Introduction to our project
We started this project by learning all the basics of nuclear energy and other energy resources. We learned all about the types of radiation and how certain types harm humans, we learned about the half life of isotopes or radioactive particles, we learned about atoms and how their parts were discovered throughout history and many more things. The purpose of that was to get us prepared for the debate we were doing at the end of this project, that way we would understand everything about the different energy sources from their disadvantages to advantages or about the catastrophic accidents that could be caused by human error or natural disasters (Fukushima) and how those accidents can harm humans and our environment. For the debate we had to answer 5 questions with 2 different focus points each one.
Here are the questions we were given:
1.Nuclear energy is a better alternative to fossil fuels.
2. Nuclear waste can be disposed of efficiently and safely.
3. Nuclear energy is a better alternative to hydropower, solar & wind energy.
4. Nuclear energy is truly capable of powering our world indefinitely.
5.Accidents that can happen at nuclear energy plants are acceptable risks.
Here are the questions we were given:
1.Nuclear energy is a better alternative to fossil fuels.
- Focus Point #1: Does nuclear energy help solve the problem of global warming? Why or why not?
- Focus Point #2: What should be done about the current infrastructure of fossil fuel usage in our society?
2. Nuclear waste can be disposed of efficiently and safely.
- Focus Point #1: Is there a location that is fair and safe to store nuclear waste? Why or why not?
- Focus Point #2: Is there a safe process of transporting and storing nuclear waste? Why or why not?
3. Nuclear energy is a better alternative to hydropower, solar & wind energy.
- Focus Point #1:Do the benefits of nuclear outweigh the benefits of renewable energy?
- Focus Point #2: Are the benefits of nuclear energy higher than renewables if cost is included in the comparison?
4. Nuclear energy is truly capable of powering our world indefinitely.
- Focus Point #1: What are the limitations of nuclear fission?
- Focus Point #2: Are our energy needs going to continue to be the same?
5.Accidents that can happen at nuclear energy plants are acceptable risks.
- Focus Point #1: If an accident occurs, do the possible negative outcomes outweigh the benefits of nuclear energy?
- Focus Point #2: Can nuclear reactors be protected against human error, natural disasters and acts of terrorism?
crew document
This is the document were we kept all the important research we used during the debate. Each focus point has 3 reasons and 3 pieces of evidence to back up our reasons and the claim.
Just incase you don't know what CREW stands for...
Just incase you don't know what CREW stands for...
- C: Claim
- R: Reasoning
- E: Evidence
- W: Warrant
I did CREW debate question number three.
reflection
In this project I learned a lot about the current energy crisis and how hard and costly it would be to find a solution to this. In my opinion I think we should decrease our reliability on fossil fuels by increasing renewable energy resources in sunny states or states that have water reservoirs yearly. On the other hand I am not proud of how I contributed to my team in this project because I was not there for the first part of the debate for personal reasons, so I wish I could've let them know before hand, however I do feel very proud of teammates for doing such a god job on the debate even though they were missing one team member.