Official Response from Frack Free Somerset, August 12th 2013

Frack Free Somerset unites with the people of Balcombe, Frack Free Sussex and all anti-fracking groups in the UK against David Cameron’s imposition of fracking on our countryside, people and planet.

Writing in today’s Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister has stated that fracking has “real potential to drive energy bills down”, but evidence from a Friends of the Earth study, using figures from key industry sources and economic experts, shows that shale gas could at best only represent 2-3% of the European gas demand in 2030, and could be up to three times more expensive to develop compared to the US. Even a Cuadrilla Resources spokesperson, Mark Linder, publicly stated at a meeting with Balcombe residents that the company’s analysis of the potential for reducing gas prices is “very small…at the most it’s a very small percentage…basically insignificant.”

Mr. Cameron has invited the British people to look at the United States, where with more than 10,000 fracking wells opening up each year, gas bills have reduced in recent times – however, what he doesn’t explain is that in the US, cheaper gas prices have come about because of the law of supply and demand – the economic recession has caused a lower demand for energy there, and with the US currently unable to export its gas, there is a glut depressing the market.

Frack Free Somerset questions the Prime Minister’s statement that “international evidence shows there is no reason why the process should cause contamination of water supplies or other environmental damage, if properly regulated.” In fact, evidence from the US shows that 30% of unconventional gas and oil well casings fail within 10 years, allowing the numerous chemicals involved in the fracking process to enter aquifers and poison the water supply. Peer-reviewed scientific data from both America and Australia also indicates that many of these air- and water-borne chemicals cause cancer, respiratory and reproductive health problems. ‘The List of the Harmed’ is a litany of more than 1,500 families directly impacted by fracking in Pennsylvania: http://pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com/the-list/

Finally, we repudiate the Prime Minister’s statement that the government is “not turning our back on low carbon energy.” By offering 50% tax breaks to fracking companies, his supposedly ‘greenest government ever’ is directly harming the development of renewables in the UK. Frack Free Somerset would like to invite Mr. Cameron to listen to his own Cabinet Minister for climate change, Ed Davey, who recently pointed to a survey of 12,000 papers by climate experts, of which 97% said human activity was driving global warming, and urged the media to stop “selectively misreading the evidence… so we can all relax and burn all the dirty fuel we want without a care.”

Frack Free Somerset understands that unconventional oil and gas is part of this ‘dirty fuel’, which is contributing to intense global warming, with changes in weather patterns and numerous impacts on humans and wildlife around the world. We believe that a more suitable pathway at this point in history, when the future of human life on Planet Earth hangs in the balance, might be the Wales-based Centre for Alternative Technology’s blue-print for a Zero Carbon Britain by 2030, which could enable us to we meet our carbon reduction targets and secure a sustainable world for future generations.

JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST FRACKING!

Local groups are the frontline of resistance to unconventional gas across the UK. On Sunday 18 August they will be coming together from all four corners of the UK to join with the people of Balcombe to show the world that we stand united in rejection of unconventional gas in our communities.

Coaches are traveling from across the UK to meet for a day of action, networking, skill sharing, friendship building and a March for a Frack Free Future at 3pm to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Balcombe.

Frack Free Somerset are organising a coach that will be picking up from across the South West.

Please email info@frackfreesomerset.org ASAP to book your place.

We will be collecting from the below locations on Saturday 17th August and returning Sunday evening.

1. Dorchester South Train Station 10am

Station Approach, Dorchester, DT1 1QX

2. Yeovil Bus Station, 10.45am

Yeovil, BA20 1LH

3. Frome, 11.45am

Main Central Car Park, BA11 1BE

4. Glastonbury, 12.30pm

Town Hall Car Park, BA6 9EL

5. Ston Easton Village Hall, 1pm

Ston Easton, BA3 4DE

6. Chew Magna, 1.20pm

Chew Magna High Street, BS40 8PW

7. Bristol Temple Meads, 1.45pm

BS1 6QF

8. Bath 2.15pm

North Parade, Bath, BA1 1LF

9. Balcombe 5pm (with comfort stop)

Balcombe, West Sussex, RH17 6JQ

For more information on the Great Gas Gala and want to bring visit: http://greatgasgala.org.uk/

Posted on: August 12, 2013