Home Insulation
Cut your fuel costs with insulation – in the loft, walls, floor, and around pipes; and draught-proofing. See Energy Saving Trust website.
Cut your fuel costs with insulation – in the loft, walls, floor, and around pipes; and draught-proofing. See Energy Saving Trust website.
Heat Pump Hints
Hang on to your hot water tank: useful for storing heat, and using electricity when it's cheap, or your PVs are working.
Heat Pumps have a coefficient of performance: ratio of energy out to energy in. Maybe 3 units of heat out to 1 of electricity (COP = 3), better with a low temperature difference, poorer if the outside coils are cold, or you're asking for a high temperature output. Hence ground source (2m down the temperature is a steady 10C) or water source, are better than air source. And underfloor heating is better than small radiators. But ground source is a bigger outlay, and you'll need either a few hundred square metres for trenches or 2 boreholes up to 100m deep.
So depending on the weather, your COP will vary. Seasonal performance factor (SPF) is the weather-adjusted COP. The BRE has a tool to compare SPF for various heat pumps and flow temperatures: https://www.bre.co.uk/heatpumpefficiency
Cost: an installed air source heat pump may be around £8000, for 6-10 kW. Around £1000/kW. Ground source heat pumps cost £1500-1800 per kW. Support in the UK is from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Resources and advice on eligibility and how to apply from https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/domestic-rhi.
RHI payments are based on the 'renewable heat' - the heat demand met (from your home's Energy Performance Certificate) minus the electricity used. You'll be paid for 7 years. There's a calculator: https://www.gov.uk/renewable-heat-incentive-calculator.
RHI accredited installers are on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), https://mcscertified.com/find-an-installer/
To help compare quotes, look at Ethical Consumer's report on some heat pump manufacturers, https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy/shopping-guide/heat-pumps. Don't expect good marks for supply chain workers or 'conflict minerals', you'll see the same for many other appliances, including gas boilers.
The Centre for Alternative Technology has a one-day heat pump course in August 2020, https://www.cat.org.uk/events/renewables-for-households-heat-pumps/
John Cantor has a website of useful advice, and a book, out of print but downloadable from https://heatpumps.co.uk
Lots of documents too in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme website, installers section: https://mcscertified.com/standards-tools-library ; MCS 021 Heat Emitter Guide has information on reducing building heat loss and increasing radiator size - to reduce flow temperature.
The Centre for Alternative Technology is also a good source of information, by telephone: 01654 705989, or https://www.cat.org.uk/info-resources/free-information-service/
Condensed from an article in CAT's magazine, Clean Slate, no 115, Spring 2020
Hang on to your hot water tank: useful for storing heat, and using electricity when it's cheap, or your PVs are working.
Heat Pumps have a coefficient of performance: ratio of energy out to energy in. Maybe 3 units of heat out to 1 of electricity (COP = 3), better with a low temperature difference, poorer if the outside coils are cold, or you're asking for a high temperature output. Hence ground source (2m down the temperature is a steady 10C) or water source, are better than air source. And underfloor heating is better than small radiators. But ground source is a bigger outlay, and you'll need either a few hundred square metres for trenches or 2 boreholes up to 100m deep.
So depending on the weather, your COP will vary. Seasonal performance factor (SPF) is the weather-adjusted COP. The BRE has a tool to compare SPF for various heat pumps and flow temperatures: https://www.bre.co.uk/heatpumpefficiency
Cost: an installed air source heat pump may be around £8000, for 6-10 kW. Around £1000/kW. Ground source heat pumps cost £1500-1800 per kW. Support in the UK is from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Resources and advice on eligibility and how to apply from https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/domestic-rhi.
RHI payments are based on the 'renewable heat' - the heat demand met (from your home's Energy Performance Certificate) minus the electricity used. You'll be paid for 7 years. There's a calculator: https://www.gov.uk/renewable-heat-incentive-calculator.
RHI accredited installers are on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), https://mcscertified.com/find-an-installer/
To help compare quotes, look at Ethical Consumer's report on some heat pump manufacturers, https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy/shopping-guide/heat-pumps. Don't expect good marks for supply chain workers or 'conflict minerals', you'll see the same for many other appliances, including gas boilers.
