The Prometheus Effect: Unleashing Nuclear
Human innovation often smolders gradually in the embers of advancement. Sometimes, though, we ignite in a sudden blaze of progress and development.
It is said that Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gifted it to humankind. In doing so, he sparked the conception of civilization as we know it. Fire brought people, but it also tore people apart.
In its most abstract form, one might argue that fire is power. It forges and destroys, provides and consumes, poses threats and remedies them.
Powerful as it may be, it cannot touch the unprecedented might of nuclear energy. Its space efficiency combined with environmental benefits and often-overlooked advantages make nuclear an absolute powerhouse in the realm of modern electricity production.
Most have not yet grasped the sheer power of nuclear. A uranium pellet, about half the size of an AA battery, contains the same amount of energy as 120 gallons of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet
“Prometheus took us far, but it’s time to abandon the flame and embrace fission” of natural gas, according to Visual Capitalist Elements. The energy density of this atomic fuel source is practically unfathomable.
Just like the power of a tiny uranium pellet, it only takes a small amount of space for nuclear to pack a punch. While many sources of green energy require swaths of land, nuclear energy steers clear of this drawback. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “A typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear facility in the United States needs a little more than 1 square mile to
operate. NEI says wind farms require 360 […] and solar photovoltaic plants require 75 times more space.” Consider the potential to conserve valuable habitats by harnessing nuclear energy, allowing ecosystems to thrive and terrestrial sequestration to occur in the natural world.
In keeping with the theme of preserving the Earth, issues of waste and carbon emissions are greatly remediated upon nuclear energy’s expansion. It should be noted that carbon dioxide-equivalent gas emissions due to nuclear energy are lower than any other energy source, including solar and wind. Coal, the world’s leading energy source, emits more than 270 times as many carbon dioxide equivalents than nuclear energy per gigawatt-hour of electricity generated, according to findings by Our World In Data.
Speaking of waste, Hollywood and pop culture have unfortunately propagated wide-scale misconceptions regarding nuclear byproducts. Most are familiar with that green, glowing ooze that’s kept not-so-tightly sealed away in barrels of radioactivity. But as it turns out, the amount of waste generated by reactors is relatively low. In fact, all of the nuclear waste generated in the United States since the 1950s would be able to fit on a single football field at less than ten yards high. Furthermore, cutting-edge innovation in nuclear engineering allows us to recycle nuclear waste as per the U.S. Department of Energy. With proper recycling, storage, and disposal methods, nuclear waste isn’t nearly as dangerous as pop culture has made it out to be.
While nuclear energy offers a compelling arsenal of benefits, it is paramount that we consider other options. One might argue that alternative sources of green energy are a better solution due to their lack of potential for catastrophic disasters and faster or lower-cost setup. These are certainly points worth taking into consideration. However, nuclear has a characteristic that drastically separates it from its competition.
Nuclear facilities blow every other energy source out of the water when it comes to their capacity factors, or the proportion of time a plant runs at maximum power. The Department of Energy finds that solar power has a measly capacity factor of 24.9%, as opposed to coal’s 40.2% and nuclear’s whopping 92.5%. Because the sun doesn’t always shine in perfect conditions due to cloud coverage, weather, and darkness, solar farms cannot produce steady and reliable streams of energy.
Finally, lives are saved with nuclear. Nuclear reactor technology has ushered in a new age that presents us with a practical, potentially bipartisan, and economically conscious solution to carbon emissions resulting from energy production. This will slow the effects of anthropogenic climate change and render the air we breathe cleaner and safer for future generations. Additionally, while people often worry about nuclear meltdowns such as Chernobyl and Fukushima, it is estimated by Our World In Data that 820 times and 613 times as many people die from coal and oil respectively per terawatt of energy generated based on air pollution health models. Advancements in nuclear technology, mechanisms, and training have convinced many experts that the odds of further large-scale meltdowns are particularly low.
As we begin to wane off of coal, oil, and eventually natural gas, nuclear energy deserves a seat at the roundtable of modern energy production. It is the fire of the future, our new abstraction of power. Prometheus took us far, but it’s time to abandon the flame and embrace fission.
Josef Westberg ‘27 studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at j.r.westberg@wustl. edu.