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In 1979, Jimmy Carter was president of the United States and faced both stagflation and an oil crisis, which decreased the global supply of oil significantly, resulting in shortages. A sudden rise in environmentalism stemmed from the demonstrations against the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. On top of that, the Cold War lasted from the late 1940s until 1991, causing fear of nuclear destruction and increasing tensions between the US and USSR.

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Historical Connection: Aug 6-9, 1945, Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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Historical Connection: Aug 6-9, 1945, Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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During WWII, the U.S. warned Japan that they would drop atomic bombs on their land if they did not agree to unconditional surrender. The U.S. sent atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was the first time that nuclear warfare was used. It killed an an estimation of 210,000 people either due to radiation, or the bomb itself. The places where the bombs landed became extremely radioactive, causing harm to both the environment and the people. This event sparked the beginning of the Anti-Nuclear Power movement, which demanded that all nuclear energy or warfare be ceased.

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The Anti-Nuclear Power movement was a social group that went against nuclear weapons and the use of nuclear energy. After realizing the damage of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people began to realize how dangerous and terrifying the destruction cost to human life and the environment. In 1963, JFK a passed the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty which did not allow any nuclear testing in the atmosphere, the water, or in space. This ban represented a big accomplishment to the Anti-Nuclear Power Movement. Throughout the 1960s, the movement continued to grow. Due to the Cold War and its close calls with nuclear warfare, there were fears of nuclear attacks, so the activism was at its highest.

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In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring brought attention to the detrimental effects of the widely used pesticide DDT. This would influence the rise of environmental movements. “As early as 1973, the global oil embargo focused attention on energy.” The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 by President Nixon, and environment focused legislation was passed after protests for environmental protection.

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Millions of people protested nationwide demanding environmental protections. This protest “worked politically because Congress quickly passed the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act and scientifically because those laws had the desired effect.” The CAA limited emissions from industrial and mobile sources; the CWA regulated discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States.

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President Nixon signed the Clean Air Act of 1970 in hopes of improving environmental and human health. In 1990, the act prevented 200,000+ premature deaths and nearly 700,000 cases of chronic bronchitis. In 2010, the six principal air pollutants such as CO2, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides were reduced by 41%. With the existence of nuclear power plants, pollution was reduced significantly in 40 years since they do not produce any pollutants.

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Historical Connection: 1973, Energy Crisis 

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Historical Connection: 1973, Energy Crisis 

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During the 1970s, the U.S.'s consumption of oil was already very high and was suffering from a lack of production of oil. Arab countries (Syria and Egypt) were angered by the U.S. due to their decision to support Israel in the Yom-Kippur War. The Arab countries responded to this by placing an embargo on oil sales. This heavily affected the U.S. which was in an extreme shortage of oil, limiting the amount of gas per person and urging Americans to conserve as much energy as possible. To reduce the dependence on oil exports, countries have found ways to fuel sources like nuclear power, coal, and natural gas.

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During his presidency, Carter worked hard to battle stagflation. Unfortunately it was extremely hard to battle the recession in its entirety so by the end of his presidency stagflation was nearly at its highest. To combat stagflation, he focused on decreasing inflation so he raised interest rates. This meant that there would be less money to spend on. Regarding his efforts on the Energy Crisis of 1970s, he combated it by letting go of gas prices to stimulate production and enforced national energy policies.

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On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant experienced a malfunction as a result of technological malfunction and human error. The partial meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor put the unit out of operation. Along with the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, this nuclear event took place during a time when public fear of nuclear destruction was heightened. Hysteria over nuclear weapons continued to spread.

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April 8, 1979: Anti Nuclear Power Protestors Against the Restart of TMI

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April 8, 1979: Anti Nuclear Power Protestors Against the Restart of TMI

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After the accident of TMI occurred, nuclear activists started a campaign against the restart of TMI. They urged that the generators should be completely shut down and to repeal the Price-Anderson Act. The PAA allows financial protection to those liable for damages from a nuclear accident. To make this possible, around 65,000 to 125,000 protestors marched from the White House to the Capitol (as shown above). Other methods like giving public speeches, displaying posters, and sit-ins were used to achieve these goals. Even after several protests and public votes, the Supreme Court continued to restart generator TMI-1. The campaign deemed unsuccessful.