The Centre for Alternative Technology has a one-day heat pump course in August 2020, https://www.cat.org.uk/events/renewables-for-households-heat-pumps/
John Cantor has a website of useful advice, and a book, out of print but downloadable from https://heatpumps.co.uk
Lots of documents too in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme website, installers section: https://mcscertified.com/standards-tools-library ; MCS 021 Heat Emitter Guide has information on reducing building heat loss and increasing radiator size - to reduce flow temperature.
The Centre for Alternative Technology is also a good source of information, by telephone: 01654 705989, or https://www.cat.org.uk/info-resources/free-information-service/
Condensed from an article in CAT's magazine, Clean Slate, no 115, Spring 2020
RESIDENTS IN CHESHIRE WEST AND CHESTER could save £2.6m a year if they take control of their heating
HOUSEHOLDS COULD SAVE £75 A YEAR
--- Four fifths of Brits believe they understand their heating controls ---
--- Yet HALF misuse energy when they turn up their thermostat ---
--- Nearly 40 per cent of Brits think it’s more efficient to leave the heating on all the time ---
--- And only a quarter of bill payers have changed energy supplier in the last year ---
--- Campaign launches heating myth-buster and urges customers to switch supplier ---
Big Energy Saving Week – a campaign run by Energy Saving Trust, revealed 74 per cent of Brits are still worried about their energy bills. The campaign helps householders learn how to take control of their energy bills with free advice available during the week over the phone, online and at events across the UK.
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of Energy Saving Trust, said:
“Rightfully, millions of householders are confused by their heating controls because, let’s be honest, it is a bit of a minefield. There are plenty of myths out there and it’s no wonder people aren’t getting it right. We are urging customers to learn about the myths, check their tariff, switch suppliers and insulate their homes.”
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said:
“The easiest way to cut energy bills fast is to shop around for the cheapest energy deal and switch suppliers. Thanks to government action to reform the energy market the number of independent suppliers has almost trebled since 2010 – encouraging greater competition which helps drive down prices.
“We’re also making it easier and quicker for people to switch, and the major energy suppliers have confirmed that switching times will halve by the end of this year to just two and a half weeks.”
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“Every day, Citizens Advice helps people who are struggling to meet the cost of their energy bills. Eighty thousand people a year come to us for help with fuel debts. With prices up a third since 2010, it’s more important than ever that people know what they can do to keep their fuel bills down and what help is available. That’s why we’re running events up and down the country to help people make sure they are not paying a penny more than they have to.”
The findings from an Ipsos MORI survey of over 2,000 UK respondents show that almost four fifths of people (78 per cent) claim to understand how to use their heating controls. However, many of these respondents turn out to be using their heating controls incorrectly. Of those who thought they understood how to operate their heating controls:
Big Energy Saving Week is part of a wider DECC initiative known as the Big Energy Saving Network – a £1 million programme to support eligible third sector organisations and community groups and deliver help and advice to vulnerable consumers.
Anyone needing help and advice on any of the issues raised here should call the Energy Saving Advice Service (England and Wales) on 0300 123 1234 or Home Energy Scotland (Scotland) on 0808 808 2282. Householders in Northern Ireland may be able to benefit from the Warm Homes scheme – call 0800 988 0559 for further details.
HOUSEHOLDS COULD SAVE £75 A YEAR
--- Four fifths of Brits believe they understand their heating controls ---
--- Yet HALF misuse energy when they turn up their thermostat ---
--- Nearly 40 per cent of Brits think it’s more efficient to leave the heating on all the time ---
--- And only a quarter of bill payers have changed energy supplier in the last year ---
--- Campaign launches heating myth-buster and urges customers to switch supplier ---
Big Energy Saving Week – a campaign run by Energy Saving Trust, revealed 74 per cent of Brits are still worried about their energy bills. The campaign helps householders learn how to take control of their energy bills with free advice available during the week over the phone, online and at events across the UK.
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of Energy Saving Trust, said:
“Rightfully, millions of householders are confused by their heating controls because, let’s be honest, it is a bit of a minefield. There are plenty of myths out there and it’s no wonder people aren’t getting it right. We are urging customers to learn about the myths, check their tariff, switch suppliers and insulate their homes.”
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said:
“The easiest way to cut energy bills fast is to shop around for the cheapest energy deal and switch suppliers. Thanks to government action to reform the energy market the number of independent suppliers has almost trebled since 2010 – encouraging greater competition which helps drive down prices.
