This paper presents a case study that investigated students' perceptions on the integration of a socio-scientific issue into a general chemistry course at a public university located in northwestern California. The teaching intervention is based on a digital learning environment structured by the software Prezi that students used to explore the issue of extracting unconventional crude oil and natural gas resources through hydraulic fracturing. The learning environment offered information about the chemistry of hydraulic fracturing in combination with a multiperspective view on its geoscience aspects as well as the potential risks associated with a controversial societal reception. The results show a positive perception on the inclusion of hydraulic fracturing in general chemistry education when framed in a broad picture of its potential ecological and societal impacts. The results are parallel to the findings from German high school chemistry teachers that used the same learning environment and a related approach.