Just to clarify on fracking for that are outside of the country: rural USA
loves fracking. It's a big industry in this country and even more, is a huge moneymaker for families who are sitting on land that can be fracked that wouldn't have many financial opportunities otherwise. If any politician outright comes out against fracking in this country, at this point, then they might as well immediately throw the towel in. It's going to take a little bit of other climate change progress in this country until the general mindset toward fracking starts to shift.
In Pennsylvania, specifically, I live here and know people who work in or benefit from fracking. I've had conversations with people who work in fracking who have asked me "if we ban fracking, what am I supposed to do?" and they murderously look at me like I have five heads when I tell them there are other, less harmful industries to work in and that a ban on fracking would most likely add a ton of jobs in the industries that replace fracking. I don't think we would have flipped if Biden hadn't backtracked on his fracking stance this time around. Pennsylvania would've gone red again, just like Ohio (who, correct me if I'm wrong, was also expected to voe Biden this time, but didn't and is a bit
more rural than Pennsylvania).
This is why Trump tried to come for Biden's throat over his wishy-washy fracking track record. It was one of the only in's Trump realistically had to sway voters his way this election. Biden's
opposed it in the past, but unfortunately had to back-peddle on it to gain ground during the election. I hope that whatever he does in the office helps to progress the mindset of this country past its fracking obsession.
Again, this post is just for some context. I seethed and my mouth actually dropped when Biden backtracked on fracking; at the same time, I completely understood the reason for it. It was just a typical game of politics. Progress in the states (and elsewhere, I suppose) is slow, both by political design and by the stubbornness of the general public's resilience toward shifting their mindset toward different perspectives.