Public Opinion

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Public Opinion

Pew Research Poll: Only Half of US Adults Know What Fracking Is
April 23, 2013April 23, 2013

A new national poll just released yesterday by the Pew Research Center and Smithsonian magazine quizzed the Americans public on their knowledge of science and technology with questions on current topics and basic scientific concepts (see the full report embedded below). One of the questions on the quiz was this: Which natural resource is extracted in a process known as “fracking”? The multiple choice answers given: Coal, Diamonds, Natural gas, Silicon.

Readers of MDN know the answer—you have a keen interest in the topic of natural gas. How many in the overall general public of adults 18 and older know that fracking extracts natural gas, even with Gasland and FrackNation? A pitiful 51%.

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Public Opinion | Regulation

Frack Fight: Group Pushes Back on Proposed Youngstown Frack Ban
April 9, 2013April 9, 2013

MDN previously told you how Democrat city council members in Youngstown, OH have tried to steer the city into committing the equivalent of economic suicide by voting to ban fracking—a signal to drillers to stay away from doing business in the city (see Youngstown, OH to Commit Utica Suicide with Vote to Ban Drilling).

However, a diverse group of leaders from the ranks of both Republicans and Democrats, labor unions and industry have joined together to push back against the ballot measure which will be voted on May 7. The Mahoning Valley Coalition for Job Growth and Investment "came out firing" last Friday. Perhaps it’s not time just yet to write Youngstown’s fracking epitaph…

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Public Opinion

Pew Research Poll Finds 2/3 of Americas Support More Fracking
April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

$frack here frack now$ Earlier this week Pew Research released the results of an extensive new national poll on several environmental-related issues, fracking among them. The results were not all that surprising, if you’re an MDN reader for any length of time. The poll found a majority favors the increased use of the miracle of hydraulic fracturing. Women are evenly split on whether to frack more—men are definitely in favor of more fracking. Also not surprising, Republicans and Independents favor fracking by wide margins, and Democrats oppose it by wide margins.

In addition to the fracking question, Pew also polled on the XL Keystone oil pipeline from Canada (two-thirds of Americans favor it), and whether or not global warming is real (most Democrats believe global warming hokum, most Republicans don’t). Here’s the detailed results on the fracking question:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Drill in NY? Republicans Say Yes, Democrats Say No
December 14, 2012December 14, 2012

Quinnipiac University has been busy polling. First they released a new poll of Ohioans and their attitudes toward higher taxes for drilling in that state (see this MDN story), and a day later, they released a poll of New Yorkers asking them whether or not drilling should even be allowed in that state. The results (full copy embedded below) provide the most striking example yet that the entire drilling issue has become politicized in New York.

The poll results, released yesterday, show that 70% of New York’s Republicans support drilling for shale gas and oil (17% are opposed), while only 29% of Democrats support drilling (and 55% are opposed). Overall, the state remains pretty evenly split with 44% supporting drilling and 42% opposed to it.

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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Public Opinion | Statewide OH | Taxation

OH Poll Shows Support for Higher Drilling Tax is Slipping
December 14, 2012December 14, 2012

A new Quinnipiac University Poll shows a majority of Ohioans continue to support a higher severance tax (what they term a “new tax” when asking the question) on the shale drilling industry—especially if it would cut their income taxes. But the simple headline does not reveal the whole picture.

When you look at the internals of the poll (full copy of the questions and results is embedded below), you find that (a) support for the tax is slipping, and (b) it’s Ohio Democrats who support the tax in large numbers, while Republicans only tip to the support side when it comes to the question of lowering income taxes.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Siena Poll: NY Residents Unchanged, Majority Support Fracking
December 6, 2012December 6, 2012

According to the latest periodic Siena College Research Institute Poll, the trend that started in the previous poll showing a clear majority of New Yorker’s supporting fracking has continued in the most recent poll. In a poll taken Nov. 26-29, 42% of New Yorkers support fracking vs. 36% who oppose it. Those numbers are identical to the poll taken Oct. 22-24 (see this MDN story).

However, if you think that’s the end of the story, you would be wrong. A longer term trend we see in the underlying numbers is that there is stronger support for fracking in both in New York City and the suburbs of NYC than in upstate. In October, 43% of upstaters polled supported fracking vs. 41% who opposed it. In November, 39% of upstaters supported fracking vs. 45% who opposed it. Why the swing against fracking with upstaters?

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Allegheny County | Beaver County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Public Opinion | Washington County

Pittsburgh Residents Support Marcellus Drilling Nearly 2-to-1
November 20, 2012November 20, 2012

The Pittsburgh University Center for Social and Urban Research along with PittsburghTODAY recently conducted a wide-ranging survey of Pittsburgh (and its suburbs) residents. Among the questions asked was a series of questions about the environment, including Marcellus Shale drilling. Overall, 45% of area residents support Marcellus drilling while 25% oppose it.

