DURHAM, N.H. -- Continued support for off-shore oil drilling by Gulf Coast residents who are
dealing with one of the most devastating environmental disasters in U.S. history
might seem surprising, but new research from the University of New Hampshire
shows that local factors such as unemployment and population growth influence
views about the value of environmental conservation and regulation.
The research is presented in the most recent issue of the journal Rural Sociology in
the article “Place Effects on Environmental Views.”
“Our research shows that people who live in rural areas with high unemployment
rates are less likely to support environmental regulations. Economic pressures
help to understand why, in spite of the devastation caused by the BP oil spill,
many residents of the Gulf Coast oppose a moratorium on off-shore drilling,” said
Larry Hamilton, professor of sociology, senior fellow at the Carsey Institute
at UNH, and lead author of the study. The study is co-authored by Chris Colocousis,
assistant professor at James Madison University, and Mil Duncan, director of
the Carsey Institute at UNH.
Researchers surveyed more than 7,800 people in 19 rural counties of nine states.
The states consisted of seven geographic regions -- the Rocky Mountains, Pacific
Northwest, Northeast, Midwestern farm country, Appalachia, Mississippi Delta,
and Alabama’s Black Belt – that represented four broad types of rural
places characterized by resource and population decline, amenity-driven population
growth, amenity-driven population growth and decline, and chronic poverty.
People in rural areas with high unemployment rates are less likely to support
conservation efforts and restrictive environmental regulations, the researchers
found. “People living in areas with high unemployment rates may perceive
environmental rules as a threat to their economic livelihood,” Hamilton
said.
People in rural areas with high rates of population growth are more likely to
support conservation efforts and environmental regulations. “In such places,
population change could be altering the environment in visible ways and make
it seem more in need of protection,” Hamilton explained.
Looking at other factors that influence views on conservation, the researchers
confirmed classic patterns that show that Republicans, older respondents, and
those who frequently attend religious services are less likely to favor conservation
for future generations. Women, nonminority, and better-educated respondents are
more likely to favor conservation.
Similar to views on conservation, the researchers confirmed previous research
that shows environmental regulations are supported more by younger, better educated,
and less Republican respondents.
Despite the results, the researchers say that rural areas do not adhere to one
model and vary in countless respects besides rates of population growth and unemployment.
Understanding the views of people in specific areas must take into consideration
the shared context of a particular area.
“For example, in our Rocky Mountain counties, the growing economy based
on recreation and natural amenities gives people less reason to perceive conflict
between jobs and conservation. In Appalachia, on the other hand, coal mining
interests have cast debates over mountaintop-removal mining as a choice between
jobs and conservation,” Hamilton says.
This research has been supported by grants to the Carsey Institute at UNH from
the W.K. Kellogg, Ford, and Mary K. Reynolds Babcock Foundations, and by the
Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research
university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea,
and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling
more than 12,200 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.
PHOTO
http://www.unh.edu/news/img/hamilton.jpg
Larry Hamilton, professor of sociology, senior fellow at the Carsey Institute
at UNH, and lead author of the study.
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Editors and Reporters: Contact Lori Wright at lori.wright@unh.edu to receive a copy of the full journal article.
