To be fair, most of them are probably vehemently republican (of the "dont give ghetto welfare queens my gubmint money" type), so environmental protections are down in that "god damn commie talk" list for them. Until it affects them, personally.
Duplin County, the subject of the article, has about 2 registered Democrats for every 1 registered Republican. They voted for Kay Hagan, and their local politicians are Democratic.