How Can We Effectively Promote Nuclear Power?

[Erin Demshar]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am concerned for what the future holds regarding energy policies. As several of you have stated, the public only "understands" the the more vocal groups....and for years it has been the extreme environmentalist groups.

Don't get me wrong, I want to conserve energy and protect the environment too, but I also am practical about things and understand that the demand for energy is up and there is a need for additional sources--nuclear being a great option.

What are some ways that we can effectively promote nuclear power? To so many people, it is an "old world" way of doing things. How can we make it the "new" way again?

I just had a discussion in my office surrounding Damon Bryson's comments regarding the pros and cons of nuclear energy production....his answers were so informative and definitely helped me (and my office mates) to understand several reasons why nuclear power makes sense.

I feel like if everyone who understands the benefits of nuclear power could write in to their local newspapers or contribute and invite more members to blogs like these....at least it would be a good start!

Any other ideas?

[Damon Bryson]

Unfortunately, most of the mainstream media seems to be focusing on extreme views on each issue. As long as they have an extreme view on each side, they consider it "balanced". Our political system seems to work that way as well, with most of the people involved identifying themselves with one side or the other.

That said, most people are more moderate than you might think by watching the news channels. I think most people are open to new information, as long as it comes from a reliable source. So the question is, how can you establish yourself as a trustworthy source of information? My approach is to avoid extremist statements, back up my information with sources, stay out of hypothetical arguments, and actually try to answer any questions asked. Most people are surprised if you actually listen to their questions and try to answer them.

Another approach is to start when your audience is young! I like to talk to middle school and high school students. They are very aware of what's going on the world, and are more at home with technology than their parents are. Most are very receptive to nuclear technology. I think this is partly because they didn't grow up fearing nuclear weapons. These are also the kids we need to get involved in the nuclear renaissance, if we want to have enough people trained to take over operation of the new nuclear plants...

[Erin Demshar]

Hi Damon,
I'm glad to hear that you enjoy speaking to students and visiting local schools...that is so important and should happen way more often that it does. I taught high school chemistry and physics for one year and would have loved to have engineers visit and talk about different industries and the problems that they face....the young boys especially, love the idea of a challenge and the potential of solving the world's problems (not to leave out the girls at all....but you can just see the curiosity brewing in the boys....it's good when you can give them a direction to focus in).

Do you find that you have many opportunities to share your support for nuclear energy with friends, outside sources, skeptics?

[Dominic Tarantino]

I really like the tenor of this website, there seems to be a lot of balance in the perspectives of people who are engaging. I, myself, am not directly involved in nuclear energy, but indirectly through my IP licensing practice. I just wanted to highlight Erin's and Damon's comments. There is indeed much to look forward to so long as people are taught at a young age how the political system works and how it has a bearing on the energy industry. It might be correct to say the reverse, that the energy "issue" is a force that actually affects major initiatives both foreign and domestic. It's no surprise that, I hope, we are still in the throes of a military-industrial complex promulgated by US advisers that occurred after WWI, which is, in part, about the "fight" for natural resources. I am hopeful that the mindset will change for the better. And there are multiple uses for nuclear energy. You can get an idea of what that means when you consider just a few: food, industry, medicine, space, and electricity.