Nuclear energy has recently been in the news with greater frequency, due in large part to the concerns over the Iranian government's nascent nuclear weapons program. But there
is more to nuclear news than a bunch of mad mullahs playing with uranium. This week, we dissect happenings within the nuclear industry itself to see whether this controversial
energy sector is winning the Good PR war or bombing with Bad PR.
| The PR Focus | Good PR or Bad PR? |
|---|---|
| The Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, which is funded by the Nuclear Energy Institute (representing the owners and operators of the nation's
commercial nuclear realtors plus business associations and the Teamsters union), announced a new PR campaign to raise public interest and support in this energy source. Heading this PR effort is Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace, and Christine Todd Whitman, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency. |
BAD PR: It is impossible to imagine worst PR cheerleaders for this effort. Moore left Greenpeace in 1986 with claims the respected ecological
group became "too extremist" - and he now works for an advocacy group funded by the Canadian timber industry. Whitman earned endless criticism during her EPA tenure, most notably for her premature pronouncements about safe toxicity levels at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attack. We don't expect this cred-free duo to convert the skeptical to the nuclear energy message. |
| The European Nuclear Society recently elected Dr. Frank Deconinck as its new president. Dr. Deconinck is a professor at the University of
Brussels and was president of the Belgian Nuclear Research Center. He also performed expert missions for the International Atomic Energy Agency's nuclear medicine division and authored several books and numerous scholarly articles on the subject. |
GOOD PR: Unlike the dubious Moore and Whitman leading the PR effort for the US nuclear industry, Dr. Deconick comes to the forefront with
serious scientific and governmental expertise (he is not seen as a paid spokesman). Furthermore, his announcement to encourage the study of nuclear science and technology among university students shows a serious focus on expanding the development and viability of this energy source. |
| In concluding last month's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, held in Vatican City, Cardinal Renato Martino urged the world community
to "continue studying the complex topics connected to nuclear energy for civil use." He added that nuclear energy should not be seen "through spectacles of ideological prejudice," but "accompanied by the wise exercise of prudence, in view of carrying out the integral and solidaristic development of the human person and nations." |
BAD PR: Cardinal Martino's comments came during the 20th anniversary observance of Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which he emotionlessly defined
as having "alerted the world about the need to study the suitability and morality of the use of atomic energy for civil ends." Uh huh! He also claimed Chernobyl made "innumerable initiatives of solidarity flourish, directed in a special way to children" - which may come as news to the long-suffering Chernoybl survivors and the families of those who perished following that catastrophe. |