Gallup Poll Claims Majority in U.S. Oppose Nuclear Power

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 03/21/16

Rebecca Riffkin, from Gallup, reports that because energy prices (gasoline, natural gas, etc.) have dropped to 15-year lows, for the first time since Gallup polled on the matter in 1994, a majority of Americans say they oppose nuclear energy. The 54% opposing it is up significantly from 43% a year ago, while the 44% who favor using nuclear energy is down from 51%. This suggests that energy prices and the perceived abundance of energy sources are the most relevant factors in attitudes toward nuclear power, rather than safety concerns prompted by nuclear incidents. Lower gasoline prices over the past year are likely driving greater opposition toward the use of nuclear power. As Americans have paid less at the pump, their level of worry about the U.S. energy situation has dropped to 15-year-low levels. This appears to have resulted in more Americans prioritizing environmental protection and fewer backing nuclear power as a primary energy source. Republicans continue to be more likely than Democrats and independents to be in favor of nuclear energy. Still, support for the use of nuclear energy among Republicans and Democrats has declined in comparison to 2015. A slight majority of Republicans, 53%, are in favor of nuclear energy, down significantly from 68% last year. One in three Democrats, 34%, favor it, down from 42% in 2015. Independents support is essentially unchanged from last year, but is down from the high Gallup found in 2010. I2M WP Editors suggest that this poll is another indication of the meaningless value of polling the general public on issues that should be decided by scientists, engineers, and economists and advising politicians who value such input. Being guided by financial matters, the public has myopic vision and no basis for determining what energy source is used to produce electricity. This should be based on safety, economics, and environmental issues as assessed by scientists and engineers, not the general public or politicians who pander.