According to a YouGov poll published this week, more members of the great British public now favour nuclear power as opposed to those that, well, oppose it. Conveniently the poll commissioned by energy company EDF, which runs a number of nuclear power generation facilities back in its native France, comes out just a few weeks before the British Government makes its long-awaited decision on the future of nuclear generation on these islands. Much to the chagrin of environmental NGOs such as Greenpeace, who walked out of earlier consultations before heading for the High Court, Gordon Brown seems likely to come down on the side of Nuclear with a Britain destined to see a new generation of nuclear power stations being built.
The same survey also points to a dramatic change in public sentiment towards the spectre of climate change. Whilst last year a tidy majority of the public believed Global Warming was a reality, scepticism has now set in, with nearly 25% people unsure of scientific evidence. Industry sources claim the findings are highly significant though whether scientific evidence has promoted the sea change in opinions or whether the great unwashed have become blasé, particularly in the light of wealthy actors, sanctimonious pop stars, vacillating politicians and their ilk dictating how we, the people, must live our lives.
Still Government ministers, who are expected to back the construction of new nuclear plants on December 17th, will be a crutch for their views in this survey, which was the biggest to tackle these questions, polling a sample of 4,000 adults and more. The bare facts are that 38% of those questioned were now in favour of nuclear power as opposed to a third last year. Those opposed were 34%, while 24% had still to make up their minds. Presumably the other 4% refused to answer, but they were telling anyone that. Whilst support has grown in the past 12 months, our survey still said UH OHHH! 79% were still worried by safety fears, a whopping 82% were not keen on nuclear waste and the problems of its disposals. In a sign of our times (or the fact Die Hard was on the TV last night) 85% were alarmed at nuclear power stations becomes a target of terrorists.
Matt Roddan, associate director of YouGov Consulting, said: “The public is becoming more aware of the need for nuclear. They see it as part of a balanced energy solution.”
The same survey also points to a dramatic change in public sentiment towards the spectre of climate change. Whilst last year a tidy majority of the public believed Global Warming was a reality, scepticism has now set in, with nearly 25% people unsure of scientific evidence. Industry sources claim the findings are highly significant though whether scientific evidence has promoted the sea change in opinions or whether the great unwashed have become blasé, particularly in the light of wealthy actors, sanctimonious pop stars, vacillating politicians and their ilk dictating how we, the people, must live our lives.
Still Government ministers, who are expected to back the construction of new nuclear plants on December 17th, will be a crutch for their views in this survey, which was the biggest to tackle these questions, polling a sample of 4,000 adults and more. The bare facts are that 38% of those questioned were now in favour of nuclear power as opposed to a third last year. Those opposed were 34%, while 24% had still to make up their minds. Presumably the other 4% refused to answer, but they were telling anyone that. Whilst support has grown in the past 12 months, our survey still said UH OHHH! 79% were still worried by safety fears, a whopping 82% were not keen on nuclear waste and the problems of its disposals. In a sign of our times (or the fact Die Hard was on the TV last night) 85% were alarmed at nuclear power stations becomes a target of terrorists.
Matt Roddan, associate director of YouGov Consulting, said: “The public is becoming more aware of the need for nuclear. They see it as part of a balanced energy solution.”
EDF chief Vincent de Rivaz said: “Our latest poll shows the public has a strong understanding of the energy challenge facing the UK. This survey supports our view that the UK needs a mix of energy solutions to meet the looming energy gap.”
No comments:
Post a Comment