Fracking is a tricky one for me. The part of me which is inclined to wear the occasional sandal recognises the issues with encouraging the use of any additional fossil fuel resources, especially when the government appears to have a will to move away from renewables. The many anecdotal reports of environmental damage resulting from hydraulic fracturing, such as groundwater contamination and earthquakes, not to mention the inevitable greenhouse gas emissions, give this side of me pause. After all, I quite like the environment.
A slightly more pragmatic internal voice screams about the economic benefit of domestic fuel production and independence from some slightly undesirable political regimes from whom we currently get our fix. Doubtless, the majority of objections are from the same people who don't want wind farms within ten miles of their houses, as they will "detrimentally impact the character of the landscape".
A third voice in my increasingly crowded psyche has only the most fleeting regard for the opinions of the other two. Its only desire is to see the peer reviewed scientific paper pertaining to the matter at hand, such as whether there is any statistical data to support anecdotal reports of groundwater contamination, and whether the particular mechanisms employed in fracking can be responsible. It also has some rather scathing things to say about the feasibility of Star Trek, but I'll save that for another blog.
I intend for this blog to strike a balance between these often contradictory perspectives, with a particular view to finding the empirical evidence behind the various claims surrounding fracking, if indeed such evidence exists. As a UK citizen I will have a particular focus on the matters of policy and geology which pertain to this green and largely pleasant land, with reference to other countries where fracking has already been employed more extensively. Perhaps by the end of this I'll even be bold enough to give up my fracking agnosticism and form a real opinion.
Stay tuned for the next exciting instalment, where you will be treated to such joys as:
- Fracking! What actually is fracking? How does one "frack?"
- Shale gas! Where would I get this shale gas from? How did it get there in the first place?
