The components of nuclear prevention have a physical and a psychological character. On the physical level, deterrence necessitates a series of military instruments, sufficient to threaten the opponent in a way that it would not even think of attacking. Successful deterrence is certain, however, only if the will is there to use these weapons. Deterrence is plausible only if a nation is able to successfully convey the first two points to its opponent, that it is capable and willing. Successful deterrence depends on the psychological components of communication and perception (Gaddis, 2010).

The bomb's impact on substantive historical developments has turned out to be minimal. Nuclear weapons are routinely given credit for preventing or deterring a major war during the Cold War era. It is increasingly clear that the Soviet Union never had the smallest amount of interest in engaging in any kind of conflict that would remotely resemble World War II, whether nuclear or not. Its agenda emphasized revolution, class rebellion, and civil war, conflict areas in which nuclear weapons are irrelevant. Therefore, there was no threat of direct military aggression to deter. Moreover, the possessors of nuclear weapons have never been able to find much military reason to use them, even in principle, in actual armed conflicts (Mueller, 2010).

Electricity that is generated from nuclear energy does not produce greenhouse gases, but it has one major problem that is associated with it. Used fuel remains radioactive for a very long time after it has been used in power plants. The depleted fuel is a possible hazard to humans and the environment and is susceptible to terrorist banning. Conventional hydroelectric is an additional form of electrical generation that does not produce greenhouse gases. As of the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration's 2008 accounting, traditional hydroelectric generation accounts for just over 7% of the United States' generating capacity. Nuclear energy accounts for 9.6% of the United States' electrical producing capacity but supplies about 20% of the electricity in the United States. As well the long-term storage or redevelopment of...

The building and maintaining of nuclear power plants is an expensive proposition. One big concern with nuclear plants is their safety. Nuclear accidents have the potential to be enormously dangerous. There have been nuclear accidents that have caused severe damage to the environment. The waste products of nuclear energy don't just go away. They have to be stored for thousands of years.
The pros of nuclear energy include: nuclear energy is a technology that can be easily deployed, nuclear power doesn't emit greenhouse gases and the nuclear power industry creates high paying, high skilled domestic jobs that won't be moved offshore (Nuclear Energy Pros And Cons, 2009).

The jury is still out on whether the pros of nuclear energy outweigh the cons that come along with it. It can be used for a lot of very useful things but the dangers that it poses are great to both human life and the environment. If it is something that is going to make a come back as a viable way of producing energy there will need to be quit a bit of rules and regulations that will have to surround its use to make sure that its true benefits are realized with success.

References

Childress, Vincent W. (2010). Producing Nuclear Power. Technology Teacher. 69(4), p5-10.

Gaddis, John Lewis. (2010). Deterrence. Retrieved March 22, 2010, from Nuclear Files Web

site: http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/cold-

war/strategy/strategy-deterrence.htm

Mariotte, Michael. (2009). Second Thoughts on Nuclear Power. Futurist. 43(6), p23-23.

Mueller, John. (2010). Calming Our Nuclear Jitters. Issues in Science & Technology. 26(2), p58-

66.

Nuclear Energy Pros And Cons. (2009). Retrieved March 22, 2010, from Our Green Empire

Web site: http://www.ourgreenempire.com/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons/

Nuclear technology -- Definition. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2010, from Word IQ Web site:

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Nuclear_technology