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Page added on December 18, 2015
Fracking Licences Granted In National Parks
Several firms are given the right to explore around 120 areas of the UK for shale oil and gas, including the Peak District.
Licences to explore for shale oil have been granted in the Peak District
Dozens of licences allowing companies to carry out investigations into fracking have been given out by the Government.
Around 120 blocks of land have been cleared for unconventional shale oil and gas exploration, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) said.
A total of 93 licences were issued in a move that campaigners say could open up swathes of the countryside to exploitation.
The blocks are squares of land on which companies can explore for oil and gas, but will still need landowner consent, Environment Agency assessments and planning permission before drilling can start.
Among the areas where blocks of land have been approved for exploration are the North York Moors, the Peak District and Exmoor national parks.
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Areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) where shale exploration can take place are the Forest of Bowland, in Lancashire and North Yorkshire, the Lincolnshire Wolds, Dorset, Cranborne Chase in southern England and the Howardian Hills in Yorkshire.
OGA chief executive Andy Samuel said: “This round enables a significant amount of the UK’s shale prospects to be taken forward to be explored and tested.”
Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom said: “The licences offered today move us a step closer – driving forwards this industry which will provide secure, home-grown energy to hard-working families and businesses for decades to come.”
Energy giant Ineos said it had been awarded 21 of the new shale gas licences, making it one of the biggest players in the industry with a million acres under licence.
Ken Cronin, chief executive of industry body UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG), said it would help Britain compete internationally and prevent it becoming dependent on imports.
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“We need to ensure that the 84% of our homes that use gas for heating can continue to do so and that the 30% of electricity produced by gas can be met using UK sources,” he said.
It comes in a week that the Government faced criticism after it won a vote to allow gas and oil to be extracted from under national parks, world heritage sites and other protected areas.
Environmental groups say fracking runs contrary to the world’s first universal climate deal to drive down greenhouse gas emissions which was agreed in Paris last week.
Under the deal, nearly 200 countries, including the UK, agreed to limit the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity to the same levels as can be absorbed by the natural world before 2100.
Chairman of Task Force for Shale Gas, Lord Chris Smith, warned there was no medium or long term future for gas unless technology can be developed to capture carbon emissions and store them permanently underground.
4 Comments on "Fracking Licences Granted In National Parks"
penury on Fri, 18th Dec 2015 12:22 pm
Just a little further evidence that humans will destroy everything in order to maintain the myth of growth.
Apneaman on Fri, 18th Dec 2015 2:00 pm
Apparently the forests and thus most national parks are history soon anyway. We should probably clear cut the lot before they all burn down or die from pine beetles or toxic fire suppressants. Be good for the economy.
2015 Was The Costliest Wildfire Season Ever
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/12/18/3733730/2015-wildfire-season-most-expensive/
POISONING THE WELL
Special Report: Toxic Firefighting Foam Has Contaminated U.S. Drinking Water
https://theintercept.com/2015/12/16/toxic-firefighting-foam-has-contaminated-u-s-drinking-water-with-pfcs/
ghung on Fri, 18th Dec 2015 2:20 pm
Thanks. Ap. As a former Navy firefighter, we used to literally get bathed in AFFF, not only in training, but to wash the decks after cleaning them with nasty solvents (which we were also exposed to) to remove oily residue. I’ll not mention the levels of asbestos we had to deal with.
Then there’s the ground water/drinking water debacle that went down at Camp Lejeune, NC where my first wife was stationed for 2 1/2 years (1980-1983):
“From at least 1957 through 1987, Marines and their families at Lejeune drank and bathed in water contaminated with toxins at concentrations 240 to 3400 times permitted by safety standards, and at least 850 former residents filed claims for nearly $4 billion from the military. The main chemicals involved were trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser, perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent, and benzene; however, more than 70 chemicals have been identified as contaminants at Lejeune….[4]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Base_Camp_Lejeune#Pollution
Of course, we were never warned about these things. All kinds of ways to serve your country, eh?
makati1 on Fri, 18th Dec 2015 5:48 pm
Selling the ‘preps’ to buy more time. Pure insanity. LMAO