Advantages and disadvantages of the various energy sources

The drawbacks of the fossil fuels are well known:

1-Non-renewable energy resource
2-Carbon emissions,
3-The greenhouse effect and global warming
4-Pollution by impurities or additives such as sulphur dioxide and lead compounds
5-Acid rain

Nuclear fission looked very promising in the past (before the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters and concerns about terrorism) and provides a large proportion of energy for some countries, such as France and Korea. In the short-term, it appeared to be non-polluting. Unfortunately, radioactive plutonium is a rather nasty substance.
Clearly, however, an option such as nuclear fission which allows a state with few alternative sources to be less dependent on oil and which has a ‘petroleum sparing’ effect will continue to remain attractive, despite the thorny unresolved issues of disposal of nuclear waste and decommissioning of old nuclear plants (which may end up being encased in concrete and cordoned off for decades at great expense). Furthermore, there is potential for the acquisition of materials by rogue states or terrorists for bomb building or just making ‘dirty’ conventional bombs to spread radioactive dust.

Renewable sources of energy, such as photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric or tidal energy, are tremendously appealing, but are applicable only to specific geographic areas and often with wide fluctuations in availability.