at the same time as clean energy jobs

were on the rise. In another strange coincidence, CNN says that even though fossil fuel jobs fell

by 12% in 2021, their profits went up. But, hey, I’m sure it’s a coincidence. After all, what

reason would an industry that kills millions of people a year have to undervalue its employees?

So, that all sounds bad. These are glaring problems. To see the situation a little clearer,

let’s look at how nuclear power compares. Aw the Nuclear Energy Institute explain, nuclear

power releases much less harmful byproducts into the environment than fossil fuels. That’s

because it does not release chemicals like coal, oil, or gas do, others into the environment. In

fact, nuclear energy stops, by virtue of existing, 471 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from

entering the atmosphere every year.

Kelsey Harrison
COMM-1270
12/4/2022
But, what about the radiation? A valid concern! According to the Yale Environment 360,

nuclear power releases much less radioactive material into the atmosphere than fossil fuels. All

those rocks, oil, and gas they burn? Yeah, they have trace particles of uranium and thorium in

them, which over time accumulate in the environment. Sleep tight with that lovely thought.

Now, I know you’re thinking “what about the greenhouse gases emitted during

construction?” Well, it is true that that happens, as with the building of any facility in the modern

day. However, as the Yale Environment 360 points out, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted

during construction are about as much as a solar power plant, of 4-5% of natural gas.

So, how does the safety of workers compare? We all remember Chernobyl and

Fukushima, after all. Well, Our World In Data reports that, per unit of energy, there are 97.6%-

99.9% less deaths from nuclear energy than fossil fuels. This measurement is used because there

are overall less nuclear plants than fossil fuel plants. Measuring the rate of accident by energy

output is just a more accurate way to look at the data, since both produce energy. It’s important

to note, too, that for every bit of electricity made by nuclear power, a little less pollution is

released into the air. That adds up. An article by Energy for Humanity estimates that from 1970-

2014, 80,000 deaths were prevented by nuclear power.

So, in addition to being better for environmental and human health, nuclear power also is

good for employees and the economy. The International Atomic Energy Agencies says that

nuclear power pays 25-30% better than other clean energy sector jobs. 30% more is nothing to

sneeze at when it comes to the pay rates in an industry. But the workers are not the only ones

benefiting. As the World Nuclear Association points out, a nuclear power plant can run for six

decades or more. While the plant is running, it can employ 500-1000 people, but during its
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12/4/2022
construction it will employ many more people. And once it’s built, the workers will need places

to eat, places to buy supplies. They’ll need doctors and car mechanics and barbers and schools

for their kids. They’ll need truckers to send the waste to the dump site, and security to protect the

plant. That’s thousands of jobs. A single nuclear power plant could revitalize a local economy,

maybe even resurrect it. For a real-world example, the European Union employs about 1 million

people in nuclear power. It may seem like a small number, but when we consider the

infrastructure supporting any plant, it’s not small at all.

I am not saying that nuclear power is the savior we need to beat climate change- a

problem that big rarely has fast, pleasant, or cheap answers. Nor am I saying that nuclear power

is better than solar, wind, or thermal. All of these, including nuclear, are still in their infancies

and more research is needed. I’m also not saying there is no inherent risk in nuclear energy- any

mass industrial project has risks and drawbacks. All human technology has immense power, and

we must have a reverence and respect for it by keeping a strong culture of safety and regulation.

Accidents happen when people are uneducated, reckless, and either feel like they can’t fess up to

their mistakes or feel above the law. As I have said above about fossil fuels.

The need for nuclear power is not mitigated by the danger of technology. The continued

presence of fossil fuels has proven that in spades. If we are to have power to keep our civilization

running, and if we cannot yet rely entirely on solar, wind, and thermal for that purpose, let us use

nuclear power as a steppingstone.

If a strong ethic of safety is maintained, I believe that nuclear energy will be better for

our environment, health, and economy, simply by virtue of not expelling greenhouse gases and

the longevity of the plants, which can hire hundreds. So, class, I want to urge you all to come to
Kelsey Harrison
COMM-1270
12/4/2022
your own conclusions on nuclear energy, do your own research. But I also want you all to keep

thinking about solutions to fossil fuel use. The problems of climate change and pollution are

urgent, but we cannot implement any solutions until we build the infrastructure for a better

world. And, most of all, we must not lose hope in one.

Kelsey Harrison
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12/4/2022
Citations

Bertand, S., 12/17/2021, Fact Sheet | Climate, Environmental, and Health Impacts of Fossil

Fuels (2021), Environmental and Energy Study Institute,

https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-climate-environmental-and-health-impacts-of-

fossil-fuels-2021

EPA, n.d., The Sources and Solutions: Fossil Fuels, United States Environmental Protection

Agency, https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-fossil-fuels

Chaisson, Clara, 2/19/2021, Fossil Fuel Air Pollution Kills One in Five People, The Natural

Resources Defense Council, https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-

fossil-fuels

Vasquez, V., Weiss, D. J., 4/19,2011, Fossil Fuels: A Legacy of Disaster, Center For
American Progress, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fossil-fuels-a-legacy-of-
disaster/
Marcacci, S., 6/29/2022, Clean Energy Jobs are Booming, Making Up for Rising Fossil Fuel

Unemployment, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2022/06/29/clean-

energy-jobs-are-booming-making-up-for-rising-fossil-fuel-unemployment/?sh=65f21b841c13

Nilsen, E., CNN, 6/28/2022, Fossil Fuel Industry Cut Jobs in 2021 Despite Growth in

Production, Energy Department Reports, CNN,

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/28/politics/solar-wind-fossil-fuel-jobs-report-climate

NEI, n.d., Air Quality, The Nuclear Energy Institute https://www.nei.org/advantages/air-

quality

Rhodes, R., 7/19/2021, Why Nuclear Power Must Be Part of the Energy Solution, Yale

Environment 360, https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-nuclear-power-must-be-part-of-the-

energy-solution-environmentalists-climate

Ritchie, H., 2/10/2020, What are the Safest and Cleanest Sources of Energy?, Our World in

Data, https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy
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Energy For Humanity, n.d., Nuclear and Safety: The Surprising Truth, Energy For Humanity,

https://www.energyforhumanity.org/en/briefings/energy/nuclear-power-and-safety-the-facts/

#:~:text=Whilst%20air%20pollution%20from%20fossil,350%20times%20safer%20than

%20coal

Watson, N., 4/14/2022, Towards a Just Energy Transition: Nuclear Power Boasts Best Paid

Jobs in Clean Energy Sector, International Atomic Energy Agency,

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/towards-a-just-energy-transition-nuclear-power-

boasts-best-paid-jobs-in-clean-energy-sector

World Nuclear Association, 10/2022, Nuclear Energy and Sustainable Development, World

Nuclear Association, https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/energy-and-the-

environment/nuclear-energy-and-sustainable-development.aspx