3/14/11, "Gallup: Oil drilling gains favor with Americans," USA Today, Wendy Koch
"More Americans are worried about energy costs and supportive of offshore oil drilling than a year ago, a new Gallup poll reveals.
Six in 10 U.S. adults favor increasing offshore drilling for oil and gas in U.S. coastal areas, up from 50% in May 2010, according to Gallup's annual environment survey conducted March 3-6. Last year's poll was taken about one month after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, triggering the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
"News of that incident has faded, possibly lessening Americans' resistance to coastal area drilling," Gallup said in announcing the findings. "At the same time, recent turbulence in the Middle East has caused oil prices to rise and has sparked discussion about the stability of the United States' foreign oil supply."
The poll shows 49% of Americans favor opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil exploration. That's the highest level of support Gallup has found since it first asked the question in 2002.
Men are more likely than women to support drilling offshore as well as in the ANWR, and support is also much higher among Republicans than Democrats, according to the poll of 1, 021 adults. Regionally, Gallup finds the highest support for coastal oil drilling in the South, at 74%, and higher support in the Midwest than in the East or West.
Why so much support? Nearly half, or 46%, of Americans say they worry a great deal about "the availability and affordability of energy," up
- from 38% in March 2010.
"These national poll results clearly demonstrate the growing discontent Americans are voicing across the nation about the pain they are experiencing at the pump and their strong support for the responsible development of the
- nation's vast array of abundant domestic resources,"
David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance, a Washington-based group that favors drilling, said in a statement."...
via Vladimir
No comments:
Post a Comment