Most oppose ‘fracking’ to extract natural gas
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/02/2012 (4995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A majority of Manitobans oppose hydraulic fracturing — better known as “fracking” — and would support a moratorium on the natural-gas extraction method, according to a new poll.
The Environics Research poll, commissioned by the Council of Canadians, found 62 per cent of the Canadians polled supported a moratorium on all fracking for natural gas until all federal environmental reviews are complete.
A total of 64 per cent of people in Manitoba/Saskatchewan support a fracking moratorium. British Columbia residents were most likely to support the moratorium, at 67 per cent, followed by Atlantic Canada, where 66 per of those polled supported a moratorium, and then Ontario (65 per cent), Alberta (57 per cent) and Quebec (55 per cent).
In the energy industry’s method of extracting shale gas, a mix of water, sand and chemicals is pumped kilometres underground into drilled wells to break apart shale rock formations, freeing gas to rise to the surface. Critics have connected the practice to groundwater contamination, earthquakes and soil contamination.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers maintains that the practice can be done safely and reliably, and released a new set of fracking guidelines in late January. Those guidelines include baseline groundwater testing, using the least environmentally harmful products and ensuring proper wellbore construction.
There is currently no federal legislation on fracking, and regulations on water and drilling permits vary from province to province. Last September, the federal government said it was launching two separate reviews of the process.
The Environics Research survey was conducted by telephone interviews from Jan. 5 to 15. The survey used a national random sample of 2,000 adults age 18 and over, living in Canada, split evenly between males and females. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.19 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
— Postmedia News