“We’re also making it easier and quicker for people to switch, and the major energy suppliers have confirmed that switching times will halve by the end of this year to just two and a half weeks.”
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“Every day, Citizens Advice helps people who are struggling to meet the cost of their energy bills. Eighty thousand people a year come to us for help with fuel debts. With prices up a third since 2010, it’s more important than ever that people know what they can do to keep their fuel bills down and what help is available. That’s why we’re running events up and down the country to help people make sure they are not paying a penny more than they have to.”
The findings from an Ipsos MORI survey of over 2,000 UK respondents show that almost four fifths of people (78 per cent) claim to understand how to use their heating controls. However, many of these respondents turn out to be using their heating controls incorrectly. Of those who thought they understood how to operate their heating controls:
- MYTH 1: Turn the heating up when it’s cold outside. Half (52 per cent) turn the thermostat up when it’s cold outside. A home shouldn’t need this as the thermostat is there to maintain the home temperature whatever the weather.
- MYTH 2: Turn up the thermostat to heat the room quicker. Over a third (35 per cent) turn their room thermostat up when they want the room to heat up quicker. This does not help a room become warmer any quicker and only heats the home to a warmer temperature.
- MYTH 3: Leave the heating on low constantly. Thirty-eight per cent think it is more energy efficient to leave the heating turned on at a low temperature constantly, rather than turn it on and off. This means these homes are heated when no-one is there to benefit and then the home is too cold when people are in the home.
- MYTH 4: Hot water runs out if you stop feeding the tank. Nearly a third (31 per cent) leave their water heating on all the time to make sure they never run out, which could be costing far more on their energy bills than necessary.
- MYTH 5: Keep electric storage heaters on all the time. Our research also found that few people with electric storage heaters fully understand how they work (only 38%). This means that households with electric heating could be paying through the nose by not taking advantage of cheaper night rate electricity.
Big Energy Saving Week is part of a wider DECC initiative known as the Big Energy Saving Network – a £1 million programme to support eligible third sector organisations and community groups and deliver help and advice to vulnerable consumers.
Anyone needing help and advice on any of the issues raised here should call the Energy Saving Advice Service (England and Wales) on 0300 123 1234 or Home Energy Scotland (Scotland) on 0808 808 2282. Householders in Northern Ireland may be able to benefit from the Warm Homes scheme – call 0800 988 0559 for further details.
- For further advice about saving energy in the home visit https://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
There are 2 posters promoting the freephone number to ring for advice about energy efficiency and insulation measures. There are currently many schemes that are giving free loft and cavity wall insulation. These offers will not be available when the government brings in its new Green Deal scheme, so it is a last chance to get insulated for free!!
Please circulate this information to your membership, family, friends, relatives, neighbours...in fact anyone you can think of!! Also, please print the posters and display in local shops, post offices, workplaces, etc. One poster is above, the other, same information but square, is here.
It will be great to get as many people as possible taking advantage of these free schemes while they last.
Tania Sayer
Please circulate this information to your membership, family, friends, relatives, neighbours...in fact anyone you can think of!! Also, please print the posters and display in local shops, post offices, workplaces, etc. One poster is above, the other, same information but square, is here.
It will be great to get as many people as possible taking advantage of these free schemes while they last.
Tania Sayer
Press Release from Frack-Off, regarding the trial of 3 protesters in Preston. Released 16th July 2012
E-mail: media[at]frack-off.org
Website: frackingontrial.org or frack-off.org.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/Frack_Off
Facebook: facebook.com/FrackOffUK
Hashtag: #FrackingOnTrial
Anti-fracking Verdict Tomorrow
The verdict in the anti-fracking trial will be given tomorrow, Tues 17th July, at Preston Magistrates Court at 2pm.
Three people who were accused of disrupting the 'lawful' activity of a fracking company, Cuadrilla Resoucres, during a banner drop and occupation of their drilling rig, for 11 hours, last November [1] face charges of aggravated trespass.
Last week the trial took place for four full days from Tuesday 10th – Friday 13th July.
The defendants all plead not guilty and challenged the lawfulness of the company's operations and also presented a defence of 'necessity'; asserting that stopping fracking is necessary in the context of run-away climate change and the damage it will cause the environment and local communities.
The defendants presented a large number of expert and non-expert witnesses from the UK and US to testify against the use of this unconventional process in the British Isles.
