Public acceptance of nuclear power declining

The view is presented that current policy toward nuclear energy reflects an ideology more than actual behavior. Public attitudes toward nuclear power make its future less certain than at any time since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, but a public opinion study also produced evidence that polarization is less than was thought. Social, political, and human value issues are causing the nuclear stalemate, not economic or technical feasibility. It is suggested that the Reagan administration's support of nuclear energy at the expense of conservation should consider that a Gallup pole found nuclear power to be the least popular energy alternative. A policy which includes both nuclear energy and conservation is more likely to be productive