Twenty-seven people CAME TO our open meeting to start a local anti-fracking campaign on Thursday 23rd January, twenty-eight if you count the local press - excellent turnout and a good, productive meeting.
This a vital local issue with eight exploration licences already issued and two sites (Ince Marshes and North Road, Ellesmere Port) already approved for coal bed methane production. The meeting heard from:
- a local farmer concerned about drilling below his land (which he is legally powerless to stop)
- a geologist who explained that the porous sandstone below most of Cheshire, source of much of our water, made the area entirely unsuitable for these methods of extraction
- an accountant who detailed how Dart Energy, the main local concessionaire, conducted its operations through shell companies with very little capital, which could easily be made bankrupt in the event of any environmental liabilities arising, with no loss to the parent company
- a Barton Moss campaigner about the ongoing fight there and how to build the campaign
and a wide range of other local voices, all in agreement in opposing the oil industry's spoliation of our environment.
The meeting agreed to prepare a detailed leaflet for mass local distribution, dealing with all the arguments around fracking and coal bed methane - including the bogus economic arguments promising jobs and cheap fuel whereas the truth is it will mean bonanza for a few and environmental disaster for the rest of us. We challenged Dart Energy and the local council,who are cheerleading and covering up for Dart Energy, to debate these issues openly instead of making secret deals.
However we expect a long hard fight given the financial interests involved and the support of government and the council (and Labour's silence on the issue). So it was good to have pledges of support from the Green Party and Socialist Students. Watch this space for further developments, which will included a dedicated webpage and Facebook presence.
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