This included climate scientists Prof Howarth, from Cornell Univerity, and Dr Broderick, from the Tyndall Centre, speaking on the dangers of fracking on the climate; 'expert' testimonies from a geologist and public health specialist on the impact of climate change on the environment and health locally, regionally and nationally in the UK; an ex-industry whistle-blower in the US, James Northrup, speaking about the hidden inherent dangers of hydraulic fracturing on water contamination and air pollution; local residents speaking about the lack of any consultation before the industry began fracking on their doorstep and the damage already caused by earthquakes in Lancashire; and Caroline Lucas, Green MP, speaking about the failures of the political process to deal with climate change and threat it poses to our environment.
Prosecution witnesses testifying in favour of fracking included Michael Hawkins from Department of Energy and Climate Change who issued Cuadrilla a licence to drill and frack in Lancashire, Alyn Perigo from Lancaster County Council who rubber stamped several planning applications in the area and Eric Vaughn, Chief Operations Manager of the shale gas company, Cuadrilla, which is fracking in the UK.
Climate Change
The International Energy Agency have warned the world is on a trajectory to warm by 6 degrees Celsius in the next 100 years. [2] Despite a long array of commitments, targets and 'mechanisms' to tackle climate change from governments, financial institutions and industries alike, recent years have seen the highest ever emissions of green house gases on record. [3] The latest 2010 estimates are that over 350,000 people per year are dying as a result of climate change and this figure is set to grow in coming years. [4]
During the fracking trial last week leading academic Prof Robert Howarth from Cornell University in the US provided a testimony of the damage unconventional gas extraction will have on exacerbating climate change, stating, “methane emissions are 40% to 60% greater for shale gas than for conventional natural gas... the greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas is worse than that of either coal or oil.” In a leading scientific paper co-written by Howarth research shows that the footprint from shale gas could be 20% – 50% worse than coal when looked at over a 20 year time horizon. [5]
Another expert witness, Dr John Broderick from the Tyndall Centre in the UK, also provided a testimony stating, “exploitation of UK shale gas reserves is incompatible with avoiding dangerous climate change greater than 2 degrees Celsius... Although the UK has adopted national cumulative emissions budgeting as a principle, through the Climate Change Act (2008), the levels set in current budgets will likely give rise to warming greater than 2 degrees”.
Despite rhetorical and legal commitments the government has made to climate change targets nationally and internationally, the government continue to steam-roll ahead supporting the extraction of more fossil fuels. Caroline Lucas “My direct, personal, experience of the political process, both at UK and EU level, has led me to conclude that successive governments have failed to represent the concerns of the public in relation to climate change and environmentally polluting industries”. She called for non-violent protest not to be criminalised.
Fracking unconventional gas
Cuadrilla continue to maintain that hydraulic fracturing is 'absolutely safe'. In their submission to Parliament [6] in February 2011 and again repeated by Eric Vaughn, Cuadrilla's Operations Manager, in Preston Magistrates on Tuesday 11th July 2012, the company state there have been 'no documented cases of hydraulic fracturing causing water contamination in the US'.
This is despite a mass of evidence showing that fracking has, and does, cause water contamination. In the 1980’s the Environment Protection Agency issued a report linking fracking to contamination of water. [7] In 2008 in Wyoming tests showed 88 out of 220 wells were contaminated. In many areas fracking companies are now delivering water to local residents, because their water has been contaminted. In New York last year there was a moratorium on fracking because of water contamination issues. In the US there has been over 1,000 cases of water contamination documented by courts and state and local governments in Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania. [8]
Ex-industry insider from the US, James Northrup, provided testimony warning of the inherent dangers of the hydraullic fracturing process, stating, “all wells will eventually leak, creating a pathway for methane and other pollutants to enter the groundwater tapped by shallow water wells. Unplugged wells will leak sooner than plugged wells, but as long as ferrous metal rusts, all of them will leak – it is simply a matter of when”.
Local impacts
Residents from around the Cuadrilla Resources sites in Lancashire testified to property damage and health effects caused by the fracking operations last year that resulted in several earthquakes, and to the total lack of notice or consultation they received before planning permission was granted. Other witnesses raised issues around environmental permitting and planning permissions for Cuadrilla’s activities.
“There was no notification that fracking was going to be on my doorstep! When I found out chemicals were going to be put into the ground I was horrified”, said one local resident who can see the drilling rig from outside of her window.
