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People urged to sign petition over controversial gas drilling
Tests are being carried out in Fylde by a firm exploring a new way of extracting natural gas from underground rocks. A well is being drilled on land near Kirkham to determine the scale of shale gas reserves there. The drill at Preese Hall Farm, Weeton
Dozens of people have signed a petition in a bid to stop controversial shale gas drilling.
Gas company Cuadrilla Resources is investigating sites at Preese Hall, Weeton; Grange Road, Singleton; and Anna’s Road, Westby.
They are using the hydro fracking process, where chemicals are pumped into rocks thousands of feet under the countryside, to dig the first wells to extract shale gas in the UK.
They want to discover if it is suitable to extract natural gas from shale rock, 10,000ft feet below the ground.
The Blackpool and Fylde Green Party claims the process causes pollution and could be dangerous.
Philip Mitchell, chairman of the party, said: “We demand that a ban is placed on all UK shale gas and coal bed methane industry activity, including testing sites.
“This technology has been used at a site of an important groundwater aquifer and there are over 80 further applications which have been applied for around the UK.
“Aquifers are a natural source of our drinking water, and there is risk of catastrophic harm to water resources, communities and the environment from this industry, which may roll out across Lancashire and the rest of the UK.”
Concerns have been fuelled by US documentary Gasland, which shows flames shooting from taps in areas where hydro fracking has taken place.
Some residents in areas where drilling for shale gas is taking place say they have become ill because of pollution by gas and chemicals, according to the documentary.
It has caused massive controversy across the Atlantic where the film won the Sundance Film Festival.
Some environmental campaigners have called for a ban on the extraction of shale gas until potential environmental and human health risks have been fully assessed.
Scores of Fylde residents have already put their names to the petition and the party is calling on concerned locals to sign it.
The Government says gas extraction is subject to thorough checks.
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Comments
There are 8 comments to this article
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Fedup84
Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 05:24 PMShale Gas will provide a stop gap to the looming power crunch the country is heading for in 2015-2016. The Government currently has two consultations out on energy, The Carbon Price Floor Support Mechanism and the Electricity Market Reform Consultation; both point to the need for both Nuclear and Renewables to form part of the generation mix. The problem with some renewables, e.g. Windfarms and PV is that they can not be relied upon for Baseload, thus National Grid require standby plant, namely Gas and Oil to be ready to take up both peak and failure of wind. Shale gas, as rightly pointed out, will help reduce the wholesale price of Gas in the UK, give us some security of supply and fill the gap between now and 2018-20 when new nuclear comes online!
Diesel10
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 03:17 PM"Our addiction to fossil fuels is getting ridiculous" Really? I thought our addiction to fossil fuels was getting ridiculous when I discovered there are around 70,000 commerical flights a day and a 747 burns 5 gallons to go one mile but it seems actually digging for gas here (as oppose to buying from Russia) has tipped you over the edge. Up the digging, up wind farms and up solar power - infact up anything which helps alleviate our 'addiction' from fossil fuels particularly those sourced from volatile and barmy countries.
Realistic greenie
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 11:50 AMSolar and wind should provide an increasingly important part of the energy mix. This shale gas seems to be in no competition with the development of new renewable technologies. In fact the opposite, it can provide a much cleaner transition fuel in a step in the right direction away from coal. I do not believe these claims of it being unsafe, the company drilling looks to have an open and transparent mentality to answering any environmental concerns. In fact the environmental agency and HSE seem to be happy with their practices. River (Mr Mitchell I assume?) your overzealous green agenda is stopping the real progress including that of renewable energy, it is possible to push for cleaner energy without making an enemy of those whose views are inline. Not to be rude but your facts are wrong, according to the british geological survey (bgs) there is no ground water aquifer around the Ribble, and comparisons of fossil fuels users to junkies when the majority of people agree with trying to lower carbon emissions just serve to show your ignorance.
River
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 08:29 AMI've given warm support to windfarm proposals, they are an eminently sensible way of generating energy for the 21st Century.. A barrage in the Ribble (even if it was designed to generate electricity, which the original proposals were not), could only ever generate a miserable trickle of energy compared with the massive environmental impact, nuclear energy has always been far more expensive than governments let on, and leaves a terrible legacy in the form of radioactive waste. There are plenty of alternative sources of energy, including solar and wind, but we'd rather pump millions of gallons of water and chemicals into the bedrock beneath our feet, with unknown and unpredictable consequences, than invest seriously in making the alternatives work.
jonh
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 07:06 AM"Our addiction to fossil fuels is getting ridiculous" And yet, windfarm proposals are opposed, river barrages are opposed, nuclear power is opposed....
Kickass
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 02:52 AMGo ahead and sign the petition as River suggests, but then DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PRICE OF GAS IN THE FURURE.Don't let that joker lead you down the path to higher prices.
River
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 12:25 AM'Save The Ribble' on the Shale drilling proposals: http:save-the-ribble.blogspot.com201103shale-gas-drilling-pursued-with.html
River
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 12:14 AMOur addiction to fossil fuels is getting ridiculous, going down into shale for gas is like a junkie probing his groin for a vein. We've seen the kind of damage this can do, it's crazy to take these risks when there are so many renewable sources of energy which do not play havoc with our aquifers..
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