Adler Nicholson

Mrs. Anderson

Honors English 9

20 September 2017

Nuclear Energy: The Answer to Climate Change and The Energy Crisis

It is a little known scientific fact that 1 tonne of thorium is the energy equivalent of

3,500,000 tonnes of coal. Unlike fossil fuels such as coal, nuclear energy is entirely clean, and

fights global warming, an even that threatens all life on earth. Climate Change is a serious issue,

and must be prevented, ideally with thorium based nuclear power. To solve this issue, the world

must fight the peoples’ fear of this energy, and spread the knowledge of its capabilities.

In the process of cleaning energy sources, carbon release into the atmosphere, a crucial

part of climate change, must be removed entirely. Nuclear energy releases absolutely no carbon,

and under the use of thorium, is also partially renewable, meaning it can be used again. There is

also enough of it to last us hundreds of thousands of years. Carbon emissions appear to be rising

each year, and at a steady rate, despite our claims of working towards clean energy. By 2025

upwards of 38,790 Mt of Carbon will be released into the atmosphere per year (Tutmez 148).

This can only last 50 years or so before the changes are irreversible. Along with this, our fossil

fuel reserves will run out in 100 years or less. When comparing the two, nuclear energy is by far

the ideal side, and is the ideal step towards carbon free energy, in our fight against climate

change.

The only problem stopping us from sparking the widespread use of nuclear energy is the

fear many people seem to have regarding it. Most people afraid of it look back to nuclear

weapons, or accidents like Chernobyl, or general safety concerns. In truth however, it is quite the
opposite. Many countries will actually recycle old warheads for use in nuclear reactors, which

ends the threat of any nuclear weapons. Along with this, many changes have been made to

nuclear energy to make it much more safe, and chances of radiation leaking is actually

significantly low. Along with this, worker death rates from coal power are 4000 times higher

than those from nuclear energy, meaning it is actually one of the safest options. No real threat

exists, and fear of nuclear energy is an old-world concept, and any dangers of it are microscopic

compared with those of other energy sources. Nuclear energy is without a doubt one of the safest

choices for power.

Relevant to the idea of radiation from nuclear power, how it is created will also make it

understandable that little threats exist, especially under the thorium fuel system. The system is

clean, safe, and the waste it produces becomes either stable or reusable very quickly. Thorium

power uses the naturally occuring Th232 isotope. This makes up practically all of natural

thorium, and is a fertile isotope, meaning it can become fissile when exposed to neutrons. The

neutrons convert it into the U233 isotope, which is burned as fuel, creating no gamma radiation,

and fission products that decay within 10 years, and are stable and have many other uses, or

decay over 300 years, and turn into fresh thorium fuel again. The fission works by splitting a

nucleus into two parts, which continue to hit more nuclei, splitting them, and this continues in a

reaction releasing unimaginable amounts of energy. In a liquid fluoride thorium reactor, safety is

increased drastically by getting rid of fuel rods to create a safer, liquid fuel that uses fluoride

compounds to transmit the thorium and uranium, and any time the reaction must be stopped, a

drain opens to safely move the fuel, and the reaction stops immediately. Seeing how the system

creates no radiation that is not used to aid the system, and if anything bad happens, it is stopped
immediately, there is no reason to fear that there are dangerous consequences from thorium fuel

power. This system shows the true ingenuity of nuclear engineering.

Over the 20th century, many discoveries were made to help shape the world of nuclear

energy. From the discovery of fission, to the development of modern reactors, many people have

played a role in the discovery of nuclear energy. In 1938, nuclear fission was discovered by Otto

Hahn, and soon proven in 1939 by Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch. In the same year, the US

Army began the Manhattan project, which would eventually develop the first nuclear weapon. In

1942, Enrico Fermi and his many colleagues achieved creation of the first working nuclear

reactor, helping to shape the future of nuclear energy. The first molten salt reactors were made in

1954 in the Aircraft Reactor Experiment, and the Molten Salt Reactor experiment in 1965

showed the development of another, this time using thorium fuel, representing the world of

cleaner, more efficient nuclear energy, yet was stopped in 1969. This interesting history now

shapes what the world has today, including the main focus on uranium, and what technology is in

our reactors. But it is time again, now, that history is made by going full steam ahead on nuclear

energy, and start the widespread use of thorium for energy, and revolutionize the field.

One of the best ways to revolutionize the field is by looking at our sources of fuel, and

using these to our advantage. Then there will be enough fuel to last us as long as needed. The

world has about 6,350,000 metric tonnes of thorium in its reserves, and there is still loads of

thorium still within the earths crust alone. At about 6 ppm, this ensures 1.42x1017 kg of thorium,

and assuming that even as little as 10% is available for consumption, this still leaves 3.14x1014

TWh, not including the recycled fuel, which is able to last us perhaps millions of years. Along

with this, the possibility of mining for thorium on the moon, on Venus, Mars, or perhaps even

the sun some day, there is a promising long term future with nuclear energy too. With so much
energy available from nuclear energy, there may soon be nuclear reactors everywhere. The fuel

is in no storage, and even recycles itself going through the fuel cycle. With so much fuel

available, crucial changes to our future could be made.

Seeing how important climate change is, and how it is vital for our survival and for the

world, work towards clean energy, which is very achievable with nuclear power, with very

abundant fuel and an unimaginable energy density, is necessary. This is very important, as

climate change is a threat which puts all life, and earth, at risk. If work is not done to fix it, and

with a path that is so convenient it should be gone down regardless, the world would be missing

out on something vital. Work must be done to advocate this type of energy, and immediately!