What are nuclear energys green credentials?
Some environmentalists are indeed coming around to nuclear energy. That’s because the nuclear fission process produces virtually no greenhouse gas emissions—unlike the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. (Those two accounted for about 70 percent of the United States’ electricity in 2008. Nukes made 20 percent.) In addition, nuclear fission differs from the burning of fossil fuel in that it produces neither sulfur dioxide nor nitrogen oxides, the pollutants that cause acid rain. Finally, nuclear power can provide a reliable, steady stream of electricity that’s not dependent on a shining sun or blowing winds, giving it an advantage—in some people’s minds—over its renewable competitors.
