KCC’s Proposed modifications to the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan (MWLP) 2013-30. state that subject to certain conditions, planning permission will be granted for proposals associated with the exploration, appraisal and development of oil, gas and unconventional hydrocarbons. This blanket approach ignores the inherent risks of fracking which have been well documented around the world. The dangers are real and critical. Consultation on the subject has been buried in obscurely worded documents that will have successfully slipped below the radar of most of the residents of Kent. This is not an acceptable democratic approach. KCC must ensure they represent the views of the residents and land-owners of Kent before permitting any fracking activity to take place on Kentish soil.

Unconventional gas exploitation - "fracking" - is a ridiculous idea. The Government's arguments used to justify fracking are as follows: That it will create jobs, that it’ll bring down energy bills, that it’s good for our energy security and it's a transition fuel to a green energy economy. 1. That it will create jobs. A Department for the Environment and Climate Change’s (DECC) report estimated a maximum of 24,300 of them. Yet 400,000 jobs could be created by 2020 by investment in the clean energy sector. 2. That it’ll bring down energy bills like it has in the US. But the UK’s geology is more complex than in the US, which means that the process here will be uneconomic. Even if that wasn’t the case, unlike the US, the UK exports gas as part of a European gas market, and as fracking companies will sell to the highest bidder of these European countries, there could never be a guarantee that UK energy users would be the beneficiaries. 3. That it’s good for our energy security A House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee recommendation was that shale gas should not be relied on to contribute to energy security. An energy security expert has said the best way to reduce energy security risks is to promote renewable power generation, improve energy efficiency and reduce overall energy demand. 4. A transition fuel to a green energy economy. Department for Energy and Climate Change-commissioned report on fracking’s greenhouse gas emissions has been shown to be based on poor data and exaggeration. When the actual figures are factored-in, the report shows that burning shale gas to produce electricity is about as bad as, or very possibly even worse than burning coal! The arguments against fracking are so numerous: The UK’s geology is too complex for fracking to be safe or economic. The UK’s geography means we don’t have America’s wide open spaces away from the population or agriculture. Water contamination. The UN has listed seven different ways this can occur. The huge quantities of water required. The carcinogenic properties of the chemicals used. Air pollution. Earthquakes. Industrialisation of countryside and loss of agricultural land to roads, well-pads, pipelines, compressor stations and so on. Traffic/chemical spills/noise and light pollution. Impact on tourism. Even if none of the above applied this doesn’t discount the big one – climate change. A growing number of climate change scientists are recognising that to have any chance of us staying below the two degree increase in global temperature that is required to avoid catastrophic climate change, we have to leave 80% of all already discovered fossil fuels in the ground. So why does this government want to find more of the stuff if we can’t burn it? Not all governments are hell bent on fracking - far from it. There are bans or moratoriums on fracking in France, Germany, many American states, and at least twelve other countries worldwide. And there are attractive alternatives, particularly for the UK as we have the best renewable energy resources in Europe. That’s where our energy security is - and the 400,000 jobs to get our economy back on track. A policy of support for fracking is a vote-loser. As elected representatives of Hyndburn we the community call on you to say no to fracking and yes to keeping Hyndburn frack free?

Farmers are avoiding putting solar panels on the roofs of their barns, classed as agricultural buildings which are usually not taxed, as it can cause the building to be subject to council tax if any spare electricity is produced. For the sake of producing renewable energy and increasing income for farmers, allowing them to reduce food prices, the installation of solar panels should not count as a change of use and induce taxation.

Last month the government slashed and axed green energy subsidies because no money was left. But now the government is pushing full steam ahead with £17 BILLION subsidies for untested nuclear reactor at Hinkley. How can there be on rule for green energy and another for nuclear energy? If there is no money for green energy how can there be BILLIONS for nuclear? If there’s no money left why are we committing to subsidising a deal that’s been called as “economically insane” by city analysts and “one of the worst deals ever for British households and British industry” by Lord Howell, the pro-nuclear’ former Tory Energy Secretary. Agree with me that paying billions of pounds for nuclear energy is wrong? Please sign the petition now. There have been safety concerns over Hinkley. Two plants in Finland and France which use the same design, have been plagued with construction delays, spiralling costs and design flaws. Hinkley is under attack from not just from campaigners and community but also from one of our biggest banks. A report from HSBC on 2nd August 2015 warned that the massive cost was the new nuclear power plant was ‘becoming harder to justify.’ HSBC concluded: ‘We see ample reason for the UK Government to delay or cancel the project.’ The Hinkley deal is so outrageous and over-subsidised (£17 Billion), that ten green energy firms from Germany and Austria launched a legal challenge against it last month. Let’s not lavish the nuclear energy with billions of pounds while we’re cutting back from renewable energy because apparently the piggy bank is empty. The chorus of disapproval growing and if 38 Degrees members add our voice we could force the government to bin this bonkers plan.

people are freezing and starving to death due to extortionate costs of essentials

