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05/22/2012 07:34 PM

Government backtracks on fracking - Green Living - Enviro...

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Government backtracks on fracking Ministers decide there is not enough gas under UK to justify controversial 'earthquake' drilling MATT CHORLEY Send

SUNDAY 20 MAY 2012

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Related articles Leading article: No easy answers to green energy Fracking could bring UK 50,000 jobs, says Browne Tom Bawden: The energy revolution that may be on shaky ground Inquiry is set to say fracking made Blackpool rock Greater use of fracking is backed by UK's environment watchdog

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05/22/2012 07:34 PM

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The Government has rejected shale gas technology as a solution to Britain's energy crisis, conceding it will do little to cut bills or keep the lights on.

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Supporters of the fracking technology â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which blasts water, sand and chemicals at extreme pressures to release gas trapped deep in rock â&#x20AC;&#x201C; argue it could be the single greatest factor in transforming Britain's energy market, reducing our reliance on foreign imports and dramatically reducing costs. But The Independent on Sunday has learned that industry experts made clear at a meeting attended by senior ministers, including David Cameron and Ed Davey, the Lib Dem energy secretary, that the UK's reserves were smaller than first thought and could be uneconomical to extract. Now senior coalition figures have agreed that shale gas has the potential to be deeply controversial without securing major benefits in lowering carbon emissions or reducing energy costs. The revelation, ahead of the publication this week of major reforms of the energy market, will be welcomed by green campaigners who have been deeply opposed to clearing the way for a new generation of gas power plants, and voiced serious concerns about the environmental impact, including the potential for fracking to trigger earthquakes and contaminate water supplies. Joss Garman, from Greenpeace, said: "The shale gas bubble has burst. Despite all the hype, even the energy companies now acknowledge shale gas isn't the answer to Britain's energy needs. Ministers are having to face up to the fact that there isn't much of it, it won't bring down bills, and it's damaging to our climate." The Prime Minister convened the Downing Street summit to hear from companies including Shell, Centrica and Schlumberger, which have been working on shale gas projects in America and exploring the potential of supplies in Ukraine and China. The ministers were told Britain was not in a position to exploit vast amounts of its own shale gas stores. "The reserves aren't absolutely huge compared with the likes of America, Ukraine and North Africa," said a senior government source. "And we are relatively densely populated. It is a question of how much we can get out, and at what cost. There is a not-insignificant amount of domestic supply, but not a game-changing amount." Mr Davey now rejects the idea that a rush to bring shale gas online will have the biggest impact on reducing household energy bills. Speaking after the Downing Street meeting, he said industry experts were "clear that it would take time for shale gas to be exploited in the UK" and cautioned that the reserves "are not quite as large as some have been speculating".

05/22/2012 07:34 PM

Government backtracks on fracking - Green Living - Enviro...

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In 2010, a British Geological Survey estimated that, based on experience in the US, UK shales could hold 150 billion cubic metres of gas, equivalent to roughly two years' of UK demand. While some shale gas exploration in the UK could still go ahead, it will be "very cautionary", with tight regulations on both environmental impacts and the effects on people living near by. The energy company Cuadrilla Resources has admitted that operations to exploit a substantial shale gas field near Blackpool were responsible for two earth tremors a year ago. Mark Hanafin, managing director of the energy production division of Centrica, played down the UK's potential to cash in on the technology. "UK shale production... I think it's important and we should develop it, but I don't think it's going to be a game changer," Mr Hanafin said in Paris earlier this month, according to Dow Jones. A Shell spokesman said that "development will be a bit slower in Europe" because of problems of both geology and community impact. "UK shale gas is unproven geologically, but we are taking a look to see what the potential might be." On Tuesday, Mr Davey will publish the Government's long-awaited Energy Bill, promising that it will bring down energy bills and secure future supplies. He will make clear that Britain must not be dependent on gas, despite George Osborne's insistence in the Budget that "gas is cheap, has much less carbon than coal and will be the largest single source of our electricity in the coming years". Jennifer Webber, from the industry body RenewableUK, said the reforms must instead "ensure that the expansion of renewable energy is at the heart of our energy strategy". Send

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bobbellinhell Sir Keith, I think you'd better give orders for that shaft to be filled in straight away.

