What a pleasure to see such a large gathering for this conference! The large attendance at the ANS Winter Meetings in recent years is a sign of optimism for future expansion of the productive and peaceful uses of the atom.

There are certainly favorable conditions for the future expanded peaceful use of the atom for nuclear energy. One of these favorable conditions is that you have the support of the American public. The American public’s support for nuclear energy is at a record high.

In my remarks today, I would like to give you some highlights of the public support we have found in recent surveys and then suggest five ways to keep up the momentum.

About the Research
Because you are scientifically oriented and cautious about data sources, I’ll take a minute to talk about the research base on public attitudes toward nuclear energy. The research base is robust. It includes 22 years of public opinion surveys that I have directed both nationally for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and locally for nuclear utilities. It includes literally hundreds of studies of public opinion on nuclear issues since 1983.