I had a cousin in CA worried about Fukushima defend her concern by saying that she had a Ukrainian friend whose family was affected by Chernobyl. Two guesses as to how effective it was to tell her that Chernobyl was freaking IN Ukraine and that CA is as far from Fukushima as New York is from Chernobyl.

Most people make decisions based on a hazy blur of random exposure to flashy stories, not anything remotely resembling rational adult thought. I don't know what the solution is to nuclear's PR and political problems, but I know that it isn't anything that requires a third grader's level of critical thinking ability.