In the US many residents are now speaking out about the damage fracking has caused to their lives. [8] There have been a large number of blow-outs, explosions, fires and spills associated with the practice. [9]
One worker released an emotional testimony three months before he died of pancreatic cancer, warning of the dangers of fracking chemicals at a waste water site in Colorado. [10]
In the US Centre of Disease Control found counties with the most shale gas production to also have the highest breast cancer rates, increasing 20% from 2005 – 2008, when nationally rates are decreasing. [11]
Legality
The trial raised a number of issues regarding the legality of unconventional gas extraction. The licencing system that DECC administers has not changed significantly since 1934 and it is questionable whether the new technology of massive slickwater hydraulic fracturing is even permitted by the current legislation.
Since the only person who has any duty to do anything under the extremely weak Climate Change Act 2008 is the Secretary of State in charge of DECC who is also issuing the licences and since the development of unconventional fossil fuels would almost certainly cause that target to be missed, it is possible that the whole licencing process could be rendered illegal.
There are also a number of issues relating to adherence to European Directives on such points as conducting Strategic Environmental Assessments, groundwater protection and treatment of waste. Finally the extent to which Cuadrilla has been economical with the truth in the description of their activities in the planning applications could potentially mean they are in breach of planning control in carrying out massive slickwater hydraulic fracturing.
Extreme Energy
Fracking for shale gas is part of a new and dangerous trend towards more extreme forms of energy extraction which has emerged in the last few years as energy prices has risen. This includes tar sands, deep water drilling and mountain top removal among others. In Britain, in addition to shale gas, the potentially even larger threats are from coal bed methane (CBM) [12] and underground coal gasification (UCG) [13], with 61 CBM sites with planning permission and 18 areas licensed for UCG.
Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking is a controversial method of natural gas extraction, in which a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected into the ground at high pressure, cracking shale rock and releasing the gas [14]. It has been the subject of much contention due to numerous reports linking the method to water contamination, health problems and earthquakes [15]. The industry is in its infancy in the UK, and there are plans for up to 800 wells in Lancashire alone [16].
A website, frackingontrial.org, has been documenting the case as fracking in Britain is put on trial.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
1 frack-off.org.uk/press-release-natural-gas-drilling-rig-stormed-by-anti-fracking-protesters
2 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/world-on-track-for-nearly-11-degree-temperature-rise-energy-expert-says/2011/11/28/gIQAi0lM6N_story.html
3 http://www.iea.org/index_info.asp?id=1959
4 http://daraint.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/CVM_Health-Impact-Monitor.pdf
5 http://www.acsf.cornell.edu/2011Howarth-Methane
6 http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/fracking/cracks_in_the_facade.pdf
7 http://www.citizenscampaign.org/PDFs/fracking-news/Buried%20Secrets_%20Is%20Natural%20Gas%20Drilling%20Endangering%20U.S.%20Water%20Supplies.pdf
8 http://www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Fractured-Communities-FINAL-September-2010.pdf
9 http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amall/incidents_where_hydraulic_frac.html and http://static.ewg.org/pdf/Drilling_Doublespeak.pdf
10 http://www.krextv.com/news/around-the-region/NC5-INVESTIGATION-Deadly-Gas-Cover-Up-Revealed-126869973.html
11 http://www.texassharon.com/2011/08/31/barnett-shale-has-highest-rates-for-invasive-breast-cancer/
12 frack-off.org.uk/coal-bed-methane-the-evil-twin-of-shale-gas
13 frack-off.org.uk/underground-coal-gasification-hellfire-and-damnation
14 Short film explaining what fracking is: frack-off.org.uk/fracking-hell/watch-the-film
15 www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2050025/Earthquakes-Lancashire-coast-WERE-caused-drilling-gas-experts-warn-energy-operation-threatened-closure.html
16 www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/21/gas-field-blackpool-dallas-sea
E-mail: media[at]frack-off.org
Website: frackingontrial.org or frack-off.org.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/Frack_Off
Facebook: facebook.com/FrackOffUK
Hashtag: #FrackingOnTrial
Anti-fracking Verdict Tomorrow
The verdict in the anti-fracking trial will be given tomorrow, Tues 17th July, at Preston Magistrates Court at 2pm.
Three people who were accused of disrupting the 'lawful' activity of a fracking company, Cuadrilla Resoucres, during a banner drop and occupation of their drilling rig, for 11 hours, last November [1] face charges of aggravated trespass.
