Dive Summary:
- According to a survey by the Nuclear Energy Institute, Americans have a favorable opinion of nuclear power; more than 80 percent of those responding positively cited reliability, affordability, and clean air as the most important considerations.
- The survey asked 1,000 U.S. adults for their opinion on the subject and 68 percent were in favor of nuclear power while 73 percent believed that the power was safe even if they weren't necessarily in favor of it.
- Only 40 percent of responders believed nuclear power was a viable climate change solution despite the fact that almost 63 percent of carbon-free electricity comes from nuclear energy.
From the article:
Despite the avowed interest in clean air, and re-emergence of climate change as a hot social and political issue, only 40 percent of respondents strongly associated nuclear energy with being a climate change solution, despite the fact that the technology currently produces 63 percent of the carbon-free electricity in the United States. With 71 reactors under construction worldwide and hundreds more planned, 75 percent felt the U.S. should take a leading role in developing nuclear power technologies in international markets. ...