The bad and the ugly? How the public see the risks of coal and nuclear

When it comes to moving forward to a clean energy future, the two most controversial crutches to lean on must surely be coal-fired power stations, and nuclear power plants. On the one hand, coal is widely recognized as being one of the dirtiest items in the fossil fuel cupboard. On the other, nuclear power, despite its recent re-branding as the 'low-carb alternative' energy source, finds its news-copy dominated by the triple disasters of Three Mile,Chernobyland Fukushima.

But researchers at New Jersey's Rutgers University were keen to dig below these surface perceptions. What do consumers really think of the relative risks of nuclear and coal - and do such beliefs vary across the sex, class and ethnic spectrum?

The result of their work, published recently in the journalRisk Analysis, shows that the story of the perceived risks, for coal and nuclear power, isn't as simple as it is often portrayed in the media. The public holds quite complex views over the problems associated with them; and those views vary considerably from group to group. The authors - Professor Michael Greenberg and Heather Barnes Truelove - hope those nuances will better inform the debate, over how to green US energy generation.

该研究分为两部分。前3200名居民被打电话，并要求评估与煤炭和核电发电相关的各种风险。其中一些是随机选择的，而另一些则是从核电站或煤炭发电厂的重物中故意从重物中选出的。这个想法是要看看与此类植物的亲近是否影响了对其风险的看法。

那些接受调查的人然后按年龄，性别和种族背景以及他们的文化，社会和政治身份分开。总体而言，发现煤炭被认为是未来的能源。66％的人想让我们依赖它削减，而只有22％的人希望看到其作用增加。那些想看到煤炭发挥更大作用的人更有可能来自富裕和受过教育的团体。还有更多来自非裔美国人和拉丁裔背景。

全球变暖是煤炭的重要关闭因素 - 但甚至越来越多的人担心煤炭植物如何降低当地环境的质量。和核电, it was more than just nuclear accidents that featured on the 'risky' side of the equation. Participants were just as likely to quote uranium mining, or nuclear waste management and transport, as negatives.

In general the public was also more evenly divided over nuclear - with 48% favoring increased reliance, versus 46 percent favoring a decrease. However, its worth noting that this study was pre-Fukushima, which has seen worries about nuclear power soar across the globe. In general nuclear supporters were white, male and better educated.

The authors believe their research shows that nationalenergypolicy needs to look at more than just the 'headline worries', when it comes to the public opinion. They advise that 'one or two simple messages that attempt to persuade the public to change its preferences for or against specific energy sources are unlikely to succeed, especially if the public has a negative image of the source.'

Top Image Credit: © Mitchell Knapton