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David Franklin |
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Regular Posts: 80  | Should Transition have an official opinion on fracking? Should Transition Black Isle have an opinion? http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-09-26/the-big-debate-is-ther... | ||
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| John Wood |
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Regular Posts: 79 Location: Cromarty | So far Transition Black Isle has not published a 'formal opinion' on fracking, but this seems to me to be an issue that is very much within our concerns. Fracking (and Arctic drilling) are reactions by the oil industry to peak oil, and they both ignore the issue of global warming. So I think we should have an opinion as TBI, and I will raise this issue. Whatever Transition Dorking might say, personally I think it is an utterly terrible development and I hope the Scottish government will ban it altogether. You could hardly get a less 'green' approach to energy. However I agree with them that the issues need bringing out and debating, and we have to base our positions on evidence rather than sentiment. I certainly do not agree with George Monbiot's support for nuclear power, but I like the quote from him that “using shale gas as a ‘bridge’ to a low-carbon economy is like using chocolate fudge cake as a bridge to a low-calorie diet.” To me the answer has to be to start decentralising electricity production and seriously reducing our demand for all forms of energy. I think that would be a better focus for research and development than fracking. Who would have thought a few years ago that I could replace my halogen light bulbs with LEDs and get better light for a tenth of the wattage? | ||
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| Anne Thomas |
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Extreme Veteran Posts: 319  | This is what I sent to the press on behalf of Friends of the Earth Inverness and Ross. I think quite a few Transition folk saw Gasland 1. I'm looking out for Gasland 2 to be on general release. It seems to just be on tour at the moment. Can you replace a stream? The arrest of anti fracking protesters in Sussex last week made the watching of the film 'Gasland' (1) by local campaign group Friends of the Earth Inverness and Ross particularly topical. Co-ordinator, Anne Thomas commented. 'We saw what has really happened in America. There are numerous cases of contaminated ground water, poisoned streams and so much methane coming out of taps that people can set light to it. Whole communities and areas of the country have been devastated'. 'Following a discussion afterwards we decided we would rather have a nuclear power station and that is saying something. Once ground water is contaminated by the fracking chemicals which include a number of known carcinogens and neurotoxins it is virtually impossible to clean it. All fracking wells will eventually leak, some immediately. We learnt that each frack requires 200 tankers of water, only half of which is collected. The rest has the potential to migrate into aquifers'. Managing director of Waterwise, Jacob Tompkins was quoted as saying "The good thing about groundwater is that generally it is very clean, but once it is contaminated, it is unbelievably difficult to remediate' (2). The water that is collected has to be stored somewhere, or evaporated into the atmosphere causing more pollution. The group thought that he police should be protecting the public from the likes of Caudrilla. Many energy experts anticipate that fracking will probably not even reduce the price of gas here in the UK. The price reductions in America are only the result of a financial bubble which will burst. Meanwhile in America the Environmental Protection Agency has been rendered impotent as Fracking was exempted from the clean air and clean water acts during the Bush administration. It seems the same short term interests of big business have bought our own government's support. Anne Thomas asserts 'Clean water is priceless. It is incredible that it should be traded so lightly. Investment in energy efficiency and renewables including the now cheapest form of energy; anaerobic digestion of sewage should be the priority. Fracking should form no part of our energy policy and has been banned in many parts of the world (3)' The film was made in response to the quest of one man, Josh Fox. who was offered $100,000 for fracking rights to his beautiful unspoilt woodland and stream North of New York. He journeyed round other areas of the US which had experienced fracking, meeting a wide range of people as he did so. Many of them thrust water samples into his hands asking him to find out what was in it. When it was analysed the results horrified him. 750 chemicals (4) have been used in fracking including known carcinogens. In addition, radioactive markers are used to show where the fracking fluid has gone and heavy metals are often flushed from the deposits containing oil and gas. Not all the methane is extracted. Some of it bubbles into water supplies and some is released into the atmosphere. Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Both contribute to climate change. The film showed a contaminated stream where all the fish and surrounding animals had died. Josh Fox had an interview with one government official who tried to reassure him that any contaminated water would be replaced. He asked him 'how much water can you replace? Can you replace a stream?' Anne concluded 'Let's hope our government comes to its senses and stops the drilling in the UK'. 1) http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/ 2) http://www.edie.net/news/4/Fracking-potential-risk-to-fragile-UK-wa... 3) http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/sites/files/joint_rioplus20_fracking... 4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_additives_for_hydraulic_fractu... | ||
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