Jump to content

Fracking gets green light


Recommended Posts

Cheers, I thought it was a bit odd for you to be following any hysteria.

 

The chemicals issue is fair point but ISTR that there is some overreaction on this one from what I've read before. Will have to re-research it. We store industrial chemicals all over the place without any passing concern so that's not an issue. If Joe Public knew that there are vats of arsenic and radioactive materials stored all over Sheffield they would be fleeing to the hills. :)

 

Water will be subject to license / agreement with the EA / WaterCo's. I've not heard of any supply / abstraction issues and I'm happy to trust them unless I hear otherwise.

 

(It's nice to have a grown up exchange on this :))

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers, I thought it was a bit odd for you to be following any hysteria.

 

The chemicals issue is fair point but ISTR that there is some overreaction on this one from what I've read before. Will have to re-research it. We store industrial chemicals all over the place without any passing concern so that's not an issue. If Joe Public knew that there are vats of arsenic and radioactive materials stored all over Sheffield they would be fleeing to the hills. :)

 

Water will be subject to license / agreement with the EA / WaterCo's. I've not heard of any supply / abstraction issues and I'm happy to trust them unless I hear otherwise.

 

(It's nice to have a grown up exchange on this :))

 

I've read up a bit on it. I know the industry spins a picture of a high level of safety but there are plenty of examples of issues in the USA. We have to hope that it will be better controlled here because the margin for error just isn't there due to the proximity of the proposed sites to population centres.

 

The bottom line for me is that if the fracking liquid is safe then why is such an eleborate system of control needed? The exploration companies know that 1-2% of the liquid is highly toxic. They also know that the seismic and water table arguments are a gift to them - those arguments can be won easily and they deflect attention away from the potentially highly polluting surface operations at fracking sites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've read up a bit on it. I know the industry spins a picture of a high level of safety but there are plenty of examples of issues in the USA. We have to hope that it will be better controlled here because the margin for error just isn't there due to the proximity of the proposed sites to population centres.

 

The bottom line for me is that if the fracking liquid is safe then why is such an eleborate system of control needed? The exploration companies know that 1-2% of the liquid is highly toxic. They also know that the seismic and water table arguments are a gift to them - those arguments can be won easily and they deflect attention away from the potentially highly polluting surface operations at fracking sites.

 

There is enough chemical pollution to worry about in the toxic tanks at Parkwood landfill, perhaps you should concentrate your fretting there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is enough chemical pollution to worry about in the toxic tanks at Parkwood landfill, perhaps you should concentrate your fretting there.

 

That's not a very good argument for introducing more pollution risks

 

---------- Post added 14-12-2012 at 10:46 ----------

 

Lots of industries are potentially highly polluting. We put in controls and measures to ensure that it doesn't happen, and if an accident does occur we deal with it and the company pays for it.

 

Indeed. And we should be grateful we don't have more accidents.

 

But there needs to be some perspective on the scale of what is proposed with fracking. 800 sites planned by Cuadrilla for fracking well heads in Lancashire. That's a fairly rapid introduction of potentially hazardous industrial sites on a scale not seen for decades in this country.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's not a very good argument for introducing more pollution risks

 

---------- Post added 14-12-2012 at 10:46 ----------

 

 

Indeed. And we should be grateful we don't have more accidents.

 

But there needs to be some perspective on the scale of what is proposed with fracking. 800 sites planned by Cuadrilla for fracking well heads in Lancashire. That's a fairly rapid introduction of potentially hazardous industrial sites on a scale not seen for decades in this country.

 

In which case turn your computer off the power source is polluting the planet, you can't have it both ways.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having a computer switched on is the worst argument I've heard in favour of fracking.

 

Having the power to run the computer is the best argument made for the development of power sources,

where is the hand wringing for the pollution caused by wind farms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.