Poll finds growing support in U.S. for oil exploration

WASHINGTON — High gasoline prices have changed Americans' views on energy and the environment, with more people now viewing oil drilling and new power plants as a greater priority than energy conservation than they did five months ago, according to a new survey.

The poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center shows nearly half of those surveyed — or 47 percent — rate energy exploration, drilling and building power plants as the top priority, compared with 35 percent who believed that five months ago.

The Pew poll, conducted in late June, showed the number of people who consider energy conservation as more important declined by 10 percentage points since February from a clear majority to 45 percent.

The number of people who said they considered increasing energy supplies more important than protecting the environment increased from 54 percent in February to 60 percent and the number of people who favor oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge also increased.

"This shows the real impact of higher gas prices on the public," said Carroll Doherty, associate director for the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which commissioned the telephone survey of 2,004 adults from June 18 to Sunday. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, slightly larger for subgroups.

Since February, gasoline prices for unleaded gas have soared from slightly more than $3 a gallon to a national average of $4.08, according to the Energy Department. The average in the Seattle metropolitan area was $4.38 Tuesday, according to AAA.

The shift toward embracing more energy production was seen across age and political groups, reflecting a change in attitudes among Democrats, independents, women and young people, all groups that have generally championed conservation over energy development.

The two major presidential candidates disagree on energy priorities.

Republican candidate John McCain has called for building more nuclear-power plants and ending a blanket moratorium on drilling in 85 percent of the country's coastal waters. Democrat Barack Obama has emphasized incentives for conservation and development of alternative-energy sources and opposes expanded offshore drilling.

The Pew poll showed Republicans and Democrats moving closer together on the production versus conservation dispute. The number of Democrats who said they saw increased production as the top priority jumped by 16 percentage points since February to 46 percent. Republicans holding that view declined from about half to 43 percent.

With the exception of the Arctic refuge, the poll did not address any specific energy proposals.

Among the survey's most astounding findings is the substantial increase, within five months, in the support for energy exploration and production among groups that have traditionally championed conservation as the answer to the country's energy problems.

For example, the percentage of liberals who said expanding energy exploration was their most important priority doubled from 22 percent in February to 45 percent; increased by 19 points to 50 percent among independents; and by 18 points to 46 percent among women.

Slightly more than half of the people from 18 to 29 years old saw expanding energy exploration as more important, double the number in February.

The poll showed people remain divided over oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is now off-limits. But in the June survey, the number of people favoring drilling there increased to 50 percent, compared to 42 percent in February. Those who opposed drilling fell from 50 percent to 43 percent.