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However you can't ignore the environmental concerns of people, especially since it appears that fracking is on the increase. The question I have is it possible to " over frack " ? We have a horrible reputation as a species for over - fishing, too much deforestation etc. Does anyone really know the limit? Also is the increase seismic activity in areas where fracking has been done a legitimate concern as well?
Then there's this.
I'm not ignoring the environmental concerns - but there's a difference between concerns and BS that's fed and perpetrated by parties with agendas.
Hydraulic fracturing has been going on for over 60 years. There have been over TWO MILLION wells fractured worldwide. Fracking is nothing new.
Nor is methane in water - fracking is not the only cause of such "flammable water." In fact, methane gas is common in water wells in Colorado and is often the result of naturally decaying matter (the famous scene in Gasland of the guy lighting his water was based on a guy in Colorado's experiences). The scene in the movie Gasland was proven to be falsified by the way. The water in that area had been flammable for years before any fracking took place there.
Of COURSE there may be environmental effects from fracking, especially if it's not well regulated and if those regulations are not enforced efficiently. Man's industries nearly always have environmental effects and we must expand and explore carefully. Mistakes can and will be made from time to time, as they are in any industry - and irresponsible behaviors should be prosecuted (and often are - the fines and regulations on this particular industry are more far reaching than the general public is aware of).
We have fracking going on in the county next door and the smell alone from the wells is terrible. We voted against having fracking in our county and so far it hasn't happened but our state's governor has said he will override the vote! Fracking not only damages the soil and water table, it crushes your property values because nobody wants to buy a property with this in their back garden.
You do know that once a well is "fracked" it's often only up and running for a few months. Then the land is returned to it's prior state.
In fact, my husband was recently working on a location in WV in the mountains. There were several wells there and the company built a large, and frankly beautiful, pond to catch rain water and melted snow water as a water source. When the fracking was finished and the wells were dismantled and capped, the company was told that they had to also dismantle the huge pond. The people in the area really wanted this pond to remain - the views were beautiful and it was on public land that the locals used for fishing and hunting. Nope. The EPA and the state insisted that it be drained, torn apart, and the area leveled again. It cost the company over 1 million dollars to build the pond and over a million dollars to dismantle it and level the land back out again and replant grasses and trees but of course they did so.
It was so ironic. That area has a very high unemployment rate. The gas companies offered jobs and training and compensation and transparency - they worked WITH the EPA and the local environmental groups, including groups that were very opposed to them and picketed their locations, chained themselves to trees and gates, etc etc - cursed the workers openly when they were in town, etc - but the same locals benefited from the leases, the business (hotels, restaurants, food trucks, industrial supplies, drivers, trucks, fuel, etc etc etc), even the big pond - not to mention the tax revenues and the infrastructure that the gas companies created. Then they cursed the gas companies when they were forced to dismantle the pond as well! It was crazy.
Several residents filed lawsuits complaining about "environmental damages" and the local opposition groups (this is coal country, remember) supported them whole heartedly, paid for attorneys, etc - but not one single person or family or entity was able to prove one iota of damage or harm caused by the fracking. Darryl Hannah even came out and tied herself to a tree! It was a very adventurous time in my husband's life.
Fracking may be necessary and prove eventually to be harmless in some area. But fracking is a risk !!! The UK does not need fracking at all. Tidal lagoons can give us all the 100% clean energy we want and need. Also the coasts of France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark and Norway are suitable for tidal lagoons. Tidal lagoons can be offshore a mile or two from the coast. Cheap energy for domestic and, commerce and industry will bring all the jobs we need, as they will be competitive.
Use reliable nature. The tides are predicable for 100 years into the future.
Fracking may be necessary and prove eventually to be harmless in some area. But fracking is a risk !!! The UK does not need fracking at all. Tidal lagoons can give us all the 100% clean energy we want and need. Also the coasts of France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark and Norway are suitable for tidal lagoons. Tidal lagoons can be offshore a mile or two from the coast. Cheap energy for domestic and, commerce and industry will bring all the jobs we need, as they will be competitive.
Use reliable nature. The tides are predicable for 100 years into the future.
You make a good point, the problem is politics. How do you spend a large amount of money now for a benefit that may not come for many years. It of course, makes total sense to you and I, but not to a politician focused on the here and now.
It is a case of having to do it. We can't keep relying on vo9lorile filthy fossil fuels. The knock-on benefits of the lagoons make them more than viable. The benefits of very cheap electricity at cost is enormous - keep the money making private sector away, as this is a monopoly, and keep energy prices as low as possible for all to gain. Then private enterprise will gain substantially. The benefits are immediate. All car can be 100% electric. This means the UK can have 100% electric cars. The UK then can be a world leader in EVs.
The shallow Dogger Bank in the middle of the North Sea can be a huge tidal lagoon complex and provide energy to many countries. Estimates are that 20% of the Irish Sea will provide all for the UK and Ireland, but best to have them all around the coast at flood prone points.
Unlike wind, tidal lagoons can provide energy 27/7 365. We have no option as the benefits are enormous.
If HMG can be sucked into multi-billion pound nonsense like high-speed rail, which has high levels of public opposition, they can be persuaded by multi-benefit, eco, tidal lagoons, which would have near 100% public backing.
Screw the big oil corporations.
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