However, industrial officials claim
that since the plants have useful lifetimes, they will save the consumers money
in the long run. The problem with this is that this depends on hard to predict
factors, such as the future price of oil and the national demand for
electricity. It should also be noted that there is also a sharp jump in consumer
costs when the plants are turned on to pay for the construction costs, plant
manufacturers or other loan sources, plus interest. Thus, the cost of
electricity may go up three-fold. New plants usually supply substantially more
energy than the area requires; meaning that the consumer will be paying for this
waste of energy, which is cost per kilowatt hour. It should also be noted that
some plants are canceled during construction, which can raise the cost up to
several billion dollars. This is absorbed by the government through tax laws,
shareholders, and rate payers; and is considering the fact there is a continual
rise in construction prices and a decrease in costs of alternative fuels, many
utilities cancel plants, when almost half completed. (Late cancellation cost is
an increase in the proportion to the amount that has been invested.) Albert
Schweitzer, an ecologist wrote, nuclear power threatens the present and
forecloses the future.
It is unethical, and inferior to non-fission futures that
enhance survival for humans, alive and yet to be born, and nature, with all its
living entities. Therefore, in conclusion, it is clearly evident why nuclear
energy should be abandoned, even though it may be considered as economically
sound, and that we should concentrate more on conservation and quality rather
than expansion as we have done in the past
Words: 1051
|