The Dept for Energy and Climate Change has just unveiled sweeping plans to slash subsidies to solar power. They are proposing measures that include cutting aid to small-scale solar power installations, and ending subsidies for roof-top panels earlier than expected. Solar and wind energy installations of less than 5MW are supported by feed-in tariffs - schemes that pay producers a subsidy for the electricity they generate, plus a bonus for any electricity exported back to the national grid. Under the new proposals, the amount to be paid from next year will fall to 1.63p per kilowatt hour from a current level of 12.92p for a new residential solar system. This is a hugely short sighted move by the government and is devastating for Britain's solar sector which employs over 35,000 people. The Secretary of State herself has stated that the total cost this year of the solar RO was just £3 per household on energy bills. Ending support for solar power makes no sense at all. The energy market currently has a wide range of subsidies and tax allowances in place, across all the technologies – renewables, nuclear and gas - and not all of these are transparent when it comes to the consumer. They have made these announcements after the House of Commons has risen for the summer recess so proper scrutiny in Parliament will now not be possible until after the consultation deadline. The Welsh government is already concerned, a spokesperson said the plans have the "potential to put jobs and investment under threat by reducing subsidies to projects already in the pipeline". The government is deliberately over-exaggerating the impact of renewable energy on bills and the timing of this move on solar power could not be worse as it is nearly subsidy free. Greenpeace pointed out that the government's maximum additional spend on green technologies by 2018 would be approximately half of what it spends subsidising the coal industry. Other groups called the changes "absurd". "Of course the feed-in tariff should fall as solar becomes cheaper, but the government clearly plans to remove support entirely," said Alasdair Cameron from Friends of the Earth. "This is politically motivated, and will take away power from people and hand it back to big energy firms." “Cutting the subsidies now will see businesses go bust and investment dry up. Jobs will go and emissions will stay higher at a time when policies and funding should be in place to ensure quite the opposite,” said Daisy Sands, head of the energy campaign at Greenpeace. Ray Noble, owner, Solar BIPV Ltd and Solar Power Portal outstanding achievement award winner has commented: "The decision to stop supporting the fastest deploying energy generation technology seems like madness to me. Especially when you consider that we are short of electricity, that solar has the biggest support of the the population; yet at the same time still giving 2 ROCs to other technologies that are creating the largest drain on the budget. Seems like winners are not liked and losers are preferred! “Combined with the cuts to wind subsidies, it looks like the government is gearing up for a full frontal attack on the renewable energy sector in the autumn while still handing out billion-pound tax breaks for oil and gas industry … It’s no good David Cameron saying how important the climate talks in Paris are, if the chancellor simultaneously weakens any shred of credibility of a claim to the UK’s low carbon leadership.” Please sign the petition now to help save jobs in the UK and support our commitment tackling climate change.

Around 5.9 million people in the UK have a prepayment energy meter. According to citizens advice these customers have overpaid for their electricity and gas by £226 a year! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33369672 Many of the people who prepay their energy are families struggling to make ends meet, or elderly people - while people have had to choose between light or heat companies have racked in massive profits that have not fed back to lower the prices - in fact EDF declared an "operating loss" on their prepayment statement this year! http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/energy-giant-raked-massive-profit-3143336 Customers who have overpaid their energy through prepaid meters have been doing so for a number of years and is an industry wide practise. Customers who prefer to prepay for their gas and electric should not be penalised for doing so. It is not enough to tell customers to switch companies, customers who have been with a provider a period of time and who been overcharged as a matter of routine should receive a refund on any over payment, and tell customers before they sign up if they are being overcharged.

- The proposed pylons will be massively visually intrusive in what is one of the few beautiful, unspoiled parts of the UK left. - They will harm the environment and local wildlife. - They will be hugely damaging to the tourist sector in Dumfries and Galloway, a key driver of the local economy. - The pylon line will seriously affect house values and the ability to sell houses for miles around due to its size and visual impact. - Other alternatives, such as putting the line underground or under the sea, are available and could be adopted.

While it may make new homes fractionally cheaper to buy, they will be much more costly to run for both the home owners and the planet. How will we meet our green emissions targets with retrograde steps like this?

Imagine if manufacturers had to say how long they expect their products to last and backed it with a guarantee. For the first time people will be able to make a real choice when they buy something. e.g. "Do I get the £15 kettle that lasts 1 year? or the £30 kettle that lasts 5-6 years?" This makes things simple. We deserve to know what we are buying! "Planned Obsolescence" (where manufacturers purposefully design their products to break or be unfixable) is on the rise. It might bring profits in for shortsighted companies, but it is a growing disaster for the environment and it means that we are stuck buying the same shoddy things again and again. Having your kettle/hoover/dishwasher break is not just annoying, it traps people in a cycle of poverty. But there's something we can do! If people know how long something is expected to last, we can see if the "cheap prices" are really worth it. It's likely that companies will realise that have to do better, and up the durability of their products or risk having to publish some dismal figures. Us consumers have been trapped by these companies strategies for too long and it's time for us to get some power back. The power of choice. Please sign the petition. The planet will thank us all. We can do it! Tara PS. Follow and share the campaign with the hashtag #built2break

A NEW POWER GENERATING STATION IS BEING BUILT IN THORPE HAMLET • ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE EFFECT EMISSIONS MIGHT HAVE ON YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN’S HEALTH? • ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT BEING KEPT AWAKE AT NIGHT BY THE NOISE IT MIGHT CREATE? • ARE YOU AWARE OF THE EFFECT THIS COULD HAVE ON THE PRICE OF YOUR HOUSE? PLEASE SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION

It is essential that we decarbonise the UK's electricity generation sector. Onshore wind has made a very significant contribution to delivering decarbonisation to date and had been moving towards a position of being independent of subsidies. Brutally cutting subsidies now will effectively destroy the onshore sector at a critical time in its development. This makes no environmental or economic sense, just as decarbonisation targets are about to be missed and we are approaching the Paris Climate Change Summit. The Government's own surveys show that onshore wind commands the support of over two thirds of those asked, far more than fracking. The Govt's destruction of the onshore wind sector will destroy invester confidence in UK renewables and will fly in the face of global moves to protect the climate.