Weighing up pros and cons over the dash for shale gas

I HOPE readers and others will consider the effect that fracking, or the fracture of rock can have on our natural resources such as underground water supplies, and also on surface streams and rivers which are vulnerable to pollution or diversion.

With the over-population of our small island, and the limited resources of both water and land from which to grow our own food, how can we even consider allowing such possible contamination of our natural inheritance? It has caused mini earthquakes in Lancashire and scorched earth and firewater in America. For what? To make a few millionaires even richer? All at the expense of natural heritage. This is short termism at its worst. We may feel the results of fracking 50 or more years hence.

Do we want to leave this kind of inheritance to our children and grandchildren?

Now for the proposed upside. It is stated it will create jobs. It will for the lawyers certainly (lots of disputes). Also, some mucky and dangerous jobs.

Will it give cheap energy? Not so, according to one of the fracking executives. The energy will be sold on the world market at the highest price possible, so no joy for Britain there, then. The Inland Revenue should be able to skim a few quid off the fabulous profits made.

Well, according to our PM, these people need encouraging to come and plunder our land. He will give them a tax incentive, little or no corporation tax. Reminds you of the bankers, doesn’t it?

From: Barrie Frost, Watson’s Lane, Reighton, Filey.

A FRENCH MEP, Jose Bove, has given his support and joined British activists protesting against fracking for shale gas, in West Sussex. What a surprise! Of course the French do not want fracking to succeed as French energy companies would lose a fortune if they could no longer sell us energy. Are we so dim to not realise this?

From: Paul White, Leeds.

I AM very strongly in favour of fracking. I think the case for fracking is overwhelming with 
the benefits being increase in jobs; boost to the economy; cheaper energy costs; alternative source of energy at a time when shortages and rationing seem highly likely; cash to local communities and proven in America in terms of safety and lower energy costs.

It is my view the sooner we start fracking the better.

It is important that the arguments in favour of fracking are published including reassurances about safety. It is a golden opportunity which we must take full advantage of and should not be wasted.

From: David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.

THE environmental protesters who hijacked that coal train near Drax power station deserved to be severely punished for their acts of business vandalism. No way should their convictions have been quashed.

From: D Wood, Thorntree Lane, Goole.

READING your Editorial “Hot air over energy policy” (Yorkshire Post, January 18) and various other articles on wind farms, it is quite clear that you have swallowed the green agenda hook, line and sinker.

Carbon capture and storage will prove to be as big a white elephant as believing windmills can ever supply our electricity needs. CO2 is blamed for non-existent global warming. There has been no temperature rise for 17 years. Now let’s look at the maths. Some 93 per cent of CO2 occurs naturally, so that leaves just a total of seven per cent man-made for the whole world including the largest producers, the USA and China. Britain is responsible for just two per cent of the man-made total, so, taking the seven per cent worldwide as being 100 per cent of man-made CO2, that equates to Britain producing 0.14 per cent of all the CO2 present in the biosphere.

In other words, if we closed all our power stations (which the numpties in government, particularly Ed Davey, are quite happy to do), banned all cars and aircraft and everything else which emits CO2 we would save just 0.14 per cent of the world’s CO2.