To Recycle or Not to Recycle?

Running Head : To Recycle or Not to Recycle

: To Recycle or Not to Recycle

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Introduction

Nuclear energy is the source of energy that is mostly courted by the Western world and other developed nations to replace carbon fuel burning as a source of energy before environmentally friendly ways of energy production are invented . Nuclear energy production can still work despite its serious consequences on short term health of living organisms and the high toxic wastes from the plants . However , it requires less input of the raw materials

and the emission of green house gas is almost negligible compared to fossil energy sources . The thorny issue about nuclear energy is whether to use the open system (waste is not recycled ) or to adapt the closed system in which the waste is recycled

This debate about whether to use open or closed system is brought about intergenerational justice which is about taking care not to inconvenience our descendants who are to come many years after we have left this planet . The impact of what is done today will be felt mainly by the people who will live one or two generations from now and therefore we cannot exhaust natural resources as if the world is ending tomorrow . The two methods advocate for different things and outcomes are also different . For the open system , uranium undergoes one cycle after which it is irradiated and then buried underground . The closed system on the other hand uses irradiated waste materials to produce...