By James Pethokoukis

Nuclear energy may prove to be a case study for the notion that public opinion is often less a driver of public policy than policymaker leadership. A look at public opinion polls shows no great desire for the US to generate more of its electricity from nuclear fission, though favorability has increased. As reporter Harry Stevens recently noted in The Washington Post:

In the United States, nuclear energy’s advocates for decades have been awaiting a renaissance that seems to never come. Public opinion remains mixed, but younger adults are less favorable to nuclear power plants than older people, according to polling from the Pew Research Center.

And a similar, but more recent poll from Gallup:

Yet I think it’s fair to say that the odds of nuclear becoming a greater share of US power production might be on the rise. For example: Los Angeles Times recently reported that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is open to the possibility of delaying the closure of the state’s last operational nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. Newsom’s thinking is related to a Biden administration effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, “citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change,” according to NBC News. And to the extent that what happens in Europe may influence politics here, there have been numerous stories about how meeting climate change goals and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are leading to politicians pushing a nuclear renaissance over there.

I think emerging technologies, in particular, is an area where public attitudes—likely influenced by dystopian science fiction—may be a particularly poor guide for policymakers. Another Pew poll, this one from last March, suggests public caution, though also openness, across a range of emerging tech:

“Cautious openness” seems like a public attitude politicians can work with as they consider how to both promote and regulate new tech.

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