ETFdb Logo
ETFdb Logo
  • ETF Database
  • Channels
    • Active ETF
    • Alternatives
    • Beyond Basic Beta
    • China Insights
    • Climate Insights
    • Commodities
    • Core Strategies
    • Crypto
    • Disruptive Technology
    • Dividend
    • Dual Impact
    • Emerging Markets
    • Energy Infrastructure
    • ESG
    • ETF Building Blocks
    • ETF Education
    • ETF Strategist
    • Fixed Income
    • Free Cash Flow
    • Future ETFs
    • Global Diversification
    • Gold & Silver Investing
    • Innovative ETFs
    • Institutional Income Strategies
    • Leveraged & Inverse
    • Managed Futures
    • Market Insights
    • Megatrends
    • Modern Alpha
    • Multi-Asset
    • Night Effect
    • Portfolio Strategies
    • Retirement Income
    • Richard Bernstein Advisors
    • Tax Efficient Income
    • Thematic Investing
    • Volatility Resource
  • Tools
    • ETF Screener
    • ETF Country Exposure Tool
    • ETF Sector Tracker Tool
    • ETF Database Categories
    • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison Tool
    • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
    • ETF Issuer Fund Flows
    • Indexes
    • Mutual Fund To ETF Converter
    • ETF Data for Journalists
    • ETF Nerds
  • Research
    • First Bitcoin ETF
    • ETF Education
    • Equity Investing
    • Dividend ETFs
    • Leveraged ETFs
    • Inverse ETFs
    • Index Education
    • Index Insights
    • Top ETF Sectors
    • Top ETF Issuers
    • Top ETF Industries
  • Webcasts
  • Themes
    • AI ETFs
    • Blockchain ETFs
    • See all Thematic Investing ETF themes
    • ESG Investing
    • Marijuana ETFs
  • Multimedia
    • ETF 360 Video Series
    • ETF Trends on Videos
    • ETF Trends on Podcasts
    • ETF Prime Podcast
  • Company
    • About Us
    • Swag Store
  • PRO
    • Pro Content
    • Pro Tools
    • Advanced
    • FAQ
    • Pricing
    • Free Sign Up
    • Login
  1. Gold & Silver Investing Channel
  2. Uranium – The Good, the Bad, and the Radioactive
Gold & Silver Investing Channel
Share

Uranium - The Good, the Bad, and the Radioactive

Evan HarpOct 18, 2021
2021-10-18

Sprott released a new episode of Commodity Culture focused on uranium, diving into the scientific origins of the substance and covering its history and role in our future.

Cosmochemists have been investigating the origin of uranium for a long time. New data is sure to arise, but currently uranium is believed to have formed some 6 billion years ago, possibly during supernova events. As stars collapse, they eject their remnants into space, where they can then eventually coalesce into solar systems with planets like Earth. Research also shows that uranium could be formed as the result of a merger between neutron stars. That process leads to the mass production of not only uranium, but gold and platinum as well.

Pure uranium was first isolated by French analytic chemistry professor Eugene Peligot in 1841, though the first extraction of uranium oxide was identified by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1789. Going even further back, the Roman empire utilized uranium oxide as a coloring agent for ceramic glazes in 79 AD.

The Paradoxical Uses of Uranium

Uranium has had two primary uses through modern history: It is a powerful carbon-neutral source of clean energy and an instrument of horrific destruction. It is a substance that could save the world or destroy it, depending on how it is utilized.

Despite being one of the most efficient, cleanest, and safest forms of energy currently accessible on the planet, uranium’s storied history as a weapon of unrivaled destruction and the high-profile disasters of Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island have dented its optics. Even as the world stands on the precipice of widespread environmental disaster brought about high-emission energy sources such as oil and coal, the public is still reticent to embrace nuclear power.

The reality is that nuclear energy actually accounts for a low percentage of overall deaths from energy production worldwide. It has caused significantly less harm than coal, oil, and natural gas. A paper published by NASA’s Goddard Institute in the Environmental Science and Technology Journal in 2013 concluded that 1.84 million lives had been saved from 1971 to 2009 thanks to the reduction in air pollution brought about by using nuclear power instead of burning fossil fuels.


Content continues below advertisement

Uranium’s Upcoming Role

The Paris Climate Agreement has set deadlines for the world to pivot to a carbon-neutral energy grid. There are numerous challenges to meeting these deadlines, and though renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro will certainly play a role, it will take an enormous amount of work and environmental cost to extract and build those clean, renewable energy infrastructures.

A large-scale pivot to nuclear power, however, is the fastest path to hitting the Paris Agreement goals and maintaining a robust, reliable energy grid.

The Sprott Physical Uranium Trust the world’s largest physical uranium fund. It provides investors with a liquid and convenient way to own physical uranium and play an important role in pivoting the world to green technology.

For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Gold & Silver Investing Channel.

Loading Articles...
Help & Info
  • Contact Us
Tools
  • ETF Screener
  • ETF Analyzer
  • Mutual Fund to ETF Converter
  • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison
  • ETF Country Exposure Tool
  • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
  • ETF Performance Visualizer
  • ETF Database Model Portfolios
  • ETF Database Realtime Ratings
  • ETF Database Pro
More Tools
  • ETF Launch Center
  • Financial Advisor & RIA Center
  • ETF Database RSS Feed
Explore ETFs
  • ETF News
  • ETF Picks of the Month
  • ETF Category Reports
  • Premium Articles
  • Alphabetical Listing of ETFs
  • Best ETFs
  • Browse ETFs by ETF Database Category
  • Browse ETFs by Index
  • Browse ETFs by Issuer
  • Compare ETFs
Legal
  • Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
  • © 2023 VettaFi LLC. All rights reserved.
Follow ETF Database
Follow ETF Database

Advertisement

Is Your Portfolio Positioned With Enough Global Exposure?

ETF Education Channel

How to Allocate Commodities in Portfolios

Tom LydonApr 26, 2022
2022-04-26

A long-running debate in asset allocation circles is how much of a portfolio an investor should...

Core Strategies Channel

Why ETFs Experience Limit Up/Down Protections

Karrie GordonMay 13, 2022
2022-05-13

In a digital age where information moves in milliseconds and millions of participants can transact...

}
X