What Shapes Public Engagement in Fracking Issues?

Abstract

The engagement of residents in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) debates within regions in which extraction occurs is critically important for shaping fracking policies. Such engagement may be less likely to occur in such regions, however, due to social factors associated with fossil fuel dependence, or what has been termed petro-statism. Alberta, Canada, is just such a place, and we use survey data (N = 226) from a sample of residents in Lethbridge, Fox Creek, and Rosebud—three Alberta communities where local residents have experienced nearby proposed or active fracking for natural gas. We found the social capital attributes of trust and self-efficacy, as well as concern for the impacts of fracking, strongly predict public engagement in fracking issues in the three study sites. Annual household income, education, and working in the energy sector also shape citizens’ participation in fracking. Furthermore, we found that trust in particular institutions can have different levels of influence on personal and collective engagement.

Keywords:

• Citizen engagement
• fossil fuels
• hydraulic fracturing
• network
• self-efficacy
• trust

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Ellen Bielawksi, at the University of Alberta for her thoughtful feedback on this project, the anonymous SNR reviewers, and our research participants who invested their valuable time.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Community Center for Disaster Research, Mount Royal University.