But I found it much more shocking than that. Industry lobbyists testifying to US politicians that there is no need for regulation of fracking, because there is "no evidence" of any problems, anywhere. That they shouldn't have to disclose the chemicals used, because there are no problems.
This is just after we've seen Mr Fox talking to dozens of people with water which looks like tea leaves, or concentrated urine, or the oily remnants of a fry up. Families with water they can set alight, because natural gas is now one of the things coming through their taps. Pets with hair falling out. Prize-winning environmental scientists documenting connections between the chemicals being used in fracking and neurological disorders which some people in some parts of the US where fracking is happening are reporting.
Now I'm an evidence based kind of woman. Two scientist parents and a healthy streak of "why would that group want me to think that" gave me that. But I can think of no reason all of these people would be telling these stories of fracking unless they were true. And I can think of no reason on Papatuanuku why anyone in Aotearoa would support more fracking here unless they cared only about making money.
So I'm supporting Gareth Hughes in his call for a moratorium on fracking until we know it's safe. We know it causes "small" earthquakes, hardly of no concern for any of us in our shaky isles. We can celebrate the fact that Christchurch recently declared itself a no fracking zone.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if our world asked people wanting to profit from our land to prove their processes were safe? Or even more wonderful, that instead of continuing to pillage our land, we put resources into exploring and establishing alternative and sustainable fuel sources. It could happen here. Time to cycle to work.
6 comments:
That's terrible! Unfortunately there's a lot of people out there who only care about making money. :(
"So I'm supporting Gareth Hughes in his call for a moratorium on fracking until we know it's safe. "
Why a moratorium? Why not a flat-out ban? As you say, there's no reason for those people to lie, so we know it is unsafe...
Because it's bad science to go out and flat out ban something.
Just like its bad science to deny climate change.
There is not enough research, or hard data to ban fracking, if that data is found, then ban it, not before.
I just hope this debate will be decided by the factual evidence and not emotion.
We don't want another GE debacle.
Hey Brett - as I said above, I'm an evidence based person, so I do want us to know what fracking does before we decide - BUT I agree with Anti-Frack above, we have some hard data already. For me that hard data from Gaslands at least was based on the way fracking was done in the US. Are there other possibilities? I don't know enough about it to decide yet, hence my agreement with Gareth Hughes.
Brett, if we lived in an alternative universe where fracking was not proven to be unsafe you would have a point.
We know it is not safe. Watch the documentary. We know what fracking does. It causes earthquakes. It pollutes groundwater. Get rid of it.
Hasnt the only earthquake caused was a 1.5 and 2.3 in a small area?
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