Today Bloomberg released the results of a new poll, finding that more than three times as many Americans say there should be more regulation of hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, than less. Only 18% said there should be less regulation of fracking.
To those of us following this issue closely, this news doesn't come as any surprise. As I mentioned in my last blog post, Americans along the ideological spectrum are calling for new rules for oil and gas production, including fracking. Not only are the environmental threats expanding near homes and schools, but the rules on the books are extremely outdated and enforcement is too weak. When you visit communities where oil and gas production is taking place, people of all stripes are outraged by the special treatment granted to the oil and gas industry.