The largest component of Nuclear energy is their ability to create energy without polluting the air. It has proven to be the most effective and reliant form of alternative energy to date, making up over half of the energy output of emission free technologies. It does so through a process called fission. This entails the splitting of an atom in a nuclear reactor to create exorbitant amount of energy in the form of heat. This then is used to heat water in an enclosed system to fuel a generator. The process has even been a factor to several cities in New York in their effort to obtain designation for “non-attainment”. This is title is designated by the EPA to those cities which exceed national pollution standards.

Using nuclear energy has improved the quality of air by avoiding the release of abundant amounts of potentially harmful substances. More specifically, it has helped to avoid the emission of 28,000 tons of SO2 and 24 million tons of CO2. These figures stand for just a single year! Expand these figures to cover numerous years and the impact become increasingly more important. If Nuclear energy production were increased, these numbers are bound to increase even more.