nuclear-news

The USA public is not buying the pro nuclear hype

the Union of Concerned Scientists published a report blasting subsidies, and stated that nuclear power was not economically viable. Are the subsidies worth fighting for, or should atom splitting be trimmed off of the Federal budget?

Nuclear’s PR problem: Americans say slash subsidies, SmartPlanet,  By David Worthington | Mar 3, 2011 Government officials are pushing for a new round of nuclear power subsidies, but a new NBC/WSJ poll has found spending Federal dollars to construct new reactors to be the lowest of the public’s budget priorities…..
the public is still cool on the idea, according to the poll, which interviewed 1000 adults over the telephone from Feb. 24-28. 57 percent of respondents indicated that eliminating the subsidies would be either ‘totally acceptable’ or ‘mostly acceptable.’……

The poll’s sample population had a conservative tilt: 36 percent identified as either ‘conservative’ or ‘very conservative’; whereas, 24 percent were self-identified ‘liberals’ or ‘very liberal.’ 36 percent said they were moderates (The rest were just confused).

I’m not certain whether a sample size of 1000 is a sufficient representation of the nation at large (my college statistics professor wouldn’t be happy my lack of math). It is also a convenience sample, which would be less reliable than a true random sample.

 

Doubts aside, it should come as no surprise that nuclear power has a PR problem. Issues of waste, past disasters and unfamiliarity with modern reactor designs are likely to blame.

 

Forces for and against the subsidies are filing up. Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NCR) chairperson Dale Klein late last month urged a change in mindset regarding the U.S’s 60,000+ tons of radioactive waste.

A few days later, the Union of Concerned Scientists published a report blasting subsidies, and stated that nuclear power was not economically viable. Are the subsidies worth fighting for, or should atom splitting be trimmed off of the Federal budget?

Nuclear’s PR problem: Americans say slash subsidies – SmartPlanet

March 5, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized