Positive and Negative Implications

Everything that happens in life has positive and negative implications, no one thing is perfect and without fault. One might choose to take the negative with the positive or the negative might over power positive and in turn, one might come to the decision to abandon the project or task. When looking at hydropower and nuclear power they both have negative aspects. Two major catastrophes in the past have made the public question whether nuclear power is stable and if we should continue with this source of energy.

Hydroelectric power is one of the most important and widely used renewable sources of energy; however, it has downfalls just as any other source of energy. Some of the shortcomings would be a high investment cost, relying on precipitation, the usage of land required can hurt wildlife habitats, diminish the quality of water in the reservoirs and streams, and can cause displacement of local populations (Turk & Bensel, 2011). Some of the reservoirs are drying up due to climate changes; as a result, hydroelectric power is now supplying less of the nation's power than it was before. Showing how unstable the source can be if it depends on the precipitation.

Again, remembering that nothing is without fault, now look at nuclear power, the negative aspects to nuclear power can cause more harm to the environment and ecosystem than hydroelectric power. Nuclear power generates electricity without carbon dioxide emissions (Turk & Bensel, 2011). The number one major problem would be the disposal of waste; this has caused a major complication in the uprising of nuclear power production. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA) says nuclear energy programs are a long, complicated process that produces waste and is relatively risky (Big Question, 2011).

Most people can recall the phrase "do not have a nuclear meltdown", this is understood to be a meltdown with extreme measures. A nuclear meltdown is the melting of a nuclear reactor vessel causing the release of radiation into the environment (Turk & Bensel, 2011). Looking back in history at nuclear meltdowns or disasters, the first that comes to mind would be the most recent problem in Japan with Fukushima Daiichi. In March of 2011, an earthquake and tsunami triggered a devastating nuclear complication. There are nuclear reactors, a device that initiates and maintains a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction to produce electricity. The nuclear disaster caused contamination in the area around the reactors, causing many years and millions of dollars in clean up (Fukushima Disaster, 2011). The tsunami caused minimal damage to the main structure of the power plant; however, it did knock out the power and backup generators, leaving the power plant without power to operate the cooling system for the reactors. Without the ability of the cooling system, the cores began to overheat, boiling off the cooling water and physically melt down (Fukushima Disaster, 2011).

The other memorable nuclear meltdown would be when one of the reactors at the Chernobyl power plant exploded. Chernobyl No. 4 reactor exploded twenty-five years ago on April 26, sending radiation across the Ukraine and into other countries. This was and is the worst nuclear