Fracking to resume

In an extraordinary development, the UK government has made a sensible decision on fracking, ruling that drilling by Cuadrilla can go ahead.

An independent panel commissioned by the government said the controversial method of obtaining natural gas should no longer be permitted unless a strict new system is set up to detect warning tremors in the rock.

The controversial drilling method is now likely to be given the green light with Ministers set to accept the advice that it could be extended with new controls.

Expect any benefits to the consumer to be swiftly clawed back through tax increases.

Comments

[Mike Jackson]

Richard Drake
On terminology ...
I came across the phrase "eco-worriers" earlier today. It seems to have some potential for future reference.

[Richard Drake]

Mike: very nice, thanks. Will look for an opportunity to deploy.

[Snotrocket]

I emailed Evan Davis of R4's Today programme and complained that his treatment of the fracking debate was abysmal. I also sent him one of the long comments from the DT explaining (from an expert) just what was involved.

Credit where credit due, he took the trouble to respond. He said:

"I don't see any reason outlined in your note to call our coverage abysmal Philip. Many of your points were made by the scientist we interviewed.

"I think anyone listening would have got the impression that this is highly controversial and that scientists regard it as safe -- although only when done well."

I fail to see why it is any more 'controversial' than say, deep seam coal mining, or North Sea oil exploration. It is only 'controversial' because it queers (!!) the BBC's green agenda.

[SandyS]

I remember tremors when I was growing up in the Comrie area. I don't remeber there being a problem with them though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comrie

http://www.gateway-to-the-scottish-highlands.com/Earthquakehouse.html

[rickbradford]

The AGW thing seems to be dying, not with a bang but with an asthmatic sigh, like the neighbour's old dog who doesn't plod around any more looking for scraps.

But the regulatory framework is going to take ages to unravel -- in particular, the Australian carbon tax has been booby-trapped to make it hugely expensive to dismantle -- almost as expensive as removing those windmills, if no good use can be found for them.

The subsidies, the foreign climate aid, the bulging useless climate bureaucracy etc... it all takes heaps of time and money.

In typical Leftist fashion, they leave a scorched earth for those who follow.

[Jack Thompson]

I was quite pleased to hear the positive comments from the report's author on Today but he couldn't say anything about Evan Davis's question about the "several" reports of water contamination from the US including fire from the taps. The scientist went on to say this will probably be covered in a separate report to be carried out by the Royal Society - My heart sank.

[Robinson]

That comment about tax increases is spot on. What a mess my country is in!

[Richard Drake]

Jack Thompson: understandable but important not to lose heart. The Royal Society continues to include some great scientists and indeed engineers, some of whom don't want to consign the UK to the industrial dustbin of history. As Andrew has written in detail the climate change area was handled dismally from Lord May onwards in 2000. But the rot, though it set in, was also counteracted by 42 brave rebels, leading to a far better statement on AGW than in the days of Bob Ward as spinmeister. And shale gas isn't just about climate concerns, even for the most committed warmist. It's best to travel in hope and count one's spoons, to mix aphorisms :)