No surprises... Environment Agency Fracking Pie

[skyhuck]

No you said

 

"The only people who have the right to object to fracking are those who use no fossil fuel, anyone else is just a hypocrite IMO."

 

And a I strongly disagree.

 

I'm sure those around the world who have had their environment destroyed by the oil/gas industry, because their county is poor, unregulated and corrupt, would be more inclined to agree with me.

 

I would be much happier using fuel that we pay the FULL price for, rather than collaborating in the exploitation of the weak.

 

But hey thats just me, each to their own

[Woodworks]

I'm sure those around the world who have had their environment destroyed by the oil/gas industry, because their county is poor, unregulated and corrupt, would be more inclined to agree with me.

 

I thought it was the oil and gas companies that are behind fracking

[skyhuck]

I thought it was the oil and gas companies that are behind fracking

 

Obviously, but lets have them working here in our country where we can regulate them properly and if things go wrong its we who pay the cost, not the poor, weak, voiceless people of some far of land.

[Elmsdown Forestry]

Anyone actually been to a fracking site?

 

I've been to a few, some capped and inactive and balcombe when the protests were going on.

 

It can only be a good thing for the uk, ridiculously cheap energy and lots of it. I'm sure the EA are involved as caudrilla are heavily regulated for pollution control. Rightly so.

 

If or should I say when it becomes properly active in the uk the results will be benficial to our country.

[tree-fancier123]

fracking is no worse than building loads of new housing estates - like a concrete cancer spreading out across the countryside. Compulsory sterilization after x number of kids would help, the number x being negotiable dependent on the size of your wallet£, no that's not right

[easy-lift guy]

No you said

 

"The only people who have the right to object to fracking are those who use no fossil fuel, anyone else is just a hypocrite IMO."

 

And a I strongly disagree.

 

Do you think people that use no fossil fuel live in a cave or are they just visiting from another planet?. Skyhooks quote is very profound and spot on.

easy-lift guy

[the village idiot]

I find the whole thing hugely depressing. Fracking (to me) just smacks of greedy and increasingly desperate energy executives using their ill gotten influence and scare tactics to push through the latest risky environmentally damaging scheme in order to keep themselves and their shareholders' in the lifestyles they have become acustomed to.

 

Being the most 'intelligent' species on the planet has given us the false impression that we own the Earth, and that we have every right to destroy it in the relentless pursuit of growth. If length of tenure was used as the measure of ownership then the planet would actually belong to bacteria ( by many a country mile), and I'm sure they would be doing a much better job if we hadn't gone and evolved ourselves into existence.

 

I don't know what the answer is to our energy issues, but fracking is not it. We'll all have to accept the fact sooner rather than later that we don't actually have a given right to live the way we do and we will have to consume less energy. The system will also need to become less centralised with much more people generating their own power. I suspect that renewables would be able to provide for our more realistic energy needs if only the monumental sums of money being invested into schemes like fracking were redirected to the development of renewables.

 

I am no angel. I choose not to fly on environmental grounds but I do drive a van, use chainsaws, and have central heating, so there is much more work to do. Some use of fossil fuels is unavoidable at present, but if everyone took a bit more responsibility with their usage we wouldn't need to frack.

 

Please feel free to rip me to pieces. I am no expert on this subject and my argument is probably riddled with holes, but this desperate scrabble for the last remaining drops of fossil fuels at any cost just feels very wrong.

[difflock]

Folks, I agree with the post above and Skyhucks earlier "hypocrite" one too.

Case in point, a local basalt quarry closed about 10 year ago, there was a proposal to turn it into a Landfill site.

Local uproar, lots of A3 sized placards up on every telephone pole saying "No Dump".

More than ironic when right beside the pole at the lane end were a collection of Black Bins.

These self same NIMBY hypocrites are also vehemently anti incineration.

Or rather want, nay DEMAND! their rubbish be dumped elsewhere.

As an acquaintence was once wont to say "Does NOT compute"

2 other pertinent comments;

(i) Working for a LA, I absolutly know the ****-storm that kicks off if a bin lorry goes down for even 1 day.

(ii) Any Local Authority is beyond being trusted to run a competent and diligent recycling or disposal operation.

"needs must" and all that, multiplied by being unable to sack stupid/handless/careless/uncaring staff, at most all levels.

Marcus

[woodyguy]

Two issues here. To combat global warming we need to leave most of the fossil fuels that currently exist in the ground and not exploit them.Fraking is a big part of the problem as it allows exploitation of previously unusable fossil fuels.

 

The second bit though is pathetic. The Environment agency has thousands of employees. So they have a pension scheme. This scheme will have trustees who are duty bound to get a decent yield on those investments in order to pay the pensions for the well earned retirement of their employees. So of course some of their investments will be in the oil industry. Also probably in water, arms, light engineering, financial services and a broad range of sectors. Quoting ill thought through scurrilous smear pieces doesn't contribute much to the argument.

 

I do however agree about the revolving door for ex-ministers straight into the industries they regulated. That stinks.

[Woodworks]

Do you think people that use no fossil fuel live in a cave or are they just visiting from another planet?. Skyhooks quote is very profound and spot on.

easy-lift guy

 

" Do you think people that use no fossil fuel live in a cave or are they just visiting from another planet?"

 

No does it sound like I do?

TVI has put across where I stand. Good post Graham

 

Posted by skyhuck "Obviously, but lets have them working here in our country where we can regulate them properly and if things go wrong its we who pay the cost, not the poor, weak, voiceless people of some far of land."

 

Yes I agree to a point but let's face it if we get our hands on yet another cheap fossil fuel we won't stop using the unregulated countries supplies we will just continue to be wasteful with it all.

 

Tax fossil fuel to the hilt and force us into renewables would be my policy. It wouldn't be comfortable but it's going to have to happen sooner or later so lets make it sooner.