Energy, understanding, and the public agenda
- Nuclear Energy Institute, Washington, DC (United States)
Energy is fundamental to all areas of human endeavor, but it is a subject about which few Americans feel well informed, according to extensive survey research over the past decade. How well informed Americans really are has not been accurately assessed because consensus about what the public should know has been lacking. Fifteen energy organizations were surveyed about what the public should know. They gave high ratings to concepts that enable citizens to make sound judgments and gave lower ratings to specific facts. An examination of survey research suggests that Americans are most familiar with concepts that relate to current social issues or to areas of personal responsibility/control, and that, as energy issues have faded from the public agenda since the early 1980s, the percentage feeling well informed has declined.
- OSTI ID:
- 214887
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950801--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Citizen involvement in energy decision making. [Nuclear power development]
Public acceptance of nuclear power in the U. S