But we don't have all the science we need to fix the problems we have wrought. I was wondering which is the most critical issue you think is being overlooked by the world's governments. Another problem that is less well understood is the health risks from chemical pollutants that last a long time in the environment, such as DDT and other so-called persistent organic pollutants. Recycling other materials might be more or less energy-efficient. Sometimes it makes more sense to burn used products to create energy than to recycle them.
Recycling is only part of the environmental equation.
I am unsure about the actual purpose of reactors and would like to know what their primary functions are. The heat in a power plant's nuclear reactor is used to heat water and produce steam under pressure. Just as in a coal-fired power plant, the steam then drives turbines. Rapid jets of steam pass through the turbine's fans and spin them around. The spinning of the turbines, in turn, drives magnets around and around.