The Nuclear Dilemma

 "It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."  

   Such is the words of Tony Robbins, and I find them racing in my head as I ponder the choice I must make. Being the newly elected president of the Philippines, it is my duty to make the big, big decision that will make a difference for generations upon generations to come, either for good or bad. The question is--should I open the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant? 

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

   The oil crash of 2012 shocked everyone. It came from nowhere, and now the power situation around the world is a mess...including here. Experts ensued debating heatedly, and a possible solution to our troubles was proposed--opening the BNPP. Left to collect dust for near three decades, it had been intended to be converted to a tourist site before the oil market fell to pieces. And now the better part of the nation is holding their breaths awaiting my answer. 

   I ponder the pros and cons. Its effectiveness would be of no question, indeed. A massively powerful, long-term and even eco-friendly energy source to keep us afloat in this day and age of technology. The number of nuclear disasters is miniscule, the chances of one slim. With such a reliable power source well-capable of keeping our nation's nights bright, what's stopping me from giving it the go and patting myself on the back?

...The answer to that question is a lot of things, unfortunately. For starters, I consider the fact that it is placed right on an earthquake fault. I can't possibly ignore such a glaring problem. The plant has many safety measures to prevent itself from melting-down, but hardly anything to prevent a powerful earthquake from doing what the plant prevents itself from doing. Likewise, with Mt. Pinatubo so relatively close, how could the plant protect itself from a devastating volcanic eruption? Secondly, it's just a 7 minute ride from the Pawikan Conservation Center. A meltdown would effectively contaminate the entire community, rendering it uninhabitable to sea turtles, not to mention lethal to the sea turtles already there.

  

   And speaking of contamination, that brings me to the most dangerous con of opening the BNPP. A disaster striking the BNPP wouldn't just result with the loss of our electrical stability, but spread nuclear radiation miles around, effectively altering the surrounding environment for the worse, for a long, long time to come. The environment would be rendered inhospitable to life, and we humans would be affected by radiation in extremely harmful ways. Cancer, genetic mutations in subsequent generations...It's frightening to think about. And even if there's no meltdown, the nuclear power plant's waste will take centuries to go away, rendering its dump site highly radioactive.

  

   Ultimately, however, I have to think of our electrical situation. In this modern age technology is what sustains our nation's development in both the internal and external stage. The dangers are many, but in the end I have to put forward our power situation first. Nuclear power is generally safe, extremely powerful and reliable, so until we come to a point where a more effective, safer method of powering our nation comes, we'll have to stick with it. The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is opening.