Framing trade-offs: The politics of nuclear power and wind energy in the age of global climate change

Review of Policy Research

Volumn 28, Issue 4, 2011, Pages 323-346

  Pralle, Sarah ^a   Boscarino, Jessica ^b  

^a SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b MARIST COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

Climate change; Energy; Environment; Media

Indexed keywords

CLIMATE CHANGE; ENERGY POLICY; GLOBAL CLIMATE; NUCLEAR POWER; POLICY REFORM; TRADE-OFF; WIND FARM; WIND POWER;

EID: 79960037484     PISSN: 1541132X     EISSN: 15411338     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-1338.2011.00500.x     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. Abbasi, D. R. (2006). Americans and climate change: Closing the gap between science and action. New Haven, CT: Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
2. American Wind Energy Association. (n.d.). AWEA wind power projects database. Retrieved from (accessed August 16, 2007).
3. Balogh, B. (1991). Chain reaction: Expert debate and public participation in American commercial nuclear power, 1945-1975. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4. Baumgartner, F., & Jones, B. D. (1993). Agendas and instability in American politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
5. Baumgartner, F., De Boef, S., & Boydstun, A. (2008). The decline of the death penalty and the discovery of innocence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
6. Baumgartner, F., Berry, J., Hojnacki, M., Kimball, D., & Leech, B. (2009). Lobbying and policy change: Who wins, who loses, and why. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
7. Bello, D. (2007, September 26). Nuclear power reborn. Scientific American. Retrieved from (accessed December 5, 2007).
8. Belluck, P. (2007, March 31). Plan for wind farm off Massachusetts clears state hurdle. The New York Times, 9.
9. Beyea, J. (1989, September 6). Audubon does not embrace nuclear power. The Washington Post, A22.
10. Bickerstaff, K., Lorenzoni, I., Pidgeon, N. F., Poortinga, W., & Simmons, P. (2008). Reframing nuclear power in the UK energy debate: Nuclear power, climate change mitigation and radioactive waste. Public Understanding of Science, 17, 145-169.
11. Bohlen, J. (2001). Making waves: The origins and future of Greenpeace. Montreal, QC: Black Rose Books.
12. Bolsen, T., & Cook, F. L. (2008). Public opinion on energy policy: 1974-2006. Public Opinion Quarterly, 72, 364-388.
13. Boyd, R. S. (2008, February 17). One-time critics join nuclear power's resurgence. St. Paul Pioneer Press.
14. Broder, J. M. (2011, March 14). U.S. nuclear industry faces new uncertainty. The New York Times, A1.
15. Burkett, E. (2003, June 15). A mighty wind. The New York Times, 48.
16. Callaghan, K., & Schnell, F. (2005). Framing American politics. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
17. CBS/New York Times. (2007, May 29). Public Opinion Online.
18. Chong, D., & Druckman, J. (2007). A theory of framing and opinion formation in competitive elite environments. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 99-118.
19. Cooper, M., & Sussman, D. (2011, March 22). Nuclear plant loses support in new poll. The New York Times, p. A15.
20. Davis, D. W., & Silver, B. D. (2004). Civil liberties vs. security: Public opinion in the context of the terrorist attacks on America. American Journal of Political Science, 48, 28-46.
21. Defenders of Wildlife. (n.d.). Detailed recommendations for wind energy. Retrieved from (accessed June 25, 2009).
22. "Don't Force Wind Turbines on the Public." (2009, May 27). Letters to the Editor. Wisconsin State Journal, A10.
23. Downs, A. (1972). Up and down with ecology: The "issue attention" cycle. The Public Interest, 28, 38-50.
24. Duffy, R. (1997). Nuclear power in America: A history and theory of government regulation. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
25. "Energy Inefficient." (2009, January 18). Editorial. The New York Times, A24.
26. Energy Information Administration. (2007). Annual Energy Review 2006. (EIA Report No. DOE/EIA-0384). Washington, DC. Retrieved from (accessed May 16, 2011).
27. Energy Information Administration. (2010, August). Renewable energy trends in consumption and electricity. Retrieved from (accessed May 16, 2011).
28. Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43, 51-58.
