A new survey (press release PDF; full results PDF) done by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), commissioned and released by the Civil Society Institute, finds what I at least consider good news:
According to the survey, Americans favor developing clean renewable energy alternatives and strategies — including increased conservation, solar energy and wind power — that can be delivered more rapidly than nuclear power.
The new CSI survey found that more than three out of five Americans (61 percent) say the nation can’t "afford to wait … to put in place part of the solution to the energy crisis and global warming" if "building more nuclear power plants will take a decade or more in the U.S. and cost tens of billions of dollars." Only a third said the U.S. could wait for more nuclear power plants to come on-line as a way to dealing with today’s energy and climate woes.
A key survey finding: Politics does not seem to be a factor when it comes to supporting or opposing nuclear power and other energy alternatives. A nearly identical 60 percent of conservatives, 62 percent of independents and 68 percent of liberals agree with the 61 percent of Americans who think the nation can’t afford the wait and expense associated with erecting more nuclear power plants.
I tend to think that public support for nuclear power will rise in direct proportion to the amount of disinformation Bush and his industry flacks are able to inject into the public sphere.
