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Nuclear Power: Renaissance or Relapse? Global Climate Change and Long-Term Three Mile Island Activists’ Narratives

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Community narratives are increasingly important as people move towards an ecologically sustainable society. Global climate change is a multi-faceted problem with multiple stakeholders. The voices of affected communities must be heard as we make decisions of global significance. We document the narratives of long-term anti-nuclear activists near the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant who speak out in the dawn of a nuclear renaissance/relapse. While nuclear power is marketed as a “green” solution to global warming, their narratives reveal three areas for consideration; (1) significant problems with nuclear technology, (2) lessons “not” learned from the TMI disaster, and (3) hopes for a sustainable future. Nuclear waste, untrustworthy officials and economic issues were among the problems cited. Deceptive shaping of public opinion, nuclear illiteracy, and an aging anti-nuclear movement were reasons cited for the lessons not learned. However, many remain optimistic and envision increased participation to create an ecologically-balanced world.

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Notes

  1. Approximately 440 operate worldwide.

  2. Since its inception in the 1940s, the nuclear industry remains unable to compete economically in the private sector. Federal subsidies for nuclear have outpaced all other energy sources since that time. From 1948 to the present, nuclear has received about 57% of all federal energy subsidies, followed by fossil fuels (23%), renewables (11%) and efficiency programs (9%).

  3. Economic, security, health and environmental problems associated with nuclear plants are also well-documented (see for example Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2003; Institute for Energy and Environmental Research 2006).

  4. The 2005 Energy Policy Act included $13.1 billion in subsidies for the nuclear industry and in 2007 the US Congress approved billions in federal loan guarantees for the industry. Additional subsidies are currently being considered.

  5. Environmental psychologists have long studied such issues. For a good overview, see Bell et al. (2005); Bechtel and Churchman (2002); DuNann and Koger (2003) or Gifford (2001).

  6. All participants were Caucasian, 54% were female (n = 14), and ranged in age from the mid-fifties to the mid-eighties. Most participants requested that their names be used, and with their consent, names are reported throughout this paper. Initials representing pseudonyms are used for those who did not want their names reported.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5010, USA

    Marci R. Culley

  2. Penn State, Harrisburg, PA, USA

    Holly Angelique

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  1. Marci R. Culley
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  2. Holly Angelique
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Correspondence to Marci R. Culley.

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Culley, M.R., Angelique, H. Nuclear Power: Renaissance or Relapse? Global Climate Change and Long-Term Three Mile Island Activists’ Narratives. Am J Community Psychol 45, 231–246 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9299-8

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