Is the pursuit of nuclear technology desirable in todays world?

With the rapid decline in the earths resources, human have been, for many decades, trying to uncover an alternative source of fuel that would be able to power the world once fossil fuels run out in the distant future. We, seemingly, for the past century have entered the The Atomic Age, a term first coined by William L. Laurence, a New York Times journalist. It started from the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb Trinity on July 16, 1945. Since then, scientist have been fervently developing and researching viable methods of harnessing energy from nuclear power. Although the history of nuclear technology development is short, it has already been blemished by three major accidents, most notably the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, and recently, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. These accidents have caused much skepticism to develop and many countries dare not dabble in nuclear power. However, I believe the pursuit of nuclear technology is desirable in todays world, if and only if, the country has a safe and trusted system in managing the problems that might arise. This is because people often generalize that once a country accepts nuclear power plants, catastrophe would bound to strike and accidents would happen. However, they have ignored the fact that it is nearly impossible that such incidents would occur a second time. For example, in the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, citizens and analysts should recognise the fact that a 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurring at the same exact spot would be unlikely, and that it was purely an accident which caused the nuclear plant to break down. The same could be assumed for the nuclear accidents in Russia and USA. Thus, the pursuit of nuclear technology is desirable in todays world since the chances of another catastrophe occurring are rather small. In addition, nuclear technology are often misinterpreted as agents of terrorism and thus citizens have objected vehemently whenever the government wishes to pursue nuclear technology to bolster the countrys power supply. Indeed, the Germans and Japanese have called for the closure of their countries nuclear power plants, and governments are pressurized to produce actions that match the desires of their citizens. However, I believe that there could be potential political problems if countries do not use nuclear technology. As we all agree, the supply of fossil fuels in the earths ground is fast diminishing-and scientists are hard pressed to procure a viable alternative that could replace the function of fossil fuels once it runs out. Thus, there is currently an inelastic demand for fossil fuels to generate electricity at this very moment. Countries that control large amount of crude oil, the raw form of fossil fuels, could potentially control the world prices for oil. An even more serious problem occurs when terrorists manage to obtain large supply of crude oil, which they could use as leverage to make sure certain actions are carried out. If this occurs, we would completely be at their whim, and there would be imbalance of world powers. To avoid such a situation, countries should be scouting for viable substitutions of fossil fuels-and in this case; the closest we can get would be nuclear technology. Thus, the pursuit of nuclear technology is desirable in todays world Moreover, in countries such as France, nuclear power plants contribute to at least 75% of the countries power consumption, and yet there are scarcely any problems that have arise in France since they adopted nuclear power. Another example would be Slovakia, whose nuclear power plants account to more than half the countrys power consumption. This is ample proof that nuclear power can be safe so long as imperative precautions have been taken. Thus, if this is truly an alternative source of fossil fuel that is pollution free, the pursuit of nuclear technology desirable in todays world. Nuclear technology also refers to nuclear weapon, which is a major concern for many governments in the world. Currently, Iraq and North Korea are believed to be developing nuclear weapons on the sly, though both countries have denied those claims. With the demise of ruler Kim Jong Il, the throne is succeed by his son, Kim Jong Un. Given the current political situation in North Korea, it is highly plausible that with the exchange of power, there could be a different approach in matters by the new ruler. There have been speculations that South Korea and USA could have nuclear warheads aimed at them. Thus, in order to protect themselves, the pursuit of nuclear technology is desirable in todays world since it deters enemies from attacking them.

On the flip side of the coin, the pursuit of nuclear technology is not entirely desirable in todays world, since there are considerations to be made. An example would be Cold War, which occurred from 19451991. The Cuban missile crisis has proven that the construction of nuclear warheads in a competitive fashion could potentially lead to mutually assured destruction. With the increasing number of countries embracing nuclear technology, it is possible that countries could opt to abuse nuclear weapons and use it as a mean to threaten or resolve problems, and this may lead to mass destruction of the world. Furthermore, countries with suspiciously close ties with terrorist groups such as Pakistan and Iran could also make the pursuit of nuclear technology undesirable in todays world if the country allows its nuclear power plants to be hijacked through lax security and inability to anticipate potential attacks. If terrorists are allowed a free rein at handling nuclear weapons, mass destruction may occur and this is definitely not beneficial towards humankind, and this violates the nature of the usage of nuclear technology to benefit humanity. Thus, the pursuit of nuclear technology becomes undesirable in todays world. In conclusion, though there are several considerations in using nuclear technology to harness energy, the pursuit of nuclear technology is considered desirable since it is able to provide reliable, efficient power. So long as necessary measures are put in place, people would gradually understand the importance of nuclear energy and the benefits that it is able to bring onto this world.