Last week the trial took place for four full days from Tuesday 10th – Friday 13th July.
The defendants all plead not guilty and challenged the lawfulness of the company's operations and also presented a defence of 'necessity'; asserting that stopping fracking is necessary in the context of run-away climate change and the damage it will cause the environment and local communities.
The defendants presented a large number of expert and non-expert witnesses from the UK and US to testify against the use of this unconventional process in the British Isles.
This included climate scientists Prof Howarth, from Cornell Univerity, and Dr Broderick, from the Tyndall Centre, speaking on the dangers of fracking on the climate; 'expert' testimonies from a geologist and public health specialist on the impact of climate change on the environment and health locally, regionally and nationally in the UK; an ex-industry whistle-blower in the US, James Northrup, speaking about the hidden inherent dangers of hydraulic fracturing on water contamination and air pollution; local residents speaking about the lack of any consultation before the industry began fracking on their doorstep and the damage already caused by earthquakes in Lancashire; and Caroline Lucas, Green MP, speaking about the failures of the political process to deal with climate change and threat it poses to our environment.
Prosecution witnesses testifying in favour of fracking included Michael Hawkins from Department of Energy and Climate Change who issued Cuadrilla a licence to drill and frack in Lancashire, Alyn Perigo from Lancaster County Council who rubber stamped several planning applications in the area and Eric Vaughn, Chief Operations Manager of the shale gas company, Cuadrilla, which is fracking in the UK.
Climate Change
The International Energy Agency have warned the world is on a trajectory to warm by 6 degrees Celsius in the next 100 years. [2] Despite a long array of commitments, targets and 'mechanisms' to tackle climate change from governments, financial institutions and industries alike, recent years have seen the highest ever emissions of green house gases on record. [3] The latest 2010 estimates are that over 350,000 people per year are dying as a result of climate change and this figure is set to grow in coming years. [4]
During the fracking trial last week leading academic Prof Robert Howarth from Cornell University in the US provided a testimony of the damage unconventional gas extraction will have on exacerbating climate change, stating, “methane emissions are 40% to 60% greater for shale gas than for conventional natural gas... the greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas is worse than that of either coal or oil.” In a leading scientific paper co-written by Howarth research shows that the footprint from shale gas could be 20% – 50% worse than coal when looked at over a 20 year time horizon. [5]
Another expert witness, Dr John Broderick from the Tyndall Centre in the UK, also provided a testimony stating, “exploitation of UK shale gas reserves is incompatible with avoiding dangerous climate change greater than 2 degrees Celsius... Although the UK has adopted national cumulative emissions budgeting as a principle, through the Climate Change Act (2008), the levels set in current budgets will likely give rise to warming greater than 2 degrees”.
Despite rhetorical and legal commitments the government has made to climate change targets nationally and internationally, the government continue to steam-roll ahead supporting the extraction of more fossil fuels. Caroline Lucas “My direct, personal, experience of the political process, both at UK and EU level, has led me to conclude that successive governments have failed to represent the concerns of the public in relation to climate change and environmentally polluting industries”. She called for non-violent protest not to be criminalised.
Fracking unconventional gas
Cuadrilla continue to maintain that hydraulic fracturing is 'absolutely safe'. In their submission to Parliament [6] in February 2011 and again repeated by Eric Vaughn, Cuadrilla's Operations Manager, in Preston Magistrates on Tuesday 11th July 2012, the company state there have been 'no documented cases of hydraulic fracturing causing water contamination in the US'.
This is despite a mass of evidence showing that fracking has, and does, cause water contamination. In the 1980’s the Environment Protection Agency issued a report linking fracking to contamination of water. [7] In 2008 in Wyoming tests showed 88 out of 220 wells were contaminated. In many areas fracking companies are now delivering water to local residents, because their water has been contaminted. In New York last year there was a moratorium on fracking because of water contamination issues. In the US there has been over 1,000 cases of water contamination documented by courts and state and local governments in Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania. [8]
Ex-industry insider from the US, James Northrup, provided testimony warning of the inherent dangers of the hydraullic fracturing process, stating, “all wells will eventually leak, creating a pathway for methane and other pollutants to enter the groundwater tapped by shallow water wells. Unplugged wells will leak sooner than plugged wells, but as long as ferrous metal rusts, all of them will leak – it is simply a matter of when”.
