What truly is Nuclear Energy and why is it so divisive?

Since the late 20th century,  the environmentalist movement  has sprouted into a worldwide phenomenon. While not causing a complete policy shift in global policy, the move towards renewable energy and environmentally friendly practices has gained significant ground in most Western countries. The push towards green energy is not something that has existed only in an ideological vacuum; it has been a gradual process built on innovation and global collaboration. In this process towards environmentalism, one of the key discoveries has been the development of atomic energy.

There is a delicate balance in the human psyche between what is moral and what is easy: green energy exists along that tightrope. Modern society strives for efficiency; it cannot be expected to tolerate inconvenience without retaliating in an uproar. That is why the movement against fossil fuels has failed to establish itself to its fullest extent. Despite the fact that people understand the harm that extraction of non-renewable energy causes to our planet, the inconvenience that would be faced from its removal, or even reduction, is too great to bear. Oil tycoons have been able to utilize that hate for inconvenience, and turn it into opposition to green energy. But what happens when green energy finally becomes as efficient as fossil fuels? How can its rise be suppressed? The answer to these questions is through fear.

When thinking about renewable energy, the three things  that come to mind are wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy; however, while these are the most common, they are certainly not the most efficient. Since the discovery of nuclear fission by scientists Otto Han and Fritz Strassmann, which is the process of releasing nuclear energy by bombarding uranium with vast amounts of neutrons to split the atom, , schematics for the potential harvesting of energy were developed. Now considered the best method to produce electricity, excluding fossil fuels, nuclear reactors have been constructed all across the globe. A study made by Carbon Credits shows that only 100g of Uranium can produce the same amount of watts as 7.4 barrels of oil. The real question is, how do nuclear reactors truly work?

For starters, a nuclear reactor simply produces heat and energy by splitting uranium atoms. Enriched Uranium atoms are placed in stacks surrounded by metal rods called fuel rods. Inside the fuel rods, water is placed as both a coolant and a primary energy producer of the Uranium. Through the intense heat created in nuclear fission, water turns into steam, which travels upward and turns the turbine, producing electricity. When looking at a nuclear reactor, what comes out of it isn’t smoke but rather steam made from nuclear fission. An important note to make is that nuclear reactors, in theory, never stop working. They operate continuously for a set amount of time. The “life span” of these reactors relies primarily on the unstable element that produces this energy. The reason nuclear reactors have a set “life span” if because once the time runs out, the nuclear element can’t produce more heat, and the nuclear power plant needs to be properly taken care of to ensure no wildlife is damaged. No other renewable energy source has been able to produce the same amount of energy as efficiently as nuclear power, so why is it not considered one of the main tenets of green energy?

Nuclear Energy exists in a very interesting situation: despite its efficiency, it has been unable to capture public affection the same way other forms of green energy have been able to. The reason for this lies primarily in the fear of possible catastrophic events. For example, the Chornobyl explosion and the Fukushima meltdown have caused massive fear in the population, especially due to its harmful effects on the population close to the incident, since exposure to radiation can cause serious illness, and even death.. Even before the catastrophic events caused by nuclear power plants, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had already instilled major fear of nuclear power and the devastating effects it could bring. Not only can accidents caused by nuclear reactors harm humans, but their effects on the surrounding environment can be even worse. 

It could never have occurred to people that a political party based solely on environmentally friendly policies could ever reach a powerful majority in government, but that is far from the case. While there have been many brief moments across the European continent when these political parties have held considerable standing, none have been as strong as the German “Die Grünen” (“The Green”) party. Established on January 12-13, 1980, the Green Party, alongside other issues, would oppose the construction of nuclear power plants in Germany. However, it wasn’t until the previously mentioned Nuclear Meltdown at Fukushima that an attempt to “phase out” nuclear energy was codified into official legislation. In the “Nuclear Moratorium,” a series of nuclear reactors, both old and new, began decommissioning and were officially shut down on April 15th, 2023.