Gisteren berichtte the Canary dat een deel van Londen kans loopt om te worden omgewoeld voor schaliegas winning. Ondanks dat schaliegas gepaard gaat met meerdere boorpunten op een kleine plek, er een enorme hoeveelheid water chemisch wordt verontreinigd bij het fracken, grondwater bewezen wordt verontreinigd, er grote hoeveelheden methaangas (een sterk broeikasgas) vrijkomen en het als in Groningen aardbevingen veroorzaakt, had de regering Cameron en daarmee de huidige regering May geen bezwaar tegen deze vorm van gas- en oliewinning……

Telkens weer wordt gesteld (ook in Nederland) dat schaliegaswinning lucratief is, echter dat is een grove leugen. Als alle kosten meegerekend zouden worden, valt de winst behoorlijk tegen, sterker nog alle kosten in rekening genomen, ‘levert’ het juist een groot verlies op…. Zo zijn er de kosten voor het schoonmaken van het bij Fracken gebruikte water (in de VS mag dit gewoon geloosd worden in de oceaan), het herstellen van de plekken waar geboord is en het verstevigen van de huizen tegen aardbevingen, zoals in Londen zou moeten gebeuren………

Bovendien wordt er nooit rekening gehouden met de enorme kosten die de klimaatverandering, mede aangejaagd door gaswinning (zoals gezegd het lekken van methaangas) en het gebruik van fossiele brandstoffen, met zich mee zal brengen…….. Daarnaast geeft de VS kapitalen aan subsidie voor schaliegas en schalie-oliewinning, iets dat in GB waarschijnlijk ook gebeurt……

Now
even London isn’t safe from one of Theresa May’s most despicable
plans

du

JULY
12TH, 2017  STEVE
TOPPLE

One
of Theresa May’s government’s most controversial policies could
be coming to London. And it’s a move that has already sparked
outrage among politicians and residents alike. Because the plan
seems, on the face of it, like an absolute catastrophe.

You
fracking what?

An
energy company has claimed it’s
found natural gas deposits worth millions of pounds beneath an
industrial estate in North West London. And the company, London Local
Energy (LLE),
is looking to extract the fuel by fracking the area.

LLE
has developed its theory that an area below Artesian Close
Industrial Estate in Willesden could hold gas deposits after
researching the discovery of oil at Stonebridge Park in 1912. And LLE
now wants an exploration licence from the the Oil and Gas
Authority (OGA) to drill underground. But currently the OGA is not
accepting any new bids for exploration licences.

Frack
London

This
hasn’t stopped LLE theorising over the possibilities of fracking
London. Chief Executive Nick Grealy said:

We
want to speak to everyone about this, including businesses and
residents. If everyone said ‘no, this is not a good idea’ then at
least we have tried. But we need to have this conversation. Fracking
is not a dirty word. Why does fracking have such a stigma when
90 per cent of people don’t know what it is? The shale revolution
in the US is barely 10 years old but now over 70 per cent of US gas
comes from shale.

Very
fracking concerned

But
locals disagree. Business owner Mordechai Chachamu said “I
do not see any prospect of this happening. Once people in the
neighbourhood hear about it they will be in revolt”. And Brent
Labour councillor Zaffar
Van Kalwala said he
was “very concerned” about the prospect of fracking in Willesden:

…which
is one of the most densely populated areas in London. Residents are
already having to deal with high levels of air pollution. We should
instead be focusing on building for the future and leading the way on
renewable energy by providing jobs and opportunities, especially for
young people in a cleaner and greener London.

Fracking
pros and cons

The
idea of fracking taking place in London may be worrying to many
people. And campaigners would say that the public should have every
right to be concerned. Because fracking has been linked to:

• Contamination
  of groundwater.

• Methane
  pollution and its impact on climate change.

• Air
  pollution impacts.

• Exposure
  to toxic chemicals.

• Blowouts
  due to gas explosion.

• Large
  volume water use in water-deficient regions.

• Fracking-induced
  earthquakes.

But
supporters of fracking say that
the process:

• Gives
  greater access to oil and gas supplies.

• Has
  direct and indirect economic benefits.

• Gives
  countries energy independence, making them less reliant on imports.

• Increases
  employment, and can also decrease air pollution.

No
fracking way

As The
Canary has
been documenting,
attempts at fracking in Lancashire have prompted a backlash from
locals and campaigners alike. This includes accusations of
the police and private security firms using “brutal” and
“violent” force to try and stop protests. If this can happen in a
small, Lancashire village, then any fracking that is attempted in
London will likely be met with a considerably larger opposition.
Because, amongst other concerns, the potential risks surrounding
water contamination and earthquakes could be huge.

But
with the OGA not permitting exploration licences at present,
currently LLE’s idea is going to stay just that. And the gas will
continue to remain in the ground. For now