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Primary Source: April 19, 1979 Governor Thornburgh’s Speech to University of Pittsburgh

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Primary Source: April 19, 1979 Governor Thornburgh’s Speech to University of Pittsburgh

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Thornburgh delivered a speech to the University of Pittsburgh Engineering Alumni Program explaining the issues of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. He tries to give comfort to the audience by telling them that in prayer this type of accident will not happen again and also crediting citizens who witnessed this accident that they were brave. He also explains that The White House is planning to increase safety so that the environment and its people will not be harmed. The White House would also assist those who are trying to recover from the accident.

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Three Mile Island (1979) vs Chernobyl (1986)

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Three Mile Island (1979) vs Chernobyl (1986)

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Chernobyl took place on April 26, 1986. Both accidents occurred with the backdrop of the Cold War, and both the US and USSR were facing economic stress. While Three Mile Island implemented a concrete containment structure, Chernobyl did not because it was too expensive to add. Due to this difference, Chernobyl became the global catastrophe that was narrowly avoided at Three Mile Island. Overall, reactors in the U.S. were designed with more safety features, while those in the USSR were more cost effective.

In the US, the public commonly questioned the nuclear power industry’s safety, but this opinion was non-existent in the USSR. Due to fear of nuclear fallout, Americans took many precautions, such as adding bunkers to their homes and implementing duck and cover drills in schools – which would not actually be effective but was created to make people feel a sense of safety.

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Hershey evacuation center, March 31, 1979 

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Primary Source: 1999 Governor Thornburgh’s Twentieth Anniversary Address 

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Primary Source: 1999 Governor Thornburgh’s Twentieth Anniversary Address 

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According to a report by the Atlantic Council that was included in the address, “the Three Mile Island incident heightened public fears about nuclear accidents.” This is especially seen on day three of the accident, which became known as the great evacuation scare. Due to a miscommunication, the NRC’s Washington-based Executive Management Team decided to recommend that we evacuate all residents within a five-mile radius of the plant, although the area actually was safe. Hersheypark Arena was used as an evacuation site for people living within 5 miles of the plant.

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Unit 1 continued operation until 2019, and had a generating capacity of “more than 800 megawatts of carbon-free electricity and at its peak employed 675 people.” Given the crisis with high unemployment and high inflation at the time, it can be inferred that this would’ve worsened public approval of President Carter.

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The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations 

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The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations 

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The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations was established in 1979 by the nuclear industry in response to the Three Mile Island accident. Its purpose is "to provide a unified industry approach to plant management, training, and operation to further enhance nuclear safety.”

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The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

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The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

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“The NRC expanded INPO’s international activities to share important technical upgrades with other countries.” As a result of the three mile island, safety regulations related to improved training and emergency response training were increased, as well as improvements to the plant design. The NRC was created in 1974 and regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials, like in nuclear medicine, through licensing, inspection and enforcement of its requirements. These changes could also be attributed to by the common fear of nuclear fallout during the Cold War, pushing the US to explore safe, secure, and peaceful usage of nuclear power and learn from these accidents.

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1962: Silent Spring

April 22, 1970: The First Earth Day
Source 2

March 28, 1979: Three Mile Island and Chernobyl (1986)

April 8, 1979: Anti-Nuclear Power Protestors Against the Restart of TMI and 1999 Governor Thornburgh’s Twentieth Anniversary Address images

1999 Governor Thornburgh’s Twentieth Anniversary Address
Source 2

2019: Shutdown of Unit 1

INPO

NRC

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Aug 6-9, 1945: Bombing of Hiroshima + Nagasaki
-> Source 2

1960s-1980s Anti-Nuclear Power Movement

Dec 31, 1970: Clean Air Act

1970s Energy Crisis

Jan 20, 1977: Carter’s Presidency

Apr 8, 1979: Anti-Nuclear Power Protestors and The TMI Campaign

Apr 19, 1979: Thornburgh's Speech to Uni of Pittsburgh