Thursday, January 19, 2012
Poll shows most Ohioans think fracking should be halted
COLUMBUS
A new poll shows that Ohioans are divided when it comes to fracking in
the Buckeye State.
A Quinnipiac University poll shows that 43 percent of polled Ohioans
think the practice, which involves blasting a mix of water, chemicals
and sand into shale rocks thousands of feet below the ground to unlock
natural gas and oil, will have a detrimental effect on the
environment.
Forty percent said they don’t know if the process will affect the
environment at all; 16 percent said it will not harm the ecosystem.
A majority of Ohioans think the fracking process should be halted,
however, until further studies determine its true economic impact.
Among Ohioans, 72 percent think the process should be temporarily
halted; 23 percent oppose a moratorium.
Vertical fracking has been commonplace for decades; there are tens of
thousands of vertically-fracked wells throughout Ohio.
Horizontal fracking, which allows for greater natural resources
extraction, has taken off in recent years thanks to the prospects of
the Utica and Marcellus shales.
Many Ohioans, however, lack any knowledge of the fracking process,
according to the poll.
Forty percent of respondents have not “heard or read anything” about fracking.