Crisis in Japan Reignites Nuclear Debate in U.S.

     The recent devastation in Japan and its aftermath have reignited energy policy debates in the United States. The most immediate effect was the brief reduction in oil prices as the disaster reduced demand in Japan for oil. At a time when oil prices are only going up, this brief respite has, if anything, called more attention to the almost inevitable rise in oil prices in the years to come. Perhaps more significant, however, was the meltdown of a Japanese nuclear reactor following the disaster. As concerns of radiation leaks continue to persist in Japan, the mainstream media has, for the most part, stoked the flames of fear and paranoia in the United States. With the inhabitants of California bracing for nuclear fallout, debate over the use of nuclear power in the United States has begun anew.

          On the Left, opponents of nuclear power have not let this crisis go to waste. U.S. PIRG released a statement last week calling the crisis in Japan a warning to Americans about nuclear power. This statement, complete with statistics about how many people live near a given power plant and how old these plants are, unambiguously labeled nuclear power as “unacceptable”.

Conservatives, it would seem, have not been daunted by the situation in Japan and continue to call for an expansion of nuclear power in the United States. Writing for the Heritage Foundation, Jack Spencer has dismissed the concerns raised by the Japan incident as “hype” and has accused anti-nuclear power advocates on the left of “politicizing” a disaster which has no bearing on conditions in the United States.

     While the pundits and politicians of both sides seem to be keeping to the old talking points, the public has clearly been affected by the situation in Japan. A new Gallup poll shows that American support for new nuclear plants has dropped by more than ten percent since the crisis in Japan and supporters of expanding nuclear power are now in the minority. This has put supporters of nuclear power on the defensive, but it has done little to change their opinions or talking points.

     As the nuclear crisis is resolved and the media turns to new crises, supporters of nuclear power will likely go on the offensive. If Japan’s nuclear crisis turns out to be more hysteria than real danger then Conservatives may even win back support as oil prices continue to rise. Ultimately, the crisis in Japan will not change the debate on nuclear power. It has, however, brought that debate to the foreground of American discourse.

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Steve Michaels

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