• Nuclear energy is a technology that has been powering the United States and other countries for more than 30 years. There are many positive features of this technology, especially in comparison to other forms of energy production. Though nuclear power is not universally championed, it has many qualities that make it deserving of another look.
  
  

Fewer Emissions

• Nuclear power plants produce fewer negative airborne byproducts than other energy sources such as coal. Nuclear power plants also emit less airborne radioactivity than coal burning power plants. Additionally, nuclear power production does not emit carbon dioxide---the greenhouse gas most responsible for the depletion of the protective ozone layer---into the atmosphere like other forms of energy production such as coal-fired plants. Unlike coal, nuclear power also does not create any significant amounts of sulfur or nitrogen oxides, which can lead to acid rain.
  
  

Waste Disposal

• Waste created as a product of energy production in a nuclear power facility has a minimal impact on the environment. It is contained within one specified geological site where it is segregated from any impact on vital ecosystems. Also, unlike other chemical wastes such as mercury and arsenic, nuclear waste does eventually decompose.
  
  

Safety Record

• According to The Wall Street Journal, the nuclear power industry has the best safety record of any industry in the United States. The paper contends that in stark contrast to multiple tragedies in the coal, oil and hydro-electric industries, there have never been any deaths in the nuclear power industry either as a result of injury or radiation. According to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, approximately 20 percent of the total electrical supply in the U.S. has been delivered by nuclear power plants for over 30 years without a meltdown or other major safety issue.