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Participation, Power, and the Role of Community Psychology in Environmental Disputes: A Tale of Two Nuclear Cities

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

This paper examines public participation and the role of community psychology in an emerging environmental dispute relevant to global climate change (GCC)—whether nuclear power represents a “green” solution. From a dialectical position, we explore the nuclear debate as it is linked to GCC, and more specifically, how participation in related federally-mandated processes may be shaped by power. We present qualitative data from public meetings in two nuclear communities and analyze these data through a lens of social power and environmental justice, including an examination of nukespeak and telepolitical appeals to highlight the complexity of the issues, how the appearance of successful participation may be deceptive, and how consensus may be manipulated. We argue that CP should consider GCC to be one of the most significant social problems of our time and make every effort to be involved in the search for truly “green” solutions.

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Notes

  1. About 440 civilian nuclear power plants are in operation worldwide.

  2. According to the Department of Energy, since its origin in the 1940s, the nuclear industry has remained unable to compete economically on its own. Federal subsidies for nuclear have dwarfed all other energy sources since then. From 1948 to the present, nuclear has received about 57% of all federal energy subsidies, as compared to fossil fuels (23%), renewables (11%) and efficiency programs (9%).

  3. The economic, security, health and environmental problems associated with nuclear power are well-documented (e.g., see reports from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003 or the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, IEER 2006). Military and foreign policy implications are also clear, given that nuclear plants produce the radioactive components of nuclear weapons (e.g., plutonium).

  4. Because of the public nature of these meetings and the respective data sources, our study was reviewed and approved under an “exempt” review category by the Georgia State University Institutional Review Board.

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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. Participation, Power, and the Role of Community Psychology in Environmental Disputes: A Tale of Two Nuclear Cities. Am J Community Psychol 47, 410–426 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9395-9

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