Energy is one of the most fundamental qualities in our lives. Almost everything in the world is run by energy. We need electricity to turn on the lights, gas to power our cars, and energy to give us heat to warm our homes. Today, we are totally dependent on an abundant and inexhaustible supply of energy for living and working. In addition, we know that energy demand will increase significantly in the future. How then will we satisfy this huge energy requirement in an environmentally friendly way? Nuclear power may be the answer to this question. It provides an efficient environmental and economical solution to fossil fuels, and provides energy security from the Arab oil embargo and the sabotage of pipelines.
             Nuclear power plants utilize nuclear fission. This is a process where an atom is split into two smaller atoms with less mass total, producing energy. A common reactant used to produce this is Uranium-235, which when combined with a neutron produces two smaller atoms, two smaller neutrons, and the chain reaction keeps going creating energy. This nuclear fission is used in nuclear power plants to generate electricity, which is widely used in homes and appliances. It produces approximately 16% of worldwide energy use.
             One important advantage of nuclear power is that it avoids the wide variety of environmental problems arising from burning fossil fuels. The environmental problems that arise from burning coal, gas, and oil probably exceed those of any other human activity. For instance, burning fossil fuels produces vast quantities of carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide traps heat in the earth's atmosphere, increasing the Earth's temperature. This might not seem like a devastating problem in the present, but in the future this could have disastrous effects. Agriculture, livestock, and forests will certainly all be affected by this increase in climate. Eventually, glaciers will start to melt. In turn th...