RSPB Issues First Objections to Fracking in UK

The RSPB charity has lodged a letter of objection with Lancashire County Council to a proposal by Cuadrilla at Singleton near Blackpool. The charity is concerned that the controversial drilling technique will harm wildlife and the climate. The drilling site is close to an internationally important protected area for Pink Footed Geese and Whooper Swans and could cause disturbance to the birds.

The RSPB is also officially objecting to the contentious plans to explore for oil and gas at Balcombe in Sussex on the grounds that no Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out and because increasing oil and gas use will scupper our chances of meeting climate targets.

Harry Huyton, RSPB head of climate and energy policy, said: "Balcombe has hit the headlines as the battleground in the debate over fracking. The public there are rightly concerned about the impact this new technology will have on their countryside. These are not just nimbys worried about house prices - there is a very real public disquiet about fracking. We have looked closely at the rules in place to police drilling for shale gas and oil and they are simply not robust enough to ensure that our water, our landscapes and our wildlife are safe.... There may not be as many local residents in the Singleton area as in Sussex, but this area is protected by European law because it is so valuable for wildlife and Cuadrilla has done nothing to investigate what damage their activities could do to it.

The RSPB has joined with other wildlife and environmental groups to call on the Government to rethink its shale gas policies. Mr Huyton added: "Figures suggest that in the north of England there is potential for 5,000 sites and a total of up to 100,000 wells. the idea that these will not have an impact on the countryside is very difficult to believe. Fracking is technology largely untested in the UK and we really have no idea what the impact will be on our wildlife. We do know, however, that concentrating our resources on extracting fossil fuel from the ground instead of investing in renewable energy threatens to undermine our commitment to avoiding dangerous levels of climate change."

Whatever your views about fracking I find the lack of Environmental Impact Assessment both alarming and foolhardy. I shall be signing the e-petition to Make Hydraulic fracturing/fracking Illegal in the UK  
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/40905

The Campaign against Fracking

The battle for Balcombe in Sussex has become headline news. The company Cuadrilla has a licence from the government to "look for oil and gas by conventional means" in a piece of woodland called Lower Stumble near the village of Balcombe in Sussex. But the company has said that they would apply for licences to use the chemical fracturing technique if the rock 2,000ft below fails to deliver. And therein lies the rub.

The rhetoric surrounding the issue of fracking is considerable from both sides of the debate. One key concern is the link between fracking and the possible detrimental impact on drinking-water aquifers, the bodies of saturated rock through which water can move easily. Water bearing rocks are permeable. Consider that for a moment. Chemicals are used in the fracking process. Is there any wonder that people are concerned about the significant damage this might cause?

Here is an article from the well respected Washington Post about fracking in Pennsylvania:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-official-links-fracking-and-drinking-water-issues-in-dimock-pa/2013/07/29/7d8b34b2-f8a1-11e2-afc1-c850c6ee5af8_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

And this from the BBC's political editor, Peter Henley:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23492213

And take a look at this:

https://www.facebook.com/gaslandmovie

It all concerns me a great deal...