Nuclear power in Namibia
In 1928 uranium was discovered in the Namib Desert, uranium is a heavy, silver white radioactive metal, mainly used in producing nuclear energy. Namibia being very rich with uranium, is considering using it as its main source of energy. Just as everything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear energy.
Advantages of using nuclear energy
• Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plant to global warming is therefore relatively little
• It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant
• The earth has limited supplies of coal and oil. Nuclear power plants could stilproduce electricity after coal and oil become scarce.
Disadvantages of nuclear energy
• Although not much waste is produced , it is very, very dangerous . it must be sealed up and buried for many thousands of years to allow the radioactivity to die away. For all that time it must be kept safe from earthquakes, flooding, and everything else. This is difficult .
• Nuclear power is reliable, but a lot of money has to be spent on safety-if it does go wrong , a nuclear accident can be a major disaster.
The writer strongly believes that the Namibian government should not consider using nuclear power as their main source of electricity, mainly because the disadvantages of using nuclear energy are more dangerous and more expensive in the long run than the advantages. Namibia was not only blessed with uranium, but also with a lot of hours of sun shine all year round. The writer suggests that the Namibian government should rather consider using solar energy. Not only is it free in Namibia, it is renewable and it causes no pollution compared to all the other energy sources.