29. Environmental Defense. (2009, September 9). Questions and answers on nuclear power. Retrieved from (accessed June 25, 2009).
30. Estrada, H. M. (2008, July 28). No protests and Xcel ramps up nuclear plans. Star Tribune, 1B.
31. "Even Clean Wind Power Revs Up Resistance from Locals." (2002, August 6). Editorial. USA Today, 10A.
32. Fraser, D. (2011, January 11). Cape wind power projects losing steam. Cape Cod Times. Retrieved from (accessed January 19, 2011).
33. Galbraith, K. (2009, February 3). Dark days for green energy. The New York Times, B1.
34. Galbraith, K. (2011, March 20). Whatever nuclear power's threat, no easy alternatives. The New York Times. Retrieved from (accessed March 27, 2011).
35. Gallup Organization. (2010, March 11). Americans' global warming concerns continue to drop. Retrieved from (accessed January 17, 2011).
36. Gamson, W. A., & Modigliani, A. (1989). Media discourse and public opinion on nuclear power: A constructionist approach. The American Journal of Sociology, 95, 1-38.
37. Gertner, J. (2006, July 16). Atomic balm? The New York Times Magazine, 36.
38. Greenpeace. (2007, December 1). Nuclear power: Undermining action on climate change. Retrieved from (accessed September 19, 2008).
39. Guber, D. (2003). The grassroots of a green revolution: Polling America on the environment. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
40. Hacker, J., & Pierson, P. (2005). Abandoning the middle: The Bush tax cuts and the limits of democratic control. Perspectives on Politics, 3, 33-53.
41. Hilgartner, S., & Bosk, C. L. (1988). The rise and fall of social problems. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 53-78.
42. Hirsch, P. D., Adams, W. M., Brosius, J. P., Zia, A., Bariola, N., & Dammert, J. L. (2010). Acknowledging conservation trade-offs and embracing complexity. Conservation Biology, 25(2), 259-264.
43. Iyengar, S. (1991). Is anyone responsible? How television frames political issues. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
44. Iyengar, S., & Kinder, D. R. (1987). News that matters: Television and American opinion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
45. Jones, B. D., & Baumgartner, F. R. (2005). The politics of attention: How the government prioritizes problems. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
46. Jones, J. (2009, March 20). Support for nuclear energy inches up to new high. Gallup Organization. Retrieved from (accessed June 1, 2009).
47. Kahan, D., Braman, D., Slovic, P., Gastil, J., & Gohen, G. (2007). The second national risk and culture study: Making sense of-and making progress in-the American culture war of fact. Yale Law School Public Law Working Paper No. 154.
48. Kanter, J. (2009, February 5). Sweden takes another look at nuclear power. The New York Times.
49. Kates, B. (2003, January 19). New power in the wind? L.I. firm wants big turbines offshore. Daily News [New York], 26.
50. Kinder, D. R. (2003). Communication and politics in the age of information. In D. O. Sears, L. Huddy, & R. Jervis (Eds.), Oxford handbook of political psychology (pp. 357-393). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
51. Kinder, D. R., & Nelson, T. E. (2005). Democratic debate and real opinions. In K. Callaghan & F. Schnell (Eds.), Framing American politics (pp. 103-122). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
52. Kinder, D. R., & Sanders, L. (1990). Mimicking political debate with survey questions: The case of white opinion on affirmative action for blacks. Social Cognition, 8(1), 73-103.
53. Kingdon, J. W. (2003). Agendas, alternatives, and public policies, 2nd ed. New York: Longman Press.
54. Laird, F. (2003). Constructing the future: Advocating energy technologies in the Cold War. Technology and Culture, 44, 27-49.
55. Lewis, J. (2008). The nuclear option. Mother Jones, May/June, 56-63.
56. Liebler, C., & Bendix, J. (1996). Old growth forests on network news: News sources and the framing of an environmental controversy. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 73(1), 53-65.
57. Ling, K. (2009, July 17). Nuclear title may not be enough to push Senate climate bill over the top. The New York Times. Retrieved from (accessed May 19, 2011).
58. McBeth, M. K., Shanahan, E. A., Arnell, R. J., & Hathaway, P. L. (2007). The intersection of narrative policy analysis and policy change theory. The Policy Studies Journal, 35(1), 87-107.
