Opinion Piece (Blog Post 4)

★ Article

I have no idea if what I wrote is good, or even correct... If you find that it lacks something, please help me out! Thank you!

(Part 1)

My first choice for the opinion piece is an article called "For California, Allure of Nuclear Power Endures," from U~T San Diego, and online local news source. I chose this piece because I thought it was pretty intriguing, and the comments/arguments from other people pertaining to this article were pretty interesting.

This article discusses the positive and negative features of using nuclear power here in California, (specifically San Onofre). Everyday, several people try to find better ways to be energy efficient: buying high- efficient/zero emission vehicles, and installing solar energy panels on the roofs of their houses. The author of the article, Morgan Lee, argues that nuclear power plants are too much of a hassle, adding that it is a very hazardous job. He presents his readers with descriptive information on the ongoing struggles taking place at the San Onofre nuclear power plant. "The shutdown that began in January, prompted by the rapid degradation of steam generator tubes that help prevent releases of radiation, still has no clear outcome. Southern California Edison, the facility’s operator, is looking for ways to satisfy safety regulators and restart its reactors." (p.1) People down in the comments bring in politics and personal experience, arguing with each other, but that is typical of a controversial topic, or what ever you would like to think of it. Lee also looks at this subject in a very realistic way. Some people may think "Oh, well there isn't ever going to be an event so severe for the possibility of Chernobyl or Fukushima Daiichi again," (which are both brought up in the article). There will always be a worst case scenario.

Everybody has their own opinion as to which kind of energy is most safe, and efficient, but nuclear energy seems to receive the most criticism. Several people say it poses as a serious threat to both the people and the environment. Many comments that followed the article on the U~T San Diego website had to do with the tsunami/earthquake/nuclear disaster of Japan last year. I remember waking up on the morning of March 11, 2011 and seeing the news about it on the Japanese channel, but during this time I was actually living in the states. We called all our family back in Japan, and luckily, the region they live in was unaffected by the nuclear disaster. And to be honest, this is what changed my opinion about nuclear energy, (I apologize if I seem selfish here). Though nuclear energy is very efficient in generating energy and heat, I am going to have to say that it is potentially dangerous if anything were to happen (such as an earthquake, or sudden shutdown, or overheat of either generator).