The idea that the Simpsons could influence public attitudes toward nuclear energy isn\u0092t so far-fetched: As much as we harp on mundane issues such as economics, lead times, supply chains, and the waste issue, it\u0092s entirely possible that Homer has a bigger audience than MIT reports. <\/p>\n
Indeed, public-opinion surveys show that nuclear-plant safety<\/a> is at the top of the list of concerns among folks still leery of nuclear energy. <\/p>\n Still, it seems that Saskatchewan\u0092s decision to hold off for now on the construction of a new nuclear plant has more to do with economics<\/a> than with Homer or plant safety. <\/p>\n Simply put, nuclear power plants today are an expensive proposition. Without a hefty price for carbon emissions that makes traditional power sources less appealing, nuclear reactors are hard to justify\u0097even if, in the U.S., nuclear power accounts for 70% of clean electricity.<\/p>\n In any event, to make nuclear power a bigger part of the energy mix, policy makers and the public will have to grapple with issues a lot weightier even than Homer. The big question is what weighs more in the balance: A few radioactive rods bouncing through a title sequence, or the need to shift the world\u0092s energy mix away from carbon-intensive power sources.<\/p>\n Could Homer Simpson derail the nuclear renaissance? Don\u0092t laugh\u0097the idea has some currency in Canada. Homer\u0092s bumbling nature\u0097you\u0092ve seen him at work inside the Springfield nuclear power plant\u0097simply reinforces public worries about the safety of nuclear power. Mr. Burns doesn\u0092t much help the industry\u0092s image. Three-eyed fish don\u0092t help, either. And Lisa Simpson\u0092s eco-activism is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":761,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/761"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/img><\/a>
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