Local impacts
Residents from around the Cuadrilla Resources sites in Lancashire testified to property damage and health effects caused by the fracking operations last year that resulted in several earthquakes, and to the total lack of notice or consultation they received before planning permission was granted. Other witnesses raised issues around environmental permitting and planning permissions for Cuadrilla’s activities.
“There was no notification that fracking was going to be on my doorstep! When I found out chemicals were going to be put into the ground I was horrified”, said one local resident who can see the drilling rig from outside of her window.
In the US many residents are now speaking out about the damage fracking has caused to their lives. [8] There have been a large number of blow-outs, explosions, fires and spills associated with the practice. [9]
One worker released an emotional testimony three months before he died of pancreatic cancer, warning of the dangers of fracking chemicals at a waste water site in Colorado. [10]
In the US Centre of Disease Control found counties with the most shale gas production to also have the highest breast cancer rates, increasing 20% from 2005 – 2008, when nationally rates are decreasing. [11]
Legality
The trial raised a number of issues regarding the legality of unconventional gas extraction. The licencing system that DECC administers has not changed significantly since 1934 and it is questionable whether the new technology of massive slickwater hydraulic fracturing is even permitted by the current legislation.
Since the only person who has any duty to do anything under the extremely weak Climate Change Act 2008 is the Secretary of State in charge of DECC who is also issuing the licences and since the development of unconventional fossil fuels would almost certainly cause that target to be missed, it is possible that the whole licencing process could be rendered illegal.
There are also a number of issues relating to adherence to European Directives on such points as conducting Strategic Environmental Assessments, groundwater protection and treatment of waste. Finally the extent to which Cuadrilla has been economical with the truth in the description of their activities in the planning applications could potentially mean they are in breach of planning control in carrying out massive slickwater hydraulic fracturing.
Extreme Energy
Fracking for shale gas is part of a new and dangerous trend towards more extreme forms of energy extraction which has emerged in the last few years as energy prices has risen. This includes tar sands, deep water drilling and mountain top removal among others. In Britain, in addition to shale gas, the potentially even larger threats are from coal bed methane (CBM) [12] and underground coal gasification (UCG) [13], with 61 CBM sites with planning permission and 18 areas licensed for UCG.
Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking is a controversial method of natural gas extraction, in which a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected into the ground at high pressure, cracking shale rock and releasing the gas [14]. It has been the subject of much contention due to numerous reports linking the method to water contamination, health problems and earthquakes [15]. The industry is in its infancy in the UK, and there are plans for up to 800 wells in Lancashire alone [16].
A website, frackingontrial.org, has been documenting the case as fracking in Britain is put on trial.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
1 frack-off.org.uk/press-release-natural-gas-drilling-rig-stormed-by-anti-fracking-protesters
2 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/world-on-track-for-nearly-11-degree-temperature-rise-energy-expert-says/2011/11/28/gIQAi0lM6N_story.html
3 http://www.iea.org/index_info.asp?id=1959
4 http://daraint.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/CVM_Health-Impact-Monitor.pdf
5 http://www.acsf.cornell.edu/2011Howarth-Methane
6 http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/fracking/cracks_in_the_facade.pdf
7 http://www.citizenscampaign.org/PDFs/fracking-news/Buried%20Secrets_%20Is%20Natural%20Gas%20Drilling%20Endangering%20U.S.%20Water%20Supplies.pdf
8 http://www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Fractured-Communities-FINAL-September-2010.pdf
9 http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amall/incidents_where_hydraulic_frac.html and http://static.ewg.org/pdf/Drilling_Doublespeak.pdf
10 http://www.krextv.com/news/around-the-region/NC5-INVESTIGATION-Deadly-Gas-Cover-Up-Revealed-126869973.html
11 http://www.texassharon.com/2011/08/31/barnett-shale-has-highest-rates-for-invasive-breast-cancer/
12 frack-off.org.uk/coal-bed-methane-the-evil-twin-of-shale-gas
13 frack-off.org.uk/underground-coal-gasification-hellfire-and-damnation
14 Short film explaining what fracking is: frack-off.org.uk/fracking-hell/watch-the-film
15 www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2050025/Earthquakes-Lancashire-coast-WERE-caused-drilling-gas-experts-warn-energy-operation-threatened-closure.html
16 www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/21/gas-field-blackpool-dallas-sea