Is Nuclear Power a Good Thing? A Reflection on Chernobyl Remembrance Day

On 1986年4月26日, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in what is now Southeast Russia exploded, and the reactor core burst into flames. The Soviet 政府ernment of the time evacuated 超过100000 people from increasingly greater radii. Smoke from the fire, however, spread throughout Eastern Europe and eventually exposed 近8.400万年 people to radioactive elements. The true death toll has never been clear, but it is estimated that 成千上万 of people may have died as a result of radiation poisoning. The human costs and far-reaching scale have cemented the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown as the greatest nuclear accident in human history.

In 2016, the United Nations designated April 26 as International Chernobyl Remembrance Day, a day for us to reflect on the massive costs of the nuclear catastrophe. The recurring day also begs us to ask if nuclear power is safe—whether the benefits of nuclear power outweigh the risks that Chernobyl displayed.

今天，有 436 nuclear reactors throughout the world, of which 93 are 在美国. 核能约占18% 的权力 produced 在美国—45.5% of carbon-free power produced—and is thus the largest source of carbon-free 能源 in the country. While nuclear power is not technically renewable because it uses up radioactive fuel, it does not emit any greenhouse gasses, 确实如此, 通过一些措施, a 气候友好型源的权力. The vast majority of the United States’ nuclear reactors were built 从1970年到1990年, but it remains a significant power source, and one that has kept 4.7亿公吨 of carbon out of the atmosphere. It is also much more efficient than any other type of carbon-free 能源: its 能力因素, that is, a ratio of actual 能源 output over the maximum 能源 output, is 92.5%. Wind’s 能力因素 is almost a third of that, at 35.4%, and Solar’s is even worse, at 24.9%. 核能 is not only a significant part of the current US power grid—it is the most important, most efficient method of zero-carbon 能源 to date. Thus, nuclear power is the clear best way for us to advance to a carbon-free future.

切尔诺贝利是丑陋的. It cannot be cast in a positive light. 然而, 世界已经学会了 from the mistakes made in the accident so, hopefully, nothing like it will happen again. And nuclear 能源 is too good not to have—it is by far the best and most efficient way of producing zero-carbon 能源. 世界经历了 18500年累计 reactor-years, and Chernobyl (along with Japan’s 2011 meltdown in Fukushima) was the only major nuclear meltdown. While there are other issues surrounding nuclear power, such as the 安全存储核废料, we must not downplay nuclear 能源’s potential capacity to usher in emission-free power grids across the world.

We must continue to invest in and refine our capabilities to produce nuclear 能源. It offers one of the most clear, achievable paths to a carbon-free future—and if we take it seriously, making sure that no meltdowns or other nuclear catastrophes happen again, it could be the key to a truly climate-friendly era.

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Is Nuclear Power a Good Thing? A Reflection on Chernobyl Remembrance Day