4 ms·

> there is an almost patriotic attitude towards coal plants As a German, i'm wondering where you got that idea from... Because pretty much every poll i know of

• jamil7 4y ago
  I think both can be true and it might be more region specific. My girlfriend was born in the Ruhrgebiet and a lot of her family and friends family worked in the coal industry and were well taken care of when the plants were shut down. While they're not pro-coal or wouldn't poll that way I think there probably is more of a sentimental connection to it than to nuclear which that generation tends to associate with Chernobyl.
• hnbad 4y ago
  That's not a contradiction though. Yes, there is broad popular support for renewables and until earlier this year gas probably also had a better reputation than it deserved, compared to coal. But culturally, especially in the Ruhr region, coal has the benefit of nostalgia whereas nuclear has always been scary. Of course nowadays most "coal" is actually lignite and there is some resistance against lignite mining destroying large swathes of the landscape whereas the industrial architecture of "black coal" mining has become a national heritage. But lignite is still benefitting from some of that "black coal" nostalgia. It's probably worth adding that these perceptions not only vary by region but also by socioeconomics and politics.