59. McBeth, M., Shanahan, E., Hathaway, P., Tigert, L., & Sampson, L. (2010). Buffalo tales: Interest group policy stories in Greater Yellowstone. Policy Sciences, 43, 391-409.
60. McShane, T. O., Hirsch, P. D., Trung, T. C., Songorwa, A. N., Kinzig, A., Monteferri, B., Mutekanga, D., Van Thang, H., Dammert, J. L., Pulgar-Vidal, M., Welch-Devine, M., Brosius, J. P., Coppolillo, P., & O'Connor, S. (2011). Hard choices: Making trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and human well-being. Biological Conservation, 144, 966-972.
61. Miller, H. I., & Conko, G. (2001). The perils of precaution. Policy Review, (June and July), 25-39.
62. Monbiot, G. (2006, June 11). Tomorrow's forecast: Warming up to nuclear power. The Los Angeles Times, M1.
63. "More Wind Turbines." (2006, January 26). The Philadelphia Inquirer, A14.
64. Nature Conservancy. (n.d.). Working with wind. Retrieved from (accessed June 10, 2009).
65. Nelson, T., Clawson, R., & Oxley, Z. (1997). Media framing of a civil liberties conflict and its effect on tolerance. American Political Science Review, 91(3), 567-583.
66. Nisbet, M. (2006). Going nuclear: Frames and public opinion about atomic energy. Retrieved from (accessed July 17, 2007).
67. Nuclear Energy Institute. (2007, October). Nuclear energy institute position on climate change. Retrieved from (accessed October 14, 2008).
68. Pasqualetti, M. J., Gipe, P., & Righter, R. W. (Eds.). (2002). Wind power in view: Energy landscapes in a crowded world. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
69. Pasternak, J. (2010, January 24). Nuclear power licensing requests flood federal offices. McClatchy News. Retrieved from (accessed January 19, 2011).
70. Pidgeon, N. F., Lorenzoni, I., & Poortinga, W. (2008). Climate change or nuclear power-No thanks! A quantitative study of public perceptions and risk framing in Britain. Global Environmental Change, 18, 69-85.
71. Pope, C. (2006, July/August). Ways & means: Fantasy nuclear. Sierra. Retrieved from (accessed September 19, 2008).
72. Pralle, S. (2006a). Branching out, digging in: Environmental advocacy and agenda setting. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
73. Pralle, S. (2006b). The "mouse that roared": Agenda setting in Canadian pesticides politics. Policy Studies Journal, 34, 171-194.
74. Rein, L., & Goodman, C. (2008, August 4). Little outcry on nuclear reactor proposal. Washington Post, B1.
75. Righter, R. W. (1996). Wind energy in America: A history. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
76. Riker, W. (1986). The art of political manipulation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
77. Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4, 155-169.
78. Roach, J. (2008, April 21). U.S. leads world in wind power growth. National Geographic News. Retrieved from (accessed June 10, 2009).
79. Rochefort, D. A., & Cobb, R. W. (1994). The politics of problem definition. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
80. Rosa, E. A., & Dunlap, R. (1994). Nuclear power: Three decades of public opinion. Public Opinion Quarterly, 58, 295-324.
81. Simon, R. (2007, April 9). Climate could change friends into foes as some go nuclear. The Los Angeles Times, A1.
82. Smith, E. R. A. N., & Klick, H. (2008). Explaining NIMBY opposition to wind power. Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Political Science Association.
83. Socolow, R. H., & Pacala, S. W. (2006, September). A plan to keep carbon in check. Scientific American, 50-57.
84. Stoett, P. (2003). Toward renewed legitimacy? Nuclear power, global warming and security. Global Environmental Politics, 3, 99-116.
85. Stone, D. (1988). Policy paradox and political reason. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, and Company.
86. Wald, M. (2008, October 23). Nuclear power may be in early stages of a revival. The New York Times, B3.
87. Walker, J. S. (1989). Nuclear power and the environment: The Atomic Energy Commission and thermal pollution, 1965-1971. Technology and Culture, 30(4), 964-992.
88. Williams, W., & Whitcomb, R. (2007). Cape wind: Money, celebrity, class, politics, and the battle for our energy future on Nantucket Sound. New York: Public Affairs.
89. "Windmills Will Clutter Wisconsin's Landscape." (2009, May 24). Letters to the Editor. Wisconsin State Journal, B2.
90. World Wildlife Fund. (2007, May). Climate solutions: WWF's vision for 2050. Retrieved from (accessed June 29, 2009).