A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that more Americans are in favor of fracking than are opposed to it. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they’d like to see an increased use of fracking, while 38 percent said they wouldn’t.
The Pew Center’s Leah Christian says opinions varied by region, but that could be because of prevailing political views in different parts of the country.
“The two regions where we saw the most support – the Midwest and the South – for fracking, those are also more Republican regions of the country,” Christian said.
She says Republicans overwhelmingly favor fracking, while Democrats tend to be less supportive.
The study also found that men support fracking more than women. Christian says that fits with studies they’ve done on other environmental and energy issues.
“Women tend to be more questioning of … new energy technologies,” she said. “They tend to be less likely, also, to favor increased drilling on land or offshore than men.”
Christian adds that this is one of the first major nation-wide surveys regarding public opinion on fracking, so it’s hard to say whether public opinion has been changing over time.