10. Environmental Impact

There is no energy source that is 100 percent clean, but let's examine what nuclear power has going for it. Unlike fossil fuel plants, which spew tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, nuclear power plants don't produce smoke. Electricity is created by splitting atoms in a series of nuclear reactions, otherwise known as nuclear fission. The iconic images of white plumes rising from cooling towers show nothing more than steam. Nuclear power is considered carbon-free and produces more electricity than other renewables like solar and wind.

Nuclear power is less clean before and after generating electricity. Nuclear power requires uranium, which must be mined and transported to power plants. The vast majority of the uranium used in the United States is imported [source: Energy Justice Network]. Then there is the significant issue of radioactive waste, which isn't biodegradable and is extremely dangerous. Most plants store nuclear waste in steel-lined concrete basins filled with water, where it remains radioactive for thousands of years.