Public's perception of nuclear power may be affected by TV's

> Simpson's:
> professor
> SASKATOON (The Associated Press) - Dec 20
>
>
>
> An American philosophy professor who has edited a series of books
> about how
> TV programs such as The Simpson's have affected popular culture says
> many
> people may be concerned about nuclear power from watching the animated
> cartoon show.
> The debate over nuclear power has been raging in Saskatchewan and
> Alberta
> and both provinces have signalled that they would take a very cautious
> approach to any proposals for nuclear power plants.
>
> Dr. Bill Irwin, a philosophy professor at King's College in Wilkes-
> Barre,
> Pa., says Homer - the bumbling main character in The Simpson's who
> works at
> a nuclear power plant - has perhaps helped to put a negative spin on
> nuclear
> power by doing such things on the show as trying to stop a meltdown by
> randomly pressing buttons on a console.
>
> He also points out that the owner of the nuclear power plant in The
> Simpson's, Mr. Burns, is portrayed as a cold-hearted, greedy
> industrialist.
> But the show's most intelligent character, Homer's daughter, Lisa, is
> portrayed as a staunch environmental advocate.
>
> "She's very eco-friendly and very much against nuclear power and the
> nuclear
> power plant run by Mr. Burns," Irwin said during a recent interview
> on a
> Saskatchewan radio talk show.
>
> The editor of the book "The Simpson's and Philosophy" says
> television and
> movies about nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl and Three Mile
> Island have
> also added to negative publicity surrounding nuclear power.
>
> With such shows as The Simpson's poking fun at the nuclear industry
> and
> movies that focus on disasters, Irwin says it's somewhat
> disappointing that
> there are so many negative stereotypes in the media about nuclear
> power.
>
> The explosion at Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 on April 26, 1986 was the
> world's
> worst nuclear accident, spewing radiation over a large swath of the
> former
> Soviet Union and much of northern Europe. It directly contaminated
> an area
> roughly half the size of Italy, displacing hundreds of thousands of
> people.
>
> In the two months after the disaster, 31 people died of
> radioactivity, but
> the final toll is still debated with the World Health Organization
> estimating that about 9,300 will eventually die from cancers caused by
> Chernobyl's radiation.
>
> A partial meltdown occurred in Three Mile Island's Unit 2 reactor near
> Middletown, Pa., on March 28, 1979 didn't cause any deaths or
> injuries. But
> it did lead to sweeping changes in the U.S. industry.
>
> Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bill Boyd said Thursday that a proposal
> from
> Ontario-based Bruce Power for a large-scale power plant in the
> province will
> not move forward. But he said that type of power should still be in
> the
> province's "basket of options".
>
> Opening the door to nuclear power was one of the recommendations
> made in
> April by a government-appointed panel, but public consultations
> found that
> most Saskatchewan residents oppose building such a plant.
>
> Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight said last Monday that the
> province would
> look at proposals for nuclear power plants on a case-by-case basis,
> but
> wouldn't fund them or promise to buy the energy they may generate.
>
> Irwin has also edited a series of similar books, which look at the
> effect of
> such TV shows as The Sopranos and Seinfeld on popular culture and
> philosophy.