Val Brooker Not to mention the fact fracking contaminates and

05/22/2012 07:34 PM

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destroys natual underground water systems. For which most people in the UK get their drinking water. Perhaps that's the real reason for the USA pushing fracking, they want everyone in the UK forced to buy bottled water, no doubt from the poluted USA.

Solar Energy Experts Shale gas is clearly not a good energy solution for the UK because of the size of our population and the risks of earthquakes. Why bother taking the risk for only 2 years worth of gas? Finding (and funding) long term clean solutions has got to be the way forward IMO.

TommieWilliam On any controversial issues, people need to keep things in context, on the factual basis not their emotion. On the issue of unknown risks, this claims are kept being recycled in the popular media. The environmental risks of shale gas are ALREADY KNOWN. The only question is can it be regulated and prevented with proper and best practice. The answer is yes from scientific studies and professional experts (google it, they are all in the news) and worldwide evidence from hundreds of thousands of fractured gas/oil wells, in UK as well, that have proven to be safe and without issues, and only 3-4 cases in Wyoming where the well are shallow and due to faulty well construction. As for the call for a ban on any industries or new technologies on the basis of fears of unknown, well thats just counter productive and backward thinking and plainly obstructive in progress. No major civilisation advance has been made on the basis of unproven fears of the unknown. It has alway been done by overcoming those fears with the best possible practice and cautionary approach.

TristanPriceWilliams Maybe it would be a good idea to tell us when this load of half wits actually DON'T backtrack on a policy.

Sick_As_A_Dog Cheapest gas in the UK without doubt could be gathered by sealing all windows and doors in both Houses of Parliament, especially when large overblown windbags get up to speak in the Lords with a filibuster in effect, and the Commons when any of the 600 plus members rise to make a contribution. Simply create a gathering system for giant hot air balloons, and their contents when sealed, which could be delivered to even the furthest destinations by floating like a balloon.

05/22/2012 07:34 PM

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Warning though, unlike natural gas, there is no guarantee that this methane will be odourless because as we all know, most of what is said and done in Parliament in recent years, usually stinks.

Sick_As_A_Dog I totally agree, however, I would substitute 'self-belief' for what it is, 'rich family arrogance'. They rarely live up to their assumed, and inbred arrogance, because they only succeed when things are pre-arranged, like daddy making 'friendly calls' as admitted by hopeless Clegg regarding his own first step onto an international career ladder. Without connections they all falling flat on their faces because there is no higher role in this country than PM and he ain't gonna ask Brown, even if he knew where he in turn was hiding, or Blair because he is even more devious than the naive Cameron and Gideon put together, as confirmed by his usual performance as a vulture creeping around the increasingly apparent carcases of both the coalition, and if Ed does not toughen up, Labour. Danger lurks, Mandelson has risen from the g.....This has always gone on, but now with communications and the net, hiding the truth becomes more difficult, and suspicions regularly turn into facts, with more and more frequency.We can all see Davey Boy hoping to appear tough by being sarcastic on PMQ's, because his jokes are all pre-scripted by young rich graduates, who, like he and Clegg, are without any real knowledge of the outside world, and it shows, more and more.Next predictable stage, even more panicky decisions as the Leveson Inquiry heads towards it's final witnesses and his report gets closer, and closer, and I for one do not believe the judge is pliable, in parallel, no doubt with News International likewise turning up the heat on the Tories in particular because Cameron, in his naivity, walked right into his own trap by setting up such an inquiry and it has backfired on someone who could prove a very,very dangerous enemy for Cameron in particular. Murdoch is not accustomed to losing what he wants.For us ordinary plebs, it is a pleasure to watch, gotta have some payback for the misery these idiots are creating.

Sick_As_A_Dog Hear, Hear.

ShaleGasExpert Nick Griffin of the BNP explains how bad tracking is for you. Strange bedfellows indeed, or does Frack Off need all the allies they can get? http://www.bnp.org.uk/news/nat...

Marianne Birkby

05/22/2012 07:34 PM

Government backtracks on fracking - Green Living - Enviro...

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Hurrah -Fracking is Dead! Long Live Fracking with Radioactive Bells On? The Forests Campaign and Fracking received sympathetic, whipping in, and at times blanket media coverage. Meanwhile the plan for a geological nuclear dump in CUmbria cracks on with the media buying the CONsultation spin that 'Cumbrians are in support' of uplifting the land with radioactive gases, irreversibly contaminating water supplies and condemning the Forests to transpiring radioactive carbon. But Hey - 'We' stopped the Fracking and the Forests Sell Off!! Two out of three ain't bad.

