Nuclear Energy and Red State America

When I read this post by indie-filmmaker Brian Flemming on U.S. public opinion and nuclear energy, the following passage stuck out a little bit:

One thing we know for sure: If France does it [nuclear energy], and it works, red-state U.S. will hate it.

Actually, as anyone familiar with the nuclear industry already knows, what some folks refer to as "red-state" America is probably more familiar with nuclear energy than any other region of the country.

And as we saw last week, after 30 years of safe and reliable operation, plenty of folks around the country -- even those who don't live in "red-states" -- are eager to see new plants open.

Don't get me wrong, the last thing I want to do is write some sort of "gotcha" post to prove somebody wrong. However, it just goes to show that when it comes to public opinion about nuclear energy, there's more support out there than many people think.

For more information, see the archives of Perspective on Public Opinion.