From the reading that was assigned, the first thought that came to mind was analyzing the debate over nuclear power and how to proceed with our country's energy needs. The most intriguing thing we can relate from this section of reading would be the idea of frequency times severity or impact to calculate risk. The real question is which direction should the country head in order to meet it's energy needs. On one hand we have coal power, relatively safe when it is used to make electricity, but mining however can be dangerous. The impact of coal fired plants is undeniable, the pollution impact is costly and the the health of the citizens can not be measured. I thought the cartoon pictured below is an accurate representation of our mindset when we think of nuclear power but yet fail to consider the risks of coal power.
-http://current.com/items/88942402/is_nuclear_energy_a_clean_solution_for_global_warming.htm

As we examine nuclear power and the "dangers and risks" associated with it, most people fail to take in to account the extreme dangers in coal mining. If we are examining risk assessment, we have to examine all variables to understand the risk associated with the idea. I truly believe there is no complete way to have risk assessment because of the extreme amount of variables involved with every equation. Frequency * Impact = Risk is simply the best option we have at this point and provides a notion to what we are looking at. With nuclear power, we would have to examine the ease at which radioactive material is mined, the dangers of handling, transporting, and storing it. What is the potential for disaster occurring, how often could it occur and what would be the impact of this event are all important questions that need to be assessed. With coal, we have to examine health hazards, mining issues, and environmental impacts. There are so many more options that need to be taken into account as well. There is simply no true way to account for a viable option one way or another and that is why is continues to be such a highly debated topic around the world today. Unfortunately, every option we have contain certain risks that need to be considered. Some have more costly impact, some have more common frequency. In order to have a successful plan, it needs to be balanced and since there is no true answer out there for us, having a balanced energy portfolio is essential to ensuring the meeting of our energy needs in this country.