Many people think that nuclear energy is a cheap and clean sustainable energy; so did the people in Japan. Scientists thought that nuclear plants are well fortified that safety is not something to worry about. Except for the Chernobyl accident in 1986, nuclear energy enjoyed a good public record as a safe source of energy. But in March 2011, the world came to realize that nuclear power plants can be vulnerable when a strong earthquake and a huge tsunami that followed caused the nuclear facilities in Fukushima, Japan, to leak. Up to now the horror of the Fukushima incident lingers. According to The Japan Times, the Fukushima nuclear disaster generated strong anti-nuclear sentiments to the point that 74 percent of Japanese people interviewed for a survey answered “yes” to a question if Japan should gradually phase out all of its 54 nuclear reactors. Consequently, Japan hopes to replace its nuclear power plants with floating-wind and water turbines to produce clean energy. Nuclear reactors also exist in the United States, Great Britain and France, among other countries. It is said that France supplies roughly 80 percent of its own power needs from nuclear sources. Alternate energy like solar and wind power is not enough to keep the country's industries running. New technologies can produce alternative energy generated from wind, water and agricultural waste and promise clean, cheap and safe energy. But every energy source has its own limitations. For instance, some countries do not have enough sun to generate solar energy or land mass on which energy-generating plants can be set up. Some energy-generating facilities require materials which make energy production expensive. Also alternative energy is not always reliable because its production is inconsistent and it requires huge resources as well as efforts to set and maintain facilities to produce such energy. The challenge that faces the world is how to generate abundant and cheap energy. Cold fusion, a controversial energy technology in an experimental stage, seems to be the answer. It claims to produce energy in relatively low-temperature nuclear reactor. The idea was introduced by Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American mechanical and electrical engineer and inventor, who pointed out in 1919 that “there is abundant energy in nature that we can tap” and that “there is an abundant energy in perfectly ordinary conditions”. “The sun raises the water of oceans and winds drive it to distant regions where it remains in state of most delicate balance,” he once said. “If it were in our power to tap it when and wherever desired … we could irrigate arid deserts, create lakes and rivers and provide motive power in unlimited amount.” (The author can be reached at khadijah_ [email protected]) __
