Nuclear Energy, good or bad? How would you answer? You’d most likely answer “bad” for the reputation nuclear power has received in the past. Nuclear Power is one of the most controversial topics of the past 70 years. Ever since discovered, nuclear power has been argued to be a dangerous, and deadly.

Now I’m going to talk about why nuclear power is viewed this way,

How the media uses FEAR to pin nuclear power as threatening:

Examples like the “China Syndrome” represent the very biased media. This movie uses its power to present a very one sided view to an issue. The movie is about a reporter who witnesses an energy core shutdown procedure at a nuclear power plant in California. The movie portrays the the nuclear company and its representatives as evil and corrupt. Films like these shape public debate with a “good side” and a “bad side”, and in this case the anti-nuclear campaign the good side. The way they present their work is extremely important, as it will and has influenced the viewers opinion on the topic.

A good representation of this is the video documentary “Nuclear Nightmares”. This documentary gives an accurate representation in how the fear of radioactivity, is widespread and yet not based on scientific evidence. The film starts by showing how the public reacts immediately after hearing the word radiation. If you look at the introduction of the film it shows a couple clips of danger signs, people who have severe radiation caused injuries, people in masks, suits, and people crying. The director had a purpose with this creative choice, and in my opinion he achieved it.

 

BBC Horizon Nuclear Nightmares 2006 by dm_50fe7972df433

The first ten seconds of the film shows that fear of radiation is caused by the previous use of nuclear weapons and accidents at nuclear power stations. The use of black and white images, suspenseful music, and loud and harsh sound effects portrays correctly the way people view nuclear power and radiation. The director did this in such a great way I thought I was watching a horror movie. This brought me to think of one of my favourite shows (American Horror Story). AHS’s opening title uses creepy and loud music, as well as some very disturbing and frightening clips to portray the tone, just like “Nuclear Nightmares”.

The truth is after hearing about nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl it is really hard to wrap your head around the idea of still using nuclear energy. Chernobyl is a great example of why fear is closely related to nuclear power. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 was the most severe in the history of the nuclear power industry. Chernobyl caused a hugerelease of radiation over large areas such as Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. From 1986 to 2000, over 350,000 people were evacuated and resettled from the most severely contaminated areas. Thirty one deaths are directly related to the accident, all among the reactor staff and emergency workers. Estimates of the number of deaths potentially resulting from the accident vary enormously

The accidents occurred at a time of increasing environmental awareness and changing views worldwide. The green political movement demonized nuclear power as an evil technology. This situation has slowly changed, yet this issue is still viewed negatively.

I added a link to a buzzfeed post that included some pictures of the Chernobyl Disaster’s 30 years anniversary.

Now if you are a horror movie junkie like me, you would absolutely love a film like “Chernobyl Diaries”. Chernobyl Diaries is a fictional movie about a group of friends that go and visit the site and encounter something very strange when they get there. This movie sure
was an experience, I’d rate it a 6/10 yet I would still really recommend you watch it! And since I talked about Chernobyl a little bit I thought I’d link the trailer here.

Now, how does fear of past nuclear accidents and nuclear weapons affects nuclear energy now?

Nuclear energy is overseen as extremely dangerous and bad for the environment, yet nuclear energy is better than some other sources.

Nuclear energy produces no greenhouse gases and has little to no CO2 production. This is much better compared to mining, concentrating, and refining uranium, as it is done today. These methods consume large amounts of fossil fuels and produce corresponding amounts of greenhouse carbon dioxide, which has an irreversible negative effect on our planets atmospheric ozone layer.

People usually fear of the safety of the nuclear plants. They assume nuclear energy means explosions and bombs. The evidence over six decades shows that nuclear power is a safe means of generating electricity. The risk of accidents in nuclear power plants is low and declining.

Nuclear power stations are also compact. Unlike wind farms and solar power stations, nuclear power stations don’t have to be spread over a large area. They can also be built where the power is needed. Unlike coal-fired power stations that need to be close to a coal mine, nuclear power plants can be built almost anywhere. This decreases the transportation distance for energy, and makes it accessible for locations lacking energy.

Nuclear waste is probably the reason people see this method as dangerous. The amount of radioactive waste is very small relative to waste produced by fossil fuel electricity generation. Not only is its production small, but used nuclear fuel may be treated as a resource or simply as a waste. Nuclear power plants actually emit fewer radioactive materials into the environment than a traditional coal-burning plant. Nuclear wastes are neither particularly hazardous nor hard to manage relative to other toxic industrial wastes. Safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste are technically proven; the international consensus is that this should be geological disposal.

Many other “issues” have been manufactured the past decades simply because of fear. This fear is manipulating peoples views on Nuclear Energy, and reactions to certain events.

I decided to test if nuclear power is really still seen in a negative way. So I asked a couple people and asked them a simple question. I went ahead and asked “Nuclear Energy, good or bad?” And they were to answer as quick as possible “good” or “bad”. Most people answered immediately and said “bad”. Of the 15 people I asked 12 answered “bad”. This quick poll I did is just proof of the bad reputation Nuclear Energy has received, and how people haven’t realized Nuclear Energy has gotten a misfitting reputation.

To sum everything up, I am not telling you how to view this issue, I am just trying to show how people are quick to judge issues like this one. Why?, previous events and the media’s biased views are pivotal on shaping people’s view of current events.

Now to lighten the mood here are 10 gifs brought to you by Kirby Harris