Poll: Americans split on energy vs. environment priorities

Americans these days are just about as likely to tell you energy production should be a top priority as they are to say environmental protection should be. That’s the takeaway of a new Gallup poll, which shows 47% of Americans want to see more emphasis on energy production and 44% want to see more emphasis on protecting natural resources. Gallup says that’s a closer division than in last year’s poll, when energy production was the more pressing concern—50% to 41%. It’s also a shift from the early 2000s, when Americans consistently assigned a higher priority to environmental protection in the poll—52% to 40%. Gallup says the greater preference for energy production in recent years likely has resulted from the economic downturn and increasing prices at the pump. An exception to this trend, however, was a brief period in the spring of 2010, after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico brought environmental issues back to the forefront. See the complete details on the poll and more findings at the Gallup website here.