The New, Extraordinary Claims about Fracking

The subject of fracking has left the front pages, for now, but the announcements and discussions of Monday have left me troubled.  Government and industry supporters have spoken airily of the financial benefits and the American experience, of the limited impact on communities and the resulting energy revolution, but their accompanying admissions, which largely went unnoticed, were extraordinary. The British government has said it is determined to press ahead with fracking to the greatest extent possible, even though they do not know, according to Energy Minister Michael Fallon, if the shale gas can be accessed or extracted; what the costs will be; what the impact will be on the environment; how much gas can be obtained nor how long it will last; and how much it will reduce energy bills if at all. Unlike the US (where there have been energy benefits but increasingly serious problems are coming to light) gas extracted in the UK has to be shared within the whole of the EU, and so only a small proportion of British shale gas would benefit the country from which it came. Other experts, such as Lord Brown of fracking company Cuadrilla, warn that fracking would not benefit the economy, and that extraction will prove very difficult with considerable impact on water resources and the way of life of the towns and villages affected. [caption id="attachment_2322" align="alignright" width="150"] Anti-Fracking Poster[/caption] In the face of such serious uncertainties, why is the Government so committed to a policy which, if it fails - which everyone agrees it might- would leave scarred countryside and communities, all for nothing? Meanwhile, Total, the drilling giant that will undertake most of the fracking here, is from France, a country which repeatedly has banned shale gas extraction from its land because of the inherent dangers and damage to the countryside. It was distasteful to hear council spokespersons reject the government's offer of money in return for planning permission to frack, not on the grounds of common sense in the face of so many unknowns, but because they wanted a bigger offer, and indeed fracking in the UK is all about money, like so many political rulings that are made these days, rulings that have a big impact on the lives of many people, men and women whose voice and wishes  are disregarded too often. David Cameron may discover he has made a costly mistake in disregarding the strength of feeling there is in Britain about a number of decisions, past and present, about which citizens feel deeply unhappy. Immigration, The High Speed 2 Rail Link, the badger cull, and his administration's disregard for the countryside and wildlife, have combined to alienate many thousands of Conservative voters, and fracking may prove to be the most unpopular policy of all. It seems to me to be political madness, as well environmental desecration. The people of Britain are not fools; they hear the extraordinary claims to do with fracking with scepticism, and they are ready to express their doubts as most of this green and pleasant land is deemed to be fracking country. This is just the start of the story.

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