GoingForBroke High time too. Fracking, nuclear, coal, oil etc., etc., must all be banned to allow us all to prosper in our planned socialist utopia. Who needs cheap energy and competitive industry when we have so much dogma and ideology to keep us fed and to keep us warm in the future.

nomiso I guessing you don't live anywhere near Blackpool? Fool.

TommieWilliam Well, my parents live in Preston and they are all for a careful approach to shale gas exploration in the interest of the UK security and economy. We need to find out if it is a viable alternative to save us from increasing reliance on imported gas. Not everyone is a NIMBY kind of person by the way.

nomiso Well I actually live in Preston, and I feel it's not a safe enough alternative and smacks of sheer desperation.

SilentHunter I think the choice of his avatar is a bit of a give-away as to his intellectual capacity. ;o)

05/22/2012 07:34 PM

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andrew fox That's a shame. Now we will have to rely on others to provide energy for us at vastly inflated prices.

nomiso Yes, I'm absolutley distraught the countries environment won't be polluted further.

David Cage Based on what? So far we have only hearsay from groups living almost totally on subsidies from tax payers who would almost certainly lose these subsidies if there was a cheaper , reliable option instead of the expensive unreliable and ridiculous fake options like wind and PV. We need to have a sensible heavily monitored test site with enough public transparency to prevent the lying greedy slobs from distorting the picture. The greens I mean by this, even though you would mean the energy companies which is why a proper test is essential. without this any decision will be seen by more than half the population as green corruption if fracking is banned and the green minority group will be happy with this pandering to the deputy PM's wife's company's commercial interest in wind power.

nomiso Based on it's damaging effects to the local environment in the US. To consider such a environmentally impacting operation in this tiny, densely populated country is crazy. There is a reason why it's been outlawed in so many countires.

Donough Shanahâ&#x20AC;Ś Interesting. So you

05/22/2012 07:34 PM

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http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/go... discount the US EPA recent reports (and those of several others) that identified the chemical leaks from fracking operations as being down to 1. Conventional spills from haulage 2. Due to poor well casing. Indeed 1 and 2 also occur in conventional gas operations. Indeed the more stringent regulation has brought these instances down and will continue to do so in the future.

traineeanâ&#x20AC;Ś So how do you know that in this country we are not going to suffer from conventional spills from haulage and poor well casing?

julianzzz We do have a "green" government in the sense that it is totally inexperienced and in secret favour of the "Soylent Green" final solution for the care of the elderly and sick...Don't listen to what they say, look at what they are doing...

1pingu And if you want a peek at the future here it is,Soylent Green 2022, the population has grown to forty million people in New York City alone. Housing is dilapidated and overcrowded; homeless people fill the streets and line fire escapes and stairways. Food is scarce; most of the population survives on rations produced by the Soylent Corporation, whose newest product is Soylent Green, a small green wafer advertised to

05/22/2012 07:34 PM

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contain "high-energy plankton". It is more nutritious and palatable than the other varieties, Red and Yellow, but is in short supply, which leads to food riots.SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE

Dominic Hagan unless they renationalise british gas or form their own military gas exploration branch then all the money would go overseas anyway and we would only have seen a fraction. better to sort out the falkland islands properly and benefit from that oil source. we would make more money by withdrawing from the eu common fisheries policy and letting our fish stocks recover then exploit that.

julianzzz Ha! Ha! not a few weeks ago this paper paid the idiot Dominic Lawson to troll in favour of shale gas, and in support of his demented father and his antiquated lobbying!

Craig King The headline is a tad misleading. I see no backtracking there just a calming note regarding too grand expectations, for now. Gas is certainly going to play a huge part in Britain's energy future.

julianzzz Yes as in hot air from Parliament....

1pingu There once was a man from Slough*,Who got all his power from a cow,Collecting the gasWas a pain in the…..butt,But boy did his gas bills go down! ———————

NT86 Anyone keeping score on the number of u-turns by this government? I'm not sure if this change of heart over fracking is due to green groups or pressure by the Lib Dem side of the coalition.

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David Cage The big question is whether any MP or ministers who are direct or indirect beneficiaries of subsidies from wind or PV had any part in the decision. If the answer is yes then this should be looked at by the police or we will have firmly entered the banana republic status.

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