Is Nuclear Power Acceptance Related To Environmental Literacy In Turkey?

Abstract

Nuclear energy seems to be a promising alternative to meet Turkey’s growing energy needs, and governments have been working on it foryears. However, public acceptance of nuclear power is an important factor for governments to consider. This study aims to explore public acceptance of nuclear power in Turkey and its relationship with environmental literacy. There were 524 participants of this study, and data was gathered through a descriptive questionnaire, an environmental literacy scale for adults, and a questionnaire about acceptance of nuclear power. Findings were evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. It was found that the majority of the participants oppose the development of nuclear power as a major fuel source, particularly with reference to the harmful effects of nuclear power on the environment and general concerns over safety.Moreover, there is a slight negative correlation between acceptance of nuclear power and environmental literacy (i.e. participants with higher environmental literacy scores tended to oppose nuclear power). Also, a slight positive correlation was found between acceptance of nuclear power and gender(i.e. male support nuclear power more than female, those with children are more likely to oppose nuclear power).