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Up and Atom: Nuclear Energy (February 24, 2006, One)

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Program Summary

IWith oil supplies shaky and prices sky-high, the government is looking at nuclear energy as the way to go for reducing and replacing our dependence on for the polluting, non-renewable liquid. The U.S. has not built a nuclear power plant since the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, when mechanical failure led to a meltdown of one the cores and threatened to make everyone's worst nightmare come true. Tragedy was averted, but the U.S. has been shell-shocked ever since.

Other nations around the world have or are developing nuclear reactors, and we are way behind, say the experts. Seventy- five percent of France's electricity comes from nuclear energy. The American scientific world is split in their opinion on building more reactors. One faction points out that technology is processes and structures are very different and much safer, light years beyond that of the 1970s and 80s. Nuclear energy doesn't pollute and could help reverse the global warming resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. The other faction states that accidents can still happen and reactors produce contaminated waste that is dangerous to ship and store, as well as radioactive water that is often dumped into local water sources. Ira's guests represent both sides of the coin and discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy.

Guests

Dave Modeen, vice president of the nuclear division of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Charlotte, North Carolina

Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) in Takoma Park, Maryland

Related Links and Resources

Physicstoday.org, February 2006: Stronger Future for Nuclear Power
The Nuclear Energy Institute
Office of Nuclear Energy , Science & Technology
Howstuffworks.com: "How Nuclear Power Works"
Nuclear Energy Map

For Discussion:

• Why is the U.S. so far behind other countries in developing nuclear energy?

• What happened in 1979 at the Three Mile Island reactor? What happened at Chernobyl, Russia in 1986? How was that accident different from the one at Three Mile Island?

• How has nuclear energy production changed since then?

• What are the benefits of using nuclear energy to produce electricity? What are negatives?

Activities

You need more than a hard hat. Power Plans, a lesson from The New York Times Learning Network, focuses on safety issues. A 2004 incident at a Japanese nuclear power plant killed four people; students study the accident and write reports for a mock commission investigating it. Have students continue their safety research at Chernobyl Disaster website from the British Broadcasting Corporation. They can watch the BBC's report on video, read articles from around the world, get information on how the accident happened and take a quiz. The Smithsonian Institute's Museum of American History maintains a website about Three Mile Island: The Inside Story. A CNNfyi.com lesson plan asks "What are the functions and possible dangers of nuclear power plants?"

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

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