Re[2]: Safety Questioned at Nuclear Plant -Reply

[Vincent.King@DOEGJPO.COM (Vincent King)]

     Group,
     
     Sorry, but I don't buy the "it's the nuclear industry's own fault" 
     guilt trip anymore.  Yes, the industry caused some of its own 
     credibility problems in the beginning when it adopted a policy of 
     secrecy from the nuclear weapons program.  However, the current 
     anti-nuclear sentiment is not due to inept "selling" by the industry, 
     as if some kind of marketing blitz (commercials with frogs or 
     chihuahuas, maybe?) would change everyone's minds. 
     
     I can think of no other industry with the number of funded, fanatical 
     opponents dedicated to nothing but promoting misinformation (how long 
     has Nader been at it?).  The more conspiracies people believe are out 
     there, the easier their job gets.
     
     And don't forget the media's influence, dramatizing the nuclear 
     industry as some sinister organization of mad scientists bent on 
     destroying the world while conferring the status of expert on any 
     loony with an opposing view, no matter how unfounded - as long as they 
     appear "outraged" and "concerned".  How do the real experts "sell" 
     their product when the media never seeks information from them, and 
     distorts or ignores what is offered?  Media distortion and influence 
     is very real, as anyone who's dealt with the media knows.
     
     Progress is possible and is being made.  In my experience, the members 
     of the public most likely to be curious, interested in learning, and 
     least prejudiced are in middle schools and high schools.  (Science 
     teachers love to have someone else help them with a class for a day.) 
     
     And if you look at occasional survey results, at least a slim majority 
     of the "unenlightened" public still seem to favor the nuclear option 
     (this in spite of the conclusions the pundits have laid out for them). 
     Of course, the news does not dwell on this somewhat embarrassing 
     outcome when it occurs. 
     
     Vincent King, CHP
     vincent.king@doegjpo.com
     



______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Safety Questioned at Nuclear Plant -Reply
Author:  GACMail98@aol.com at Internet
Date:    6/5/98 00:36


<<. . . the public doesn't understand. . . .no one is well informed . . . . 
They don't understand. . . . They don't understand . . . .they don't know. . . 
..
     
It is so easy to sell fear. . . . people who can't understand . . . . 
a public that was never taught anything. . . .  >>
     
I can't tell which is lower: your respect for the public's ability to learn or 
your opinion of your colleagues' abilities to educate them.  It's the same 
tired pro-nuclear whine: it's the public's fault because they are so ignorant, 
it's the media's fault for misinforming them, it's the schools' fault for not 
educating them, it's the antis' fault for scaring them, etc., etc., etc.  It 
IS a "contest," and you've already lost.  No wonder the American nuclear 
industry is moribund.  
     
A superior product is worthless if you can't make a sale.