Essay 016 (threat of nuclear weapons)

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

The threat of nuclear weapons maintains world peace. Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy. The benefits of nuclear technology far outweigh the disadvantages. 

Do you agree or disagree?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

You should write at least 250 words.

In spite of the fact that nuclear energy has the image of a villain in human history in the last 100 years, the inevitable fact remains that it is one of the major sources of cheap energy and a great contributing fear factor among major nations, that prevents them from attacking each other. Although it may have the destructive power of eliminating human race itself from the face of the earth in the worst case, there are very convincing evidences to prove nuclear energy has greatly contributed to maintaining world peace and providing inexpensive power which is important for the progress of the world.

If one would argue that nuclear bombs caused great holocausts in the twin Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I would raise a counter argument stating that there was not a major war in the world subsequent to the Second World War. Furthermore, one should not forget that, during the cold war period, world was divided into two opposing blocks both possessing destructive nuclear war heads pointed towards each other. None dared to attack each other for fear that it would trigger a major war and the ultimate use of nuclear power, which would cause major destruction to countries on both sides. On the other hand, if one would scan the history prior to Second World War, it was a procession of battles and strife among the major nations of the world. What we derive from these historical facts is that the presence of nuclear power has maintained world peace and is still performing its role perfectly.

All the traditional sources of energy like oil, gas and coal are fast drying up and are expensive and cause a lot of pollution, whereas, nuclear energy is a very important source of alternative energy, which is both clean and inexpensive. This should be weighed against the stark reality that other alternative power sources like windmill or solar energy are more expensive, unreliable and limited in quantity and hydro-electric projects result in environmental hazards as huge dams cause destruction to forests and displacement of inhabitants. Although we need to admit that there have been a couple of instances of nuclear leakages and subsequent disasters in the past, today the safety measures are fool proof and one should not a raise false alarm about safely and ignore the great advantages of nuclear power.

However, one should not ignore the safety aspects of nuclear energy and the danger, if it goes into the hands of criminal elements and terrorists. There should be stronger international nuclear monitoring agencies that should enforce and ensure the safety and non-proliferation of nuclear energy. If so, we can reap the rich benefits of nuclear energy without being disadvantaged by its drawbacks.