Sample Issue Essay 1

"Sample Issue Essay 1" ref Kaplan AWA practice.

Proponents of nuclear energy as "the power source of the future" have long touted its relative economy, "Clear burning" technology,and virtually inexhaustible fuel supply.However, a close examination of the issue reveals that the nuclear energy proves more problematic and dangerous than other forms of energy production and thus is not an acceptable solution to the problem of meeting ever increasing energy needs.

First and foremost,nuclear power production presents the problem of radioactive waste storage. Fuel by-products from nuclear fission remain toxic for thousand of years,and the spills and leaks from existing storage sites have been hazardous and costly to cleanup.This remains true despite careful regulation and even under the best of circumstances.Even more appalling is the looming threat of accidents at reactor itself:Incidents at the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl power plants and other production sites have warned us that the consequences of a nuclear meltdown can be catastrophic and worldwide.

But beyond the enormous long term environment problems and short term health risks,the bottom line issue for the production of energy is one of economics. Power production in our society is a business just like any other, and the large companies that produce this country's electricity and gas claim that they are unable to make alternatives such as Solar power affordable.Yet-largely due to incentives from federal government - there already exist homes heated by solar power,and cars fueled by sun.If the limited resources devoted to date to such energy alternatives have already produces working models, a more intense broadly based and supported effort is likely to make those alternatives less expensive and problematic.

Besides the benefit in terms of both cost and safety, renewable resources such as solar and hydroelectric power represent for better option in the long run of development:they require money only for the materials needed to harvest them. While sunlight and water are free,the innovative technologies and industrial strategies devised to harness them created a geometric progression of spin offs affecting fields as diverse as agriculture,real estate ,space exploration and social policy.They have also repeatedly produces secondary economic ans social benefits,such as the large recreational and irrigation reservoirs created in American Southwest behind large hydroelectric dams like the hoover and Grand Coulle.

While it may not be clear that the drawbacks to the use of nuclear power are too great, it should also be apparent that the long term benefits of renewable resources would reward investment.If these alternatives are explored more seriously than they have been in the past, safer and less expensive sources of power will undoubtedly live to their promise. With limited resources at our disposal and a burgeon global population to consider;further investment in nuclear power would mark an unconscionable and unnecessary waste of time and money.