Misunderstanding of Nuclear Energy
How impressions ruin things and why Nuclear is good
My social circles and I grew up thinking Nuclear Energy is bad. Here are my thoughts on why our misunderstanding and why nuclear energy is great.
I read the news about the Japan Fukushima nuclear power plant accident at a young age, and how nuclear radiation turns living things into monstrous creatures. The Godzilla movie certainly didn’t help me understand what motivates humans to continue ‘risking our future’ by messing with nuclear.
In school (Malaysia), the textbook taught us about how splitting and fusing (now potentially happening) atoms create energy, but not why we do it. I do not have any ideas about the reason society wants nuclear energy if it’s such a dangerous thing.
Thankfully Gee Ann Toh that pays more attention to science taught me a couple of years ago why Nuclear could be a good thing, despite the harmful nuclear waste, which we need funds to find better ways to handle them. It’s worth pointing out that amidst the substantial investment in the production and adoption of EVs (Electric Vehicle) that could reduce carbon emissions, we still rely on non-renewable resources such as petrol, liquefied gas, and coals to generate the majority of the electricity we use to charge EVs.
Fusing atoms will be more sustainable and efficient in curbing global warming as it comes with much fewer, or close to zero carbon emissions. (note: comes with a risk of radiation leak still if mishandle).
It takes 2 minutes to learn more about why nuclear is good here (https://lnkd.in/eBENC4-d)
It is important to be curious and learn about a topic from different perspectives, rather than relying on our ‘easiest or most convenient sources of news. I remember a saying that goes with “A bad book doesn’t cost you 2 weeks, it cost your mindset for a very long period of your time”.
Not just what we are consuming physically, but also what we are consuming intellectually, in a digital world dominated by algorithms and only showing you what you like.
