Do the environmental dangers associated with nuclear power justify its use?
This is a difficult question. At one time nuclear power was considered a very attractive alternative to the use of fossil fuels. Although the construction cost in creating such facilities are extensive, the plants can be cost effective because they do not rely on large quantities of expensive fuels. Nuclear power also has the advantage of significantly reducing greenhouse emissions. In the United States, nuclear power assumed an increasing amount of U.S. electricity production in the 1970’s and 1980’s but its development began to stall in the wake of the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. Still nuclear power is a major source of electricity transmission in the U.S., particularly in many southern and eastern seaboard states. Globally, nuclear power is an important source of electricity generation in many countries and there has been a steady increase in the reliance on nuclear power. About 16% of the world’s electricity is now produced by nuclear power and some countries rely on nuclea
