Environmental Attitudes and Preferences for Energy Resource Options

Abstract

An undergraduate sample was asked to choose the best energy-related option for Canada to pursue in the short run (the next five years) and the long run (beyond the year 2000). Preferences for specific options, for “soft” versus “hard” energy paths and shifts in preferences from the short to the long run were strongly associated with environmental attitudes. “Ecocentrists” (the pro-environment group) favored the soft path (solar, conservation), while “technocentrists” (the less environmentally inclined) favored the hard path; especially nuclear. Recommendations are made concerning public information about conservation and the need for policy makers to canvas public attitudes.