The Key Risks Of Nuclear, Explained

Nuclear energy is one of the key issues in the battle against climate change. It doesn't produce greenhouse gases, so it's often highlighted as a must in the list of solutions. It doesn't face the same storing challenges as renewables do, and it would allow for a relatively comfortable economic transition, replacing fossil fuels at the core of our centralized energy production model with minimal changes.

But nuclear is still nuclear, and it's scary for a reason. The dangers associated to it are real, and we must understand them if a serious debate about its convenience in a new energy model is to be held.

Here you have a great way to catch up with the other dangers of nuclear power. The article looks at four main issues:

• Mining: Uranium mining poses dangers both for the miners and the people around them. It also pollutes water bodies, affecting distant communities downstream. Of course, mining is an intrusive activity, and dangerous regardless of the mineral you're digging up.
• War and terrorism: If the technology is available and widespread, how can anyone make sure it's not used to make weapons? After all, the uranium-enriching process necessary for producing nuclear fuel is not so far from the one needed to create nightmarish bombs. And nuclear plants are also an attractive target for terror groups.
• Meltdowns: Like Chernobyl or Fukushima, these spectacular disasters cause mayhem, but they're extremely rare.
• Waste: Radioactive waste lasts for millennia. If we ramp up nuclear energy, we're going to need some serious long-term planning for waste disposal. It's currently highly controlled, but will it always be?

This is a great example of explanatory journalism, taking a sincere and clear look into a few myths on both sides of the debate and exposing them in a simple way, easy to understand for the average reader. And that's the point:

In the future, nuclear plants will only succeed when communities weigh the risks for themselves, and decide they want them.