Nuclear Power and Public Policy

Nuclear Power and Public Policy

Author: Kristin Shrader-Frechette

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1983

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13:

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This book grew out of projects funded by the Kentucky Human ities Council in 1974 and. 1975 and by the Environmental Protec tion Agency in 1976 and 1977. As a result of the generosity of these two agencies, I was able to study the logical, methodological, and ethical assumptions inherent in the decision to utilize nuclear fission for generating electricity. Since both grants gave me the opportunity to survey public policy-making, I discovered that there were critical lacunae in allegedly comprehensive analyses of various energy technologies. Ever since this discovery, one of my goals has been to fill one of these gaps by writing a well-docu mented study of some neglected social and ethical questions regarding nuclear power. Although many assessments of atomic energy written by en vironmentalists are highly persuasive, they often also are overly emotive and question-begging. Sometimes they employ what seem to be correct ethical conclusions, but they do so largely in an in tuitive, rather than a closely-reasoned, manner. On the other hand, books and reports written by nuclear proponents, often Under government contract, almost always ignore the social and ethical aspects of energy decision-making; they focus instead only on a purely scientific assessment of fission generation of electricity. What the energy debate needs, I believe, are more studies which aim at ethical analysis and which avoid unsubstantiated assertions. I hope that these essays are steps in that direction.


Cross-Cultural Risk Perception

Cross-Cultural Risk Perception

Author: Ortwin Renn

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-14

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1475748914

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Cross-Cultural Risk Perception demonstrates the richness and wealth of theoretical insights and practical information that risk perception studies can offer to policy makers, risk experts, and interested parties. The book begins with an extended introduction summarizing the state of the art in risk perception research and core issues of cross-cultural comparisons. The main body of the book consists of four cross-cultural studies on public attitudes towards risk in different countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Japan, and China. The last chapter critically discusses the main findings from these studies and proposes a framework for understanding and investigating cross-cultural risk perception. Finally, implications for communication, regulation and management are outlined. The two editors, sociologist Ortwin Renn (Center of Technology Assessment, Germany) and psychologist Bernd Rohrmann (University of Melbourne, Australia), have been engaged in risk research for the last three decades. They both have written extensively on this subject and provided new empirical and theoretical insights into the growing body of international risk perception research.


Nuclear Power and Public Policy

Nuclear Power and Public Policy

Author: Kristin Shrader-Frechette

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1980-03-31

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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This book grew out of projects funded by the Kentucky Human ities Council in 1974 and. 1975 and by the Environmental Protec tion Agency in 1976 and 1977. As a result of the generosity of these two agencies, I was able to study the logical, methodological, and ethical assumptions inherent in the decision to utilize nuclear fission for generating electricity. Since both grants gave me the opportunity to survey public policy-making, I discovered that there were critical lacunae in allegedly comprehensive analyses of various energy technologies. Ever since this discovery, one of my goals has been to fill one of these gaps by writing a well-docu mented study of some neglected social and ethical questions regarding nuclear power. Although many assessments of atomic energy written by en vironmentalists are highly persuasive, they often also are overly emotive and question-begging. Sometimes they employ what seem to be correct ethical conclusions, but they do so largely in an in tuitive, rather than a closely-reasoned, manner. On the other hand, books and reports written by nuclear proponents, often Under government contract, almost always ignore the social and ethical aspects of energy decision-making; they focus instead only on a purely scientific assessment of fission generation of electricity. What the energy debate needs, I believe, are more studies which aim at ethical analysis and which avoid unsubstantiated assertions. I hope that these essays are steps in that direction.


The Impact of Nuclear Power on the Public: The American Experience

The Impact of Nuclear Power on the Public: The American Experience

Author: Victor Potter Bond

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-04-17

Total Pages: 57

ISBN-13: 3322885011

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The American experience with respect to electrical power production has undergone and is undergoing considerable evolution. Early, frequently strident debates tended to focus on the risks and benefits of only one pos sible power source (nuclear), and on one possible hazard (radiation from routine releases). Discussions and analyses now have tended to become more moderate, and deal with not only one but all feasible power sources, as well as the costs and benefits associated with fuel production, the operation of such sources, fuel transportation and waste disposal. Radiation from routine releases is no longer a major issue. A number of attempts have been made to assess the total benefits and risks of nuclear versus fossil fuel plants, in order to allow a rational basis for deciding on what type of source is best for a given situation. More data and more refined analyses are needed; how ever, most of those completed to date have concluded that the overall cost in terms of possible damage to health and the environment is least for nuclear power, next for oil and the greatest for coal-fired plants.


Nuclear Power and Public Policy

Nuclear Power and Public Policy

Author: K. S. Shrader-Frechette

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2013-10-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789401177894

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This book grew out of projects funded by the Kentucky Human ities Council in 1974 and 1975 and by the Environmental Protec tion Agency in 1976 and 1977. As a result of the generosity of these two agencies, I was able to study the logical, methodological, and ethical assumptions inherent in the decision to utilize nuclear fission for generating electricity. Since both grants gave me the opportunity to survey public policy-making, I discovered that there were critical lacunae in allegedly comprehensive analyses of various energy technologies. Ever since this discovery, one of my goals has been to fill one of these gaps by writing a well-docu men ted study of some neglected social and ethical questions regarding nuclear power. Although many assessments of atomic energy written by en vironmentalists are highly persuasive, they often also are overly emotive and question-begging. Sometimes they employ what seem to be correct ethical conclusions, but they do so largely in an in tuitive, rather than a closely-reasoned, manner. On the other hand, books and reports written by nuclear proponents, often under government contract, almost always ignore the social and ethical aspects of energy decision-making; they focus instead only on a purely scientific assessment of fission generation of electricity. What the energy debate needs, I believe, are more studies which aim at ethical analysis and which avoid unsubstantiated assertions. I hope that these essays are steps in that direction.