Taxpayers to fund fracking boreholes across UK – Guardian

Last Updated: November 23, 2014By
Snouts in the trough: Martin Rowson's Guardian cartoon goes straight to the heart of the matter - fracking isn't about ending the energy crisis, or even extracting shale gas in a reasonable way; it is about GREED.

Snouts in the trough: Martin Rowson’s Guardian cartoon goes straight to the heart of the matter – fracking isn’t about ending the energy crisis, or even extracting shale gas in a reasonable way; it is about GREED.

Hundreds of government-funded boreholes are set to be drilled across Britain to try to persuade the public that a looming shale gas boom can be developed safely, according to the Observer.

Sensors in the boreholes would detect possible water pollution or earthquakes caused by fracking and the information would be made public.

“We will be taking the pulse of the sub-surface environment and will reveal if things are going wrong, but also if they are going right,” said Professor Mike Stephenson, director of science and technology at the British Geological Survey, which would drill the boreholes. “The aim is to reassure people that we can manage the sub-surface safely.”

The plan, called the energy security and innovation observing system, will cost taxpayers £60m-£80m. It is awaiting final approval from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, where energy minister Matthew Hancock, a fracking enthusiast, holds another ministerial post.

However, the Green party MP Caroline Lucas accused the government of subsidising “dirty” energy firms. “There’s no justification for using public money to help the fracking industry pull the wool over people’s eyes. It’s another desperate attempt to quell legitimate public concern and may further undermine public trust,” said Lucas, who in April was found not guilty of public order offences after an anti-fracking protest in Sussex.

Learn more by reading the Observer article.

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12 Comments

  1. Joy Morby November 23, 2014 at 5:52 pm - Reply

    Feels like Murdoch is putting major pressure on his ‘boy’ Cameron on fracking here.

  2. creatorsnotconsumers November 23, 2014 at 6:15 pm - Reply

    Aren’t we, uh, Broke?

    • Mike Sivier November 23, 2014 at 6:35 pm - Reply

      No. Never were, either.

      • creatorsnotconsumers November 23, 2014 at 9:23 pm - Reply

        Indeed. By the way, FB have taken me down again Mike. I shall continue writing the letters but they’ll be posted by friends.

        • Mike Sivier November 23, 2014 at 10:03 pm - Reply

          Why has FB done that? More skulduggery?

      • creatorsnotconsumers November 23, 2014 at 10:19 pm - Reply

        Yep same guy, reported my new site and taken down in hours. He’s bragging about it on Facebook, despite dozens of people reporting him.

    • Ian Duncan November 23, 2014 at 7:56 pm - Reply

      No. We can print currency and raise taxes. (Not cut taxes for the very rich, which the government have done and they’re about to get away with something even worse is George Monbiot’s recent column in the Guardian is right)

  3. Jeffrey Davies November 23, 2014 at 6:16 pm - Reply

    nestles are rumping up their water supplies to the uk just so that the shops have enough uncontaminated waters to supply the market has poisened wells start to show asross britain shares are considered low at this time but expect a surge when the wells sorrupt the natural suplies jeff3

  4. casalealex November 23, 2014 at 7:05 pm - Reply

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfRkKcCs_YU&feature=youtu.be
    Fracking: Cameron’s most truthful speech yet?

  5. Ian Duncan November 23, 2014 at 7:54 pm - Reply

    The Tories must be having some kind of internal competition to see if they can be he most arrogant, loathsome, disgusting, repellant, destructive government in British history.

    • Mr.Angry November 24, 2014 at 6:21 am - Reply

      They have already achieved it no longer a competition, liars every one of them, never witnessed such chaos, harm and destruction and death in my sixty three years. It is hard to take in what they have actually done, it is like a horror story. The nazis could learn from this shower, pure evil.

  6. Tony Dean November 24, 2014 at 1:02 pm - Reply

    I can’t help but ponder this song is as a relevant today as it was back then:-

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr__rRGWVgI

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