Today, a government report on Fracking has said that the two small earthquakes last year near Blackpool were caused by the activities being carried out by Cuadrilla, but it is safe to continue drilling, because the risks can be managed.
This completely ignores all the other problems with fracking that have been clearly shown in other places where it has taken place. Friends of the Earth have produced a briefing on this, which very clearly explains our position.
Executive Director Andy Atkins also said today:
“We don’t need earth tremor-causing fracking to meet our power needs – we need a seismic shift in energy policy.
“Earth tremors aren’t the only risks associated with fracking – it’s also been linked to air and water pollution and produces gas that causes climate change.
“There should be a full scientific assessment of all the impacts of fracking – a short consultation on one of the problems is completely inadequate.
“We should be developing the huge potential of clean British energy from the sun, wind and waves, not more dirty and dangerous fossil fuels.”
This issue is hugely controversial and has already caused some large protests across the country. If we burn all the shale gas that could be exploited, not only will there be likely local environmental problems, but we will also ensure that CO2 levels in the atmosphere rise so high as to make it impossible to stop runaway climate change.
