Energy, Inflation, and Citizen Discontents: A Report on Public Reasoning About Electric Utility Policies and Nuclear Energy

摘要

This is the second and final report of a year-long exploratory study of public opinion about energy and inflation problems in this country. Whereas the first project report (Hendricks and Denney 1979) dealt broadly with the nature of public reasoning about energy and inflation issues, this report focuses on narrower and somewhat more-concrete manifestations of these issues. The focus of this report is twofold: (1) public experiences and sentiments about the local electric utility; and (2) public reasoning about nuclear energy, including analysis of the impact of Three-Mile Island. Data for this report come mainly from telephone surveys of citizens of Austin, Texas. Austin is a prosperous, rapidly growing sunbelt city, with a municipally owned electric utility and a recent history of public controversy surrounding the utility, rising electric rates, and related municipal policies. The fact that Austin has unusually high electric rates, combined with a newly adopted peak seasonal rate structure which results in higher summer rates, makes it a forerunner for conditions that may soon be experienced by other cities in this country. Also, Austin voted on April 7, 1979, ten days after the Three-Mile Island accident, in favor (53% majority) of a bond proposition to raise $160 million to maintain the city's 16% share in the Mammoth South Texas Nuclear Project (STNP). 13 references, 20 tables, 3 figures. (ERA citation 05:018927)