Think about nuclear power now, or get a nuclear lifestyle

by Silvia Musso

Will we be forced to get a “nuclear lifestyle”? Our present decisions –including electoral ones- can make the difference.
This is the philosophy of the Italian national campaign named “Nuclear Lifestyle” and launched by Greenpeace Italia on the website www.nuclearlifestyle.it: «How could your life change having a nuclear plant near your home? If you don’t want to discover it, ask regional candidates to say NO to nuclear power! The Italian Government is trying to impose the location of the plants, overwhelming the competences of the Regions: for this reason, 13 Regions have appealed to Constitutional Court. Did you ever think about what can happen whether the future President of you Region will agree to the return to nuclear power?».
The website –based on black and yellow, the colors that usually are linked together with the danger of radioactive contamination- is divided into some different sections.
The main one contains the petition, to be signed on-line, to ask candidates to commit themselves against nuclear power: a real-time counter shows how many people have already signed, while the names of “VIP” signatories scroll in a bar below.
Then, there are some records about “nuclear candidates”, the pro-atomic power politicians running for a seat of regional Governor. By clicking on the Regions, you get the profile and some quoted statements of those lined up with national Government on this issue.
Furthermore the site contains two more ironical areas: the “nuclear game”, a quiz to test your knowledge about atomic power, and the “nuclear shop”, where to buy virtually some possible gadgets to adapt to the nuclear lifestyle: the false pill that (doesn’t) protects from radiations, the glasses that “hide the effects of contamination” to whom is wearing them, the radioactive coffee and the All Nuclear Star shoes, to be used in case of accident… to run away!
«This website’s target is to get the active participation of its users: to our cyber-activists we don’t ask just to sign the petition, but to spread it among friend and contacts, to share informative materials, videos and pictures throughout the social networks», says Maria Carla Giugliano, member of Greenpeace Italia’s Communication Department.

This campaign has clear and concise contents, stalking on an hypothetical “atomic” future to hit and involve the audience. Was it a choice to provocate?
«You can get web-surfers involved only using immediate contents, not filling a site with loads of information. How to present, so, a critical issue as nuclear power without the risk of looking boring and catastrophist? How to involve without scaring? From these considerations we chose to present a life based on the so-called “nuclear lifestyle”. We projected radioactive gadgets: a nuclear-citizen starts its day with a radioactive coffee, wears Nuclear All Stars shoes, gets its daily dose of nuclear pills and goes to pay a very high energethic bill, because of the high costs of nuclear power».

Is the on-line petition a valid instrument to involve internet surfers? To have a real action to do and share is a powerful tool to spread the campaign?
«Yes: we got more than 47k signatures in less than two weeks. This petition is useful to make pressure on the candidates: against a Government that continues to impose its choices, the only way we can follow is the opposition of Regional authorities.
Greenpeace bets strongly on new media to campaign in innovative ways and to get more participation into our activities».

How do you contextualize this specific on-line campaign within all your anti-nuclear activities?
«Our communicative strategy is aimed at integrating traditional and new media, making specific contents for each one. Nuclearlifestyle.it wants to give visibility on the web to our anti-nuclear campaign; while simultaneously we continue keeping the attention on this issue using our classic instruments, such as scientific reports and activities in the streets».