Pew survey finds declining support for fracking

• Marie Cusick
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Marie Cusick was the Harrisburg reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania.

A new poll from the Pew Research Center shows public support for fracking has declined since last year.
In a survey conducted last week, 41 percent of respondents said they favor the increased use of fracking, while 47 percent say they are opposed.
Enthusiasm has dwindled since Pew surveyed people in March 2013. Back then, there was more support (48 percent) than opposition (38 percent). In a 2012 survey most Americans said they had heard little or nothing at all about fracking.
There is still a strong partisan and gender divide over the issue. More Republicans (62 percent) favor increased fracking, compared to 29 percent of Democrats. Women are far more likely to oppose it than men are.
Support for fracking declined particularly among the young (people under 50) and in the Midwest. In the Northeast, views are largely unchanged since last year. Thirty-seven percent of respondents favor increased fracking, while 48 percent are opposed.
Here are the results from Pew:

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