Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Nuclear Energy Thesis

Thesis: Nuclear power plants do provide a lot of energy for consumers and it doesn’t harm the environment with its emissions but nuclear waste is too big of a problem to ignore. Nuclear power should not be considered as a dominant alternative energy source until the problems with nuclear waste are solved. Some of the processes that are used to deal with nuclear waste are dangerous and can lead to harmful leaks and exposure to the environment.

A.
1. Introduction and address issues that are involved with nuclear energy and its waste.
2. Maybe ask the reader a few questions to get them to think about the problem.

B.
1. Explain how the processes of nuclear waste are a rising problem
2. Where does nuclear waste go and what is it?

C.
1. The economic issues of nuclear energy
2. Statistics of the start up costs and the cost of decommissioning a nuclear power plant

D.
1. Address the problems again and conclude the paper


Buleen, Chad. Average Salary of a Nuclear Engineer . 2010 18-February .
Climate Progress. Nuclear Bombshell. 2009 15-July. 2010 18-February .
Nuclear Energy Information Service. Some Important Facts About Nuclear Power ... . 1997 April. 2010 18-February .
Nuclear Energy Institute . Nuclear Power Plant Fuel. 2010 18-February .
Rust, John. On the Optimal Lifetime of Nuclear Power Plants. 2010 31-January. 2010 18-February .
United States Department of Labor. Power Plant Operators, Distributors, and Dispatchers . 2009 17-December. 2010 18-February .

Monday, February 22, 2010

Food, Inc Post III

I thought Chapter 10 was important. I liked how the issue of the food industry was discussed and talked about in the previous chapters and then this chapter hit you with the take action step. It addressed the things you could do. An example was buying locally from a farmers market or an actual farmers house. It also talked about building a garden and how that can help you as well as your neighbors and community. It made suggestions on what to do to make the food industry better and healthier. It recommended buying fruits and veggies that were in season rather than out so that way it was cutting the cost of food having to travel across long distances. All of these suggestions made since and none of them seemed unreasonable.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Position Argument/Food Inc.Post 2

I never thought that the corn business could have such a negative impact on the world. The impact it has on global warming is phenomenal. The corn business effects the world in a much bigger way than I ever would suspect. The corn that is taking up space and being used for profit rather than feeding the hungry. The government also had a big part in the corn business. I also liked how the book explained ways to deplete pollution and greenhouse gases by not supporting or buying the food that comes from another country or state. The book suggests to buy from local farmers and to even build a garden. Building a garden does more than just create crops to eat. It keeps you outside and not using electricity inside, and allows you to give away some of your produce to neighbors. This can have a great impact on the environment.

I like the fact that nuclear energy doesn't emit greenhouse gases and prevents toxic gases to be released into the atmosphere but the danger that is involved with nuclear energy and the fact there are no ways to detoxify the nuclear rods after they have been used in an efficient an safe way bothers me. So besides some of the good things that come about with nuclear energy I think that the negative impacts are just as bad if not worse as regular coal power plants. Unless scientists and researchers find a way to safely get rid of nuclear waste without burying it in the ground or just taking up space for thousands of years, I will not support nuclear energy. I don't think that it should be discarded and forgotten about, but it also shouldn't be accelerated and expanded. Research should still continue but building more nuclear power plants should not happen until the nuclear waste problem is fixed in a more efficient manner.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Food, Inc Post I

I found it interesting that the film showed through text that just about every business except the Danon yogurt company denied interviews and showing of certain battery cages. This was alarming to me because if the company doesn’t want the public to see it, then it is something that shouldn’t be occurring. My guess is that businesses felt if they showed it to the public (consumers), they wouldn’t want to support that and quit buying food from them. Tyson, which is a leading brand in meat and chicken, denied access and interviews to Food, Inc, I think because they have something to hide. Maybe they are trying to hide something from the USDA because Tyson knows they are breaking rules. This would hurt the company’s profits. Another fact that I learned was the antibiotics and fast growing chemicals used for the growth of chickens. The Food, Inc showed how chickens are forced to grow too big and cant take more than a step or two without falling to the grown. I am not a person really concerned with treating animals like humans but force feeding and force growing a life form to me is unethical, even if it means more profit. I don’t like the fact that I will be eating that chicken that has been enhanced unnaturally and fed harmful chemicals that can affect me. I think the book and the movie work perfectly together to reiterate the point that something needs to be done. The book describes animal cruelty that made me realize that something needs to be done by America. I don’t like reading at all but I find myself interested in this book. I think part of the reason too, is the fact that there is a movie that goes along with the book. That helps me visualize and engage my brain into the subject at hand. The book helps with enforcing the facts and the things that people can do about this problem. The movie makes it interesting and provides visuals to the problem making it more real to the viewer. Anyone can make a movie and anyone can write a book. But to write a book and movie that seamlessly connects all the dots is something that needs to be paid attention too. I also loved what the farmer in the movie Food, Inc said about big businesses and natural farming. I agreed with all of his statements about the need for letting animals naturally do what they do. Another fact that I never thought about was E coli and how it has occurred throughout food. The feeding of cattle with corn is the cause for it. This should be able to be prevented, and companies are interrupting the natural process. Cattle should eat grass not be fed corn that can cause E coli in the meat.