Returning From the Point of No Return: Approval of Nuclear Power as a Means to Mitigate Climate Change

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Nuclear energy has significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming. Despite its promising nature and Democrats&rsquo; strong support for other clean energy initiatives, Democratic partisans are likely to disapprove of nuclear power. Therefore, this paper investigates whether elite cue-giving can increase Democratic support for nuclear energy. Specifically, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">because Democrats tend to trust the scientific community,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I hypothesize that those exposed to information regarding nuclear energy from a trusted expert in the field will experience an increase in support for the power source.&nbsp;</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In this paper, I first review relevant literature and develop a theory to support why elite cues should affect climate change preferences and the mechanisms through which they operate. Then, I outline my research design that introduces the survey measures and experiment that I use to test my hypotheses. After presenting the results, I conclude by summarizing the paper&rsquo;s main arguments and findings.</span>