No surprises... Environment Agency Fracking Pie

[Mountain man]

I'm all for fracking, cheap energy under our feet.

[SteveA]

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.

 

Scurrilous smear pieces?.... or just the fact that the Environment Agency has serious conflicts of interest.

Environment Agency investing pension fund in industries it regulates is 'clear conflict of interest' - Green Living - Environment - The Independent

[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.

 

I was not implying that you lived in cave, however go ahead and try your suggestion of taxing fossil fuels to the hilt and you may very well be living in one sooner than you know. Continued taxation of existing technologies equals zero return for the companies actually creating new technologies in the first place.

 

Fossil fuel companies that depend on consumers to purchase product at a fair market value are left paying more via punitive taxation which is passed back onto the consumer in the form of higher prices:thumbdown:

 

The free market can and will decide the market for any product if allowed to do so with out additional government interference, regulation and taxation.

 

I realize that the government of the UK through taxation pays for more social services than here in the US, however don't be led to believe that same government won't be willing to tax as much if not more if fossil fuels did not exist tomorrow. Just remember the government does not produce anything.

The fact that it merely exist to support its employable staff and constiuants and at times provide a national defense force is the only reason for its existence.

easy-lift guy

[the village idiot]

I was not implying that you lived in cave, however go ahead and try your suggestion of taxing fossil fuels to the hilt and you may very well be living in one sooner than you know. Continued taxation of existing technologies equals zero return for the companies actually creating new technologies in the first place.

 

Fossil fuel companies that depend on consumers to purchase product at a fair market value are left paying more via punitive taxation which is passed back onto the consumer in the form of higher prices:thumbdown:

 

The free market can and will decide the market for any product if allowed to do so with out additional government interference, regulation and taxation.

 

I realize that the government of the UK through taxation pays for more social services than here in the US, however don't be led to believe that same government won't be willing to tax as much if not more if fossil fuels did not exist tomorrow. Just remember the government does not produce anything.

The fact that it merely exist to support its employable staff and constiuants and at times provide a national defense force is the only reason for its existence.

easy-lift guy

 

We may well end up in caves but more likely due to the fact that we have heated up our own planet to the point where it is too hot to exist outside! There'll be no water to cool us down either as it will have all been laced with chemicals and pumped into the ground to release the shale gas so we can warm the Earth even more.

Sounds bonkers but it is the path we are on.

[Chopper Edoff]

It's too late too change anything now - it's all unreformable. As long as bankers can invent money out of thin air, which governments can use to completely destroy all markets and feck up everything. Full speed ahead I say, pedal to the metal, trash, drill regulate, tax away coz this mother is going down and there ain't no stopping it, so lets just get it over with and back to some common sense as soon as possible.

[easy-lift guy]

We may well end up in caves but more likely due to the fact that we have heated up our own planet to the point where it is too hot to exist outside! There'll be no water to cool us down either as it will have all been laced with chemicals and pumped into the ground to release the shale gas so we can warm the Earth even more.

Sounds bonkers but it is the path we are on.

 

Ok.

Weather and climate is cyclical.

 

70% of the earths surface will not disappear due to man or anything else, real or imagined.

 

Nature produces more chemicals and gasses from naturally occurring events like Volcanoes and other events that occur naturally and have been since before man to the present and beyond.

 

For many reasons man will continue to exist and thrive if given the chance and left alone by government.

easy-lift guy

[the village idiot]

Ok.

Weather and climate is cyclical.

 

70% of the earths surface will not disappear due to man or anything else, real or imagined.

 

Nature produces more chemicals and gasses from naturally occurring events like Volcanoes and other events that occur naturally and have been since before man to the present and beyond.

 

For many reasons man will continue to exist and thrive if given the chance and left alone by government.

easy-lift guy

 

Phew! That's alright then. Makes you wonder what all the fuss is about.

[woodyguy]

What's scary is that a significant proportion of Americans actually believe that there is nothing changing and if it is its not caused by man.

 

As to the original question, the Independent piece at least carries the quote from the EA. If their pension scheme is the worst thing about them then I'm not too worried.

 

quote below

An Environment Agency spokesperson said it "does not hold shares in any listed companies. Like many pension funds, The Environment Agency Pension Fund invests in a wide range of companies and these assets are completely separate from the Environment Agency. The day-to-day management of the fund and selection of companies is delegated to external fund managers who have no access to information regarding the EA’s regulatory activities. The fund operates transparently and is recognised as a global leader in responsible and sustainable investment."

[gmeneaud]

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.

i worked on a frac. site in oklahoma in 2012.the actual site area is not so big,say three or four football pitches.while the actual drilling is in progress there is continual site traffic which can and does include heavy trucks.when the wells have been drilled and completed the drilling equipment goes elsewhere. then,the fracking trucks and associated paraphernalia move in.this is a big operation and anyone living nearby would almost certainly "know about it". then of course the gas has to be moved from the wellsite.

[eggsarascal]

What's scary is that a significant proportion of Americans actually believe that there is nothing changing and if it is its not caused by man.

 

As to the original question, the Independent piece at least carries the quote from the EA. If their pension scheme is the worst thing about them then I'm not too worried.

 

quote below

An Environment Agency spokesperson said it "does not hold shares in any listed companies. Like many pension funds, The Environment Agency Pension Fund invests in a wide range of companies and these assets are completely separate from the Environment Agency. The day-to-day management of the fund and selection of companies is delegated to external fund managers who have no access to information regarding the EA’s regulatory activities. The fund operates transparently and is recognised as a global leader in responsible and sustainable investment."[/quote

Edited March 15, 2015 by eggsarascal
Completely separate!