100 signatures reached
To: George Osborne
Frack Free Cheshire East
Urgently reconsider policies on fracking which have the potential to cause irreversible damage to our environment, local and national economy, health, agriculture, water supply and air quality. Profits are being put ahead of people. Not just our own generation, but generations to come. Power is being taken away from local communities to decide their own futures. This is unacceptable.
Why is this important?
George, real people are struggling to deal with the effects of fracking in communities all over the world. From contaminated water that is unsafe to drink, wash and bathe in, through to the effects of poor air quality on health, damage to local economies through to the loss of tourism and agriculture and the decimation of areas of outstanding beauty and scientific interest. Here is a video link you might care to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3K0kV7UcME.
Fracking requires large numbers of wells (usually 8 per square mile), huge quantities of water that will be forever poisoned, and industrial development of the English countryside on an unprecedented scale whilst causing and not preventing a rise in greenhouse gases (shale gas and oil are fossil fuels and so emit greenhouse gases - did you know?).
George you have scrapped the Green Charter at a time when many of our European cousins are investing heavily in green technologies, making huge innovative strides in solar and other renewable technology and banning fracking because of its inherent risks and dangers.
Still more countries have extended temporary bans due to their concerns, to allow more time to thoroughly assess the dangers. Others that have already suffered the negative consequences of fracking are now taking measures to prevent further fracking.
Oh and by the way - I can see no evidence that fracking will drive prices down at home here in the UK. There is no guarantee that gas fracked in this country would be used here. We, as you well know, are part of a free market economy so gas will be sold wherever it will generate the largest profits.
Those profits will go back to the corporates and their shareholders, not our economy unless, of course, we manage to close all those pesky off shore loop holes by the time those profits are made (Starbucks anyone?).
Meanwhile with oil prices scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel and the price of solar electricity falling fast, the likes of Citibank say big power stations could be redundant in 10 - 20 years’ time! What then will happen to the wells George? Who will be responsible for their upkeep and/or decommissioning and at what cost environmentally and economically?. Where will the contaminated water go?
Perhaps you are hoping it will just seep neatly away into the cracks caused by fracking (along with the other 60% of water that 'goes missing' during the fracking process), that is assuming that the wells are even up and running by this deadline. Me? I like my water fresh from the tap, preferably uncontaminated.
Fracking has the very real potential to adversely affect the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe and the ground we walk on (remember the earthquakes George, that Cuadrilla admitted to causing?).
Therefore we, the undersigned, request an immediate cessation to this Government's pro-fracking policies and any pro-fracking activity currently taking place until a thorough INDEPENDENT, cross party, scientific analysis and review has taken place with any research and conclusions reached made transparent and fully available to the public.
We thank you for your earliest attention in this matter.
