The Better Sustainable Energy Source between Coal and Electricity - Essay Example

Sustainability has a lot to do with the community's being and so this paper will look at the best energy source between coal and nuclear power in terms of sustainability when it comes to the communities using the source. Coal power plants lead to one of the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere leading to a negative diverse effect on the climate at large. It is estimated that for every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, burning coal produces two pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

This greatly affects the community and on the other hand, nuclear power plants emit no greenhouse gases into the atmosphere thus making it the better sustainable energy source of the two sources (Spilsbury and Spilsbury, 2012). Coal plants produce tons of waste which basically wastes ash and sludge and are part of a toxic mess that includes mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium which are all pollutants. These pollute the environment and lead to negative impacts on the lives of community members.

Nuclear plants also produce wastes that are radioactive but a well-designed plant will ensure that these wastes are well isolated and transported to remote locations which are set aside for these wastes so that they do not harm the community members. In this case, also it is correct to argue that nuclear plants are more sustainable than coal plants.