|
|
 | THE FUROR OVER FISSION The Images and Realities of Nuclear Technologies November 20, 1996 |
|---|
The Nuclear Power and Fear
Forum Homepage
Other Forum Topics
How has the media impacted the perception of nuclear technology?
How has morality impacted the growth of nuclear technology?
Can nuclear power overcome nuclear fear?
How do we overcome nuclear fear?
Isn't nuclear fear better than nuclear arrogance?
Will fear ebb as memory of the Cold War fades?
A question from Charlotte Walsh of Fairmont, WV
Is this fear of nuclear power limited to America? It seems that France has little problem relying on nuclear power and neither does several other countries? If it is true that this is an American fear, why has it developed here and not elsewhere?
Dr. Spencer Weart responds:
As far as I've been able to determine--and there is quite a lot of polling data to go on--fear of nuclear energy is about the same in all countries. The images associated with nuclear things vary a bit from place to place (American Saturday morning cartoons have a lot more evil scientists than some other countries, for example) but just about everywhere there is a large group of people who find anything nuclear very worrisome. The market for information is global.
The one place with an especially high level may be Japan, where the devastation from two atomic bombs has caused, some say, a "nuclear allergy." Nevertheless Japan, almost as much as France, has been vigorous in building nuclear reactors.
A lot happens between vague public concerns and policy decisions. One factor is that Japan and France have mostly used up their readily accessible coal and hydropower sources and don't have any oil to speak of. Nobody wants to be beholden to foreigners for their vital energy sources, and nuclear is as close to self-sufficiency as France and Japan can get. Besides, both countries have centralized "technocratic" policy-making structures. Once a majority decision is debated and concluded in France or Japan, the bureaucracy carries it through. By contrast, in the U.S. (and in Britain, Germany, etc.), there are many points in the political and legal system where a determined minority can raise an outcry and delay or entirely block action.
The PBS NewsHour is Funded in part by: Additional Foundation and Corporate Sponsors
Program
Support
From:
Copyright © 1996- MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved. Support the kind of journalism done by the NewsHour...Become a member of your local PBS station.
