ANWR,  Energy,  Oil,  Polling

Poll Watch: Six in Ten Americans Favor Increasing U.S. Oil Drilling

March 14, 2011 /


This is not really surprising with the turmoil in the Middle East and America’s dependency on foreign oil. Why not “Drill, Baby, Drill” if it can be done in an envirnomentally sensitive way?

Last year’s finding was recorded about a month after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the U.S. Gulf Coast that resulted in a massive oil spill. News of that incident has faded, possibly lessening Americans’ resistance to coastal area drilling. 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 latest findings are from Gallup’s annual Environment survey, conducted March 3-6. The same poll shows 49% of Americans in favor of opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil exploration. This is up slightly from 43% in the previous measurement in 2008, and is the highest level of support Gallup has recorded for drilling in ANWR since the question was first asked in 2002.

Extracting energy for millions of Americans is not an easy undertaking. Americans like their cars and their other conveniences/toys powered by electricity. But, we understand being dependent upon countries that don’t like us so much, is not good for our national security.

In keeping with this understanding, Americans are more concerned about the availability and affordability of energy.

So, what does this mean, particularly since nuclear energy generation of electricity with the Japanese earthquake, Tsunami catastrophe will probably face intensive regulatory scrutiny?

A solid majority of Americans currently favor increased offshore oil drilling in U.S. coastal areas and a record-high 49% favor opening the Alaskan wilderness to oil exploration. These trends might best be understood in terms of Americans’ ongoing anxiety about the nation’s economic problems coupled with their expectation that today’s already elevated gas prices will continue to rise. While Americans care about environmental protection — 61% in 2010 called themselves active in or sympathetic to the environmental movement — the possible benefits of achieving greater oil independence may be gaining appeal.