The details…

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Clear Majority of New York Residents Now Favor Fracking
October 29, 2012October 29, 2012

More New Yorkers now support fracking in the state than at any time in the past according to the latest Siena College Research Institute Poll. By a clear majority, 42% of New Yorkers support fracking vs. 36% who oppose it. In August, the numbers were 39% supporting vs. 38% opposing—so clearly there has been a shift over the past three months since Siena last polled on this question.

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Albany County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Regulation | Statewide NY

1,000 Pro-Drillers Rally in Albany with a Message of ‘Jobs’
October 16, 2012October 16, 2012

$math challenged$ Are AP reporters math-challenged, or do they intentionally lie about the events they cover? Yesterday a rally was held in Albany, NY to support shale gas drilling in the state. According to a reporter from Middletown who covered the event, there were “about 1,000” people in the crowd. But the AP (and almost all stories found in the media today about the event use the AP’s coverage) said there were “several hundred” in attendance. If you look closely, you’ll see the AP story was posted at 3:02 am yesterday, before the event took place!

Enough of the rant against mainstream media bias which we all know exists. Yesterday a group of 1,000 or more gathered at the Corning Preserve on the Hudson River in Albany for a rally. The group then marched to the Capitol with signs, chanting as they went. Here’s reporting from someone who was actually there:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Public Opinion

Bloomberg National Poll: U.S. is Warming up to Fracking
September 28, 2012September 28, 2012

Bloomberg, one of the most anti-drilling of mainstream news organizations, has just completed a new national poll on hydraulic fracturing. Unfortunately they have not released the actual questions and responses to the poll (like other news organizations do and like they themselves have done previously). They’ve only written up their interpretation of the numbers. It’s no wonder why—according to their own interpretation the numbers show fewer people today than earlier this year think fracking should be more regulated than it is now. That is, people in general are more favorable to fracking than they were just six months ago. That’s not the kind of trend Bloomberg likes to report on.

Taken between Sept. 21-24 and polling 1,007 people across the country (and with a margin of error +/- 3.1%), here are the numbers that we can glean from the news story:

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Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

New Poll Finds Most Upstate NYers Favor Fracking
September 13, 2012September 13, 2012

A regular and ongoing Quinnipiac University poll of New York residents, the latest version which was released yesterday, finds that Upstate NY voters have tipped in favor of fracking. A majority of Upstaters, 45%, support fracking, while 41% oppose it. And it’s no surprise that 72% of Republicans are in favor of fracking while 54% of Democrats oppose it. Like it or not, fracking is a political issue.

The questions from the poll dealing with shale gas drilling in New York are embedded below so you can see the breakout by groups. Here’s a summary of the findings as reported by Quinnipiac:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

New York State Ad Wars Heat Up Over Fracking
August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

As we get ever closer to the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) release of new rules to allow fracking—a decision expected either by or shortly after Labor Day—both sides of the debate are turning up the heat by taking to the airwaves and in print with advertisements.

For some time now, pro-drilling groups led by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) have run radio and print ads (see below). The other side is now entering the fray with their own ads.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Poll: New Yorkers Remain Split on Fracking, Some Surprises
August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

Each month the Siena College Research Institute conducts a statewide poll in New York to gage opinions on various political issues and politicians. For several years running they have polled on the question of whether or not New Yorkers support shale gas drilling and fracking. The unsurprising results again for this month are that statewide, New Yorkers are evenly split for and against fracking (see the results embedded below).

However, when you dig into the numbers, a surprising fact emerges about the geography people live in who favor drilling versus the geography of those who don’t.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Public Opinion | Statewide OH

Poll: 63% of Ohioans Have Heard Little/Nothing on Fracking
August 1, 2012August 1, 2012

A new poll by University of Cincinnati researchers for the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati asked 834 randomly selected Ohioans their opinions about fracking. A copy of the poll results is embedded below.

Perhaps most surprising is that a combined 63% of Ohioans claim they have heard little or nothing about hydraulic fracturing. Asked about whether or not they believe fracking poses a threat to health, respondents were evenly divided.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Poll of NYers Finds Continued Even Split on Drilling Issue
July 30, 2012July 30, 2012

Last week Quinnipiac University released the survey results for the latest New York State poll they conduct periodically. For some time they have asked the same questions regarding shale gas drilling in the state. The results from the latest survey, along with a summary of previous surveys going back one year, are embedded below.

MDN likes to give you the full, unvarnished survey results so you can see for yourself the language used in the questions, and the breakout of the responses between downstate and upstate. What does the latest survey show? What it’s shown for the past year or more: New Yorkers are divided 50/50 on the question of drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Siena College Poll – New Yorkers Remain Split on Fracking
May 16, 2012May 16, 2012

Siena College Research Institute runs regular polls of New Yorkers to gage their opinion on a variety of topics. One of the long-running topics they poll on is whether or not New York should allow hydraulic fracturing to move forward. The latest Siena poll was just released today. The full breakout is embedded below. Here’s how Siena interpreted the results in their press announcement:

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