Fracking in Sheffield?

[sgtkate]

I don't have issues with fracking per se, but I do have a major issue with how the government has gone about it in a seemingly underhand manner.

 

I am not blind or stupid enough to realise that the new currency will be gas/oil. We went to war over it so why are people surprised that we would be willing to risk earthquakes and water pollution over it.

 

Ultimately, do we have much choice? Even if we try to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels its not going to change overnight so we need to do something in the interim. We clearly cannot rely on Russia to supply us gas forever. Pick between:

- fighting more wars

- supporting Russia

- fracking

- huge detrimental change in lifestyle

 

I'm afraid I'd have to go with fracking, even if it does mean on my doorstep.

[TimmyR]

It's not the drilling/fracking that the local residents need to worry about, it's when the great unwashed, bone idle professional protesters turn up. That's when their problems really will start.

 

Protesting looks like a lot of hard work to me. Quite the opposite to bone idle. Also professional and bone idle don't really match. Bone idle is usually used to refer to people on benefits not professionals (not by me)

 

Also, the term "great unwashed" is usually used to describe the lower classes by the ruling classes not to describe protesters who would typically fit into the middle class left wing bracket (often accused of hugging trees). (not by me)

 

other than that your post was both informative and creative.

 

If you're going to use mindless cliches GET THEM RIGHT!

 

---------- Post added 21-08-2015 at 11:13 ----------

 

I don't have issues with fracking per se, but I do have a major issue with how the government has gone about it in a seemingly underhand manner.

 

I am not blind or stupid enough to realise that the new currency will be gas/oil. We went to war over it so why are people surprised that we would be willing to risk earthquakes and water pollution over it.

 

Ultimately, do we have much choice? Even if we try to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels its not going to change overnight so we need to do something in the interim. We clearly cannot rely on Russia to supply us gas forever. Pick between:

- fighting more wars

- supporting Russia

- fracking

- huge detrimental change in lifestyle

 

I'm afraid I'd have to go with fracking, even if it does mean on my doorstep.

 

Do we have a choice? Yes we develop and invest in renewable technologies and work to reduce our need for energy through building efficient homes and whatever else..

Edited August 21, 2015 by TimmyR

[Hedgehog50]

Where about at handsworth?

[sgtkate]

Protesting looks like a lot of hard work to me. Quite the opposite to bone idle. Also professional and bone idle don't really match. Bone idle is usually used to refer to people on benefits not professionals (not by me)

 

Also, the term "great unwashed" is usually used to describe the lower classes by the ruling classes not to describe protesters who would typically fit into the middle class left wing bracket (often accused of hugging trees). (not by me)

 

other than that your post was both informative and creative.

 

If you're going to use mindless cliches GET THEM RIGHT!

 

---------- Post added 21-08-2015 at 11:13 ----------

 

 

Do we have a choice? Yes we develop and invest in renewable technologies and work to reduce our need for energy through building efficient homes and whatever else..

 

I absolutely agree long and medium term we NEED to do this. I doubt that's in question by anyone except the most ardent of petrolheads, but short to medium term we cannot simply change overnight. Electric cars are starting to come through but we are looking at 10-15 years before they are mainstream. Power stations again, we cannot change those rapidly without horrendous costs so we will have to change slowly and adapt which will take time. I cannot see how we can stop relying on oil/gas within the next 25-30 years and that's optimistic. It's in plastics as well so we'd have to change nearly all packaging etc.

 

Nearly all of the renewable energy at the moment relies ironically on fossil fuels to make it and keep it running. Not to the same extent as running a coal fired power plant does mind you, but it's not so simply to just say we can stop using fossil fuels by switching to renewable.

 

If we'd taken action 20 years ago when the first big noises were being made by scientists about the dangers of both using fossil fuels to such an extent and also that we'd run out sooner rather than later then we'd not even be having this conversation about needing fracking. Easy to say with hindsight though isn't it?

[Annie Bynnol]

Where about at handsworth?

 

 

Handsworth and the surrounding places to the North, South and East are in an area where geologists predict that there is a strong possibility that recoverable and economic extraction of oils and gases exist.

The Government is selling licences to companies to explore the area and they will use various techniques including drilling to do this.

 

The company can then apply to the Government for another licence to extract these hydrocarbons.

The Government has to decide if the method of extraction is appropriate ('fracking' is a generic name for many types of extraction methods only some of which involve explosives as in coal mining). The decision is affected by local and environmental constraints.

[vwkittie]

Our ground water supplies are more important than gas, don't risk poisoning them. We only have one environment.

[Itrytoplease]

What stuck out for me was when the BBC interviewed a bigwig from one of the companies involved some 18 months - two years ago, the first thing he said was "Don't expect cheap gas as they have in the states, it's different here" I'd like to know how it's different?

 

Common sense tells me Oil, Gas and Water are natures way of preventing an earthquake on one side of the globe affecting the other, without it we will get the "Chinese Craddle" effect - Hit the first hanging ball and the last one moves with nothing inbetween to dampen the shock.

 

(is it a Chinese cradle)

[drummonds]

there is something that used to be talked about on the news but seems to have faded from view over the last decade or so. that's balance of payments. the difference between what we import and what we export. as a nation we export rather less than we import and pay the difference with sterling debt.

 

we can not carry on buying goods from abroad and expecting to pay with an iou. britain will soon become dependent for all its oil and gas from imports. it is not sustainable. once the lights start going out and our cars have empty tanks the opinion of gas and oil from under our feet will become rather attractive.

[alchemist]

Looks like the Dearne Valley already has several licenses issued. We'll see how this all develops, I find it bizarre that some of the PEDLs (the small squares on the map provided by Lancs_Lad) are slap bang next to schools, parks and villages, rather than out in the open.

 

This means that heavy traffic is set to start rolling should these explorative sites be converted into extraction sites. The Dearne valley can do with jobs, but is this what they need?

 

Can the Dearne Valley be choosy about the jobs it gets, surely they just want jobs?

 

What type of jobs does the Dearne Valley need?

[hamatik]

Let's keep buying gas off the Russians and ruining the Arctic/Antarctic (whichever one it is they keep destroying)?

 

I'm playing devil's advocate here really, not a big fan of fracking. It's a difficult situation though as it isn't really a good idea to keep funding the Russian state by buying gas off them.