About eighty-five percent of our fuel comes from fossil fuels, the primary uses of which are electricity and automotive fuel. www.ucsusa.org. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “Many of the environmental problems facing our country today stem from our dependence on fossil fuels. These impacts include global warming, deteriorating air quality, oil spills and acid rain.” Other issues such as national security issues, protection of foreign oil sources and the dependence we have on those foreign sources. Not to mention the billions of dollars spent to protect those interests. There are other energy sources, but are they safer? Will it be better for humanity to focus its attention on conserving what we have and sparing use of all the resources we already have, with safety first in mind? The small amount of energy produced by means other than fossil fuels brings with it other questions as well as safety concerns. Is addressing these problems more valuable than efforts to conserve the fuel we have? “A nuclear reactor works somewhat like a furnace. However, instead of using fossil fuels such as coal or oil, almost all reactors use uranium. And instead of burning in the reactor, the uranium undergoes fission, meaning its nuclei split into two or more fragments. When a nucleus divides, it releases energy that is largely converted into heat. Fission of 1 pound of uranium releases more energy than burning 3 million pounds (1,500 tons) of coal. In metric terms, the fission of 1 kilogram of uranium releases more energy than the burning of 3 million kilograms (3,000 tons) of coal.” “Unlike fossil fuel plants, nuclear plants do not release solid or chemical pollutants into the atmosphere.” Corradini, 2012You certainly see the...... middle of paper....... World Book, 2012. Web. 15 January 2012.Hamilton, Jon, (March 2011), Sizing Up Japan's Nuclear Emergency: No Chernobyl http://www.npr.org/2011/03/14/134543680/sizing-up-japan-s-nuclear -emergency-no-chernobylKomisarenko, I., (2012, January) http://www.chernobyl- international.org/igor.htmlMarples, David R.,(2012, January), “Chernobyl Disaster.” Advanced World Book. World Book, 2012. Web. January 15, 2012. Union of Concerned Scientists, (January 2012) http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/technology_and_impacts/impacts/the-hidden-cost-of-fossil.htmlWalker, J . Samuel., (2012, January) "Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective; Historical, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission." Advanced World Book. World Book, 2012. Web. 15 January 2012.World Nuclear Association, (January 2012) http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf45.html#Electricity_Supply