It has been three years since Japan experienced its worst ever earthquake, causing serious damage to Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The 9 magnitude quake and its resulting tsunami sent three of Japan's reactors into meltdown, shocking the world and forcing it to revise its energy policies, and pose the question, "Is nuclear power really worth it?" William Tucker, the author of "Why I Still Support Nuclear Power, Even After Fukushima" states that in the long-term, we need nuclear power in order to maintain our standard of living. Tucker made a convincing argument and I agree; nuclear power is a necessity in today's world, and we shouldn't let Fukushima cause our abandonment of the energy source altogether. It is still our most reliable and clean energy, and we shouldn't give up on it. .
William Tucker, a veteran journalist, has covered energy and the environment for over 30 years. His articles have been published in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The National Review, and many other publications. He begins the article by talking about the first thoughts many of us have when thinking about nuclear power, "Why risk it?" And the reason is, because of the amount of energy and because of the way technology will be headed in the coming years. In his article, written just one month after the explosion occurred, Tucker writes to the immediate audience, the countries that have or will have similar power plants, and the people within them. .
In his piece about the good of nuclear power, Tucker speaks about the fact that nuclear power is the cleanest form of energy, excluding renewable power. He also speaks on how that isn't the way to go either; renewable energy only works part of the time: wind energy, works about a third of the time, solar energy works only when the sun is out, and must cover 20 square miles to be effective. Hydroelectric power must back up a 250 square-mile reservoir to create the same amount of energy as a single nuclear power plant.
