On 19 Dec 2011 at 11:37am someone else wrote:
Caudrilla, the company which is alleged to have caused an earth tremor near Blackpool through the process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for shale gas, has been granted a licence to carry out test drilling at Balcombe in Sussex.
The arguments against fracking are that:
i) It may cause earthquakes
ii) It may cause contamination of the water supply
iii) The process uses vast quantities of potable water, in an area where we're already struggling for water supplies.
I'm no Luddite, which is why I said 'may cause'. Caudrilla argue that the Blackpool earth tremor was a freak one-off and won't happen again. But we just shouldn't be doing this until all the geological facts are known. This is a link to an e-petition calling for a moratorium on fracking:
Check it out here »
On 19 Dec 2011 at 11:41am someone else wrote:
And this has details of the Balcombe site. It's a couple of miles from Balcombe rail tunnel, part of which collapsed recently. Allowing this process here is lunacy.
Check it out here »
On 19 Dec 2011 at 5:59pm Deelite wrote:
Can anyone who knows the geography around there confirm that the site is close to the source of the Sussex Ouse? The ariel view on the site shows what look suspiciously like the Ouse very nearby. If so, that doesn't seem like it can be a good thing.
On 19 Dec 2011 at 7:53pm Can't wait! wrote:
Fantastic! There's enough tar sands oil alone, mostly in Canada to last for another 300 years at current consumption levels. Factor in the susnstantial proven reserves below Lancashire, Hampshire and Sussex and all the peak oil apologists are going to have to find another bandwagon - bring it on!!
And yes, I work in the industry and live in Lewes - spot the heratic!
On 19 Dec 2011 at 9:16pm stig of the dump wrote:
What's a 'heratic' and what do you do in the industry? I guess it does not involve writing reports (or possibly anything that requires any intelligence)?
On 19 Dec 2011 at 10:40pm Southover Queen wrote:
I'm with you, Stig. What a stunningly stupid post.
Why do we have to use all the oil anyway, when it's quite clearly destroying the planet. Not just its extraction, but its consumption: why not organise ourselves so that we don't have to use so much?
On 20 Dec 2011 at 7:37am Confused wrote:
Someone else - exactly which part of Balcombe Tunnel collapsed please?
On 20 Dec 2011 at 10:17am some0ne else wrote:
Confused - I don't know. All I know is that trains were halted for half a day or so last month because brickwork fell from the tunnel roof overnight after heavy rain. I'm not saying it's high risk; I'm just saying that it's evidently a pretty fragile Victorian structure.
On 20 Dec 2011 at 11:12am Southover Queen wrote:
A quick google suggests that what happened was that some bricks came loose threatening a collapse and the tunnel was closed for emergency repairs. Since it was built in 1840, is nearly a mile long and forms a vital part of the Brighton mainline it is obviously crucial to the rail infrastructure in Sussex. But obviously if you can make money from causing earthquakes then it should be allowed to continue, of course it should.
Check it out here »
On 20 Dec 2011 at 2:46pm citizen wrote:
It's fantastic that people are wakingup to fracking before it gets going here. Other countries like France have put a moratorium in place. It's a potential nightmare. Now that conventional fossil fuels have become more expensive it's becoming worth speculators and investors to develop other 'extreme energy' such as fracking, mountain top removal, tar sands, deep sea exploration and so much more. Our response should be to make that transition to a low-carbon future asap.
On 20 Dec 2011 at 3:27pm Southover Queen wrote:
Couldn't agree more, citizen.
On 20 Dec 2011 at 7:30pm Oil Junkie. wrote:
No we must have more oil,who cares about the world who cares about the water or the air.Who cares about our children`s future?Not me f**k `em all.The only things that matter are money and oil,oil and money,the black stuff and the green stuff.I WANT MORE!MORE MORE MORE.