ORVI Insider #21: New Poll Shows PA Voters Want a Crackdown on Fracking

With fracking falling by the wayside both culturally and economically, what’s next for the region? Senior Researcher Sean O’Leary has several ideas. Continuing coverage of O’Leary’s latest set of reports, Destined to Fail and The Centralia Model for Economic Transition in Distressed Communities, highlights the industry’s structural failures to generate jobs and prosperity across Appalachia and outlines a model for economic development that could.

And change is on the horizon. According to Senior Researcher Ted Boettner, federal clean energy and infrastructure investments could lay the foundation for a sustainable, 21st-century economy that builds truly democratic prosperity. Abandoned mine land (AML) and orphan well reclamation programs may be the first step toward that brighter future—but the federal infrastructure bill still needs more focus on key labor provisions and AML funding distribution, Research Fellow Eric Dixon writes. 

Here’s the latest from the Ohio River Valley Institute:

A new poll from Data for Progress shows that Pennsylvania voters across demographics are deeply concerned about the impacts of drilling—and a majority want to end fracking altogether. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents; men and women; college- and non-college-educated voters; and every age group and region of Pennsylvania are concerned about air and water pollution. Voters in the Keystone State also view the clean energy industry and environmental advocates in much more favorable terms than they do fossil fuel-aligned interests.

More key takeaways:

• Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s recommendations to restrict fracking operations are supported by overwhelming numbers of Pennsylvania voters. 

• Subsidies for fossil fuels are very unpopular, but public spending on clean energy is very popular.

• Large and bipartisan majorities are concerned about fracking waste and want the state to strengthen protections. 

The people of Appalachia need to be at the table, and not on the menu when it comes to a clean energy transformation, Senior Researcher Ted Boettner writes.

A new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists and an external advisory committee, of which Boettner is a member, provides a blueprint for how to effectively address the climate crisis, advance social and economic justice, and drive system-wide change. Most importantly, the report emphasizes that policymakers should meaningfully engage with Appalachian communities that have been pushed aside, suffered disproportionately from pollution and poverty, or have worked in the fossil fuel sectors, to build a new and more equitable economy.