Fracking

[The Year Of The Fox]

Are we for or against on here?

I think it's typical of our people and country that we're even protesting against a potential gold mine. Particularly in this day and age where there are few job, the country is skint and household bills are a fortune.

Fracking could earn us an absolute fortune whilst reducing our gas bill massively.

There's rumours somewhere that gas can end up coming through your sink taps. This was proved in the end to have nothing to do with fracking and just gas pockets sitting in water stores.

Absolute no brainer for me- get fracking.

[Ross-Kemp]

I'm 100% for it.

The people protesting are normally the first people that ring to complain about their Gas bills.

Trust me.

[The Year Of The Fox]

I'm 100% for it.

The people protesting are normally the first people that ring to complain about their Gas bills.

Trust me.

I completely agree. I find protestors incredibly hypocritical.

[Jon the Hat]

For. Nothing is 100% safe, and the we would still be living in caves if that was our limiting factor.

[davieG]

Whether it's environmentally safe I don't know as there re so many conflicting views - who can one believe.

 

But I bet it will have no affect on domestic bills, sure it'll create some jobs,  improve the balance of payments and make ever bigger profits for energy companies but reduce energy bills for households, never. I've heard it all before and it never happens.

 

As for what the general public think, well its already happening.

[leicsmac]

Whether it's environmentally safe I don't know as there re so many conflicting views - who can one believe.

 

But I bet it will have no affect on domestic bills, sure it'll create some jobs,  improve the balance of payments and make ever bigger profits for energy companies but reduce energy bills for households, never. I've heard it all before and it never happens.

 

As for what the general public think, well its already happening.

 

Pretty much this. No matter how cheap the extraction becomes the customer won't see any price reduction, it'll just be increased profit for the energy industry. 

 

I'm not 100% convinced it's safe and I'd much rather us focus on continuing to develop nuclear fusion than something that is still finite and has the potential be very damaging to the environment, but as a stopgap I guess it could be useful.

[The Year Of The Fox]

Pretty much this. No matter how cheap the extraction becomes the customer won't see any price reduction, it'll just be increased profit for the energy industry. 

 

I'm not 100% convinced it's safe and I'd much rather us focus on continuing to develop nuclear fusion than something that is still finite and has the potential be very damaging to the environment, but as a stopgap I guess it could be useful.

I'm trying to remember figures quoted from a newspaper article last week. I think it said if we tapped in to 10% of our known resources below us that'd keep us going for 46 years. So potentially we'd be ok for another 460 year's. Yes it IS finite fossil fuel but I don't think you can worry about what's going to happen to this place in 400 years time.

you're right about the bills though, I was naive in even thinking that the consumer would see a reduction. I'd hope that fracking could only go ahead if we were to see a reduction in our bills though. Like a conditional permit.

Regardless of that though, I think it said fracking could bring us 1 trillion pounds worth of money and thousands and thousands of jobs. Hardly a bad thing is it?

[Ross-Kemp]

The majority of your Gas bill is made up of transportation costs.

Eliminate those costs and energy companies would be placed under massive pressure to reduce bills (if they already hadn't)

[davieG]

The majority of your Gas bill is made up of transportation costs.

Eliminate those costs and energy companies would be placed under massive pressure to reduce bills (if they already hadn't)

No doubt they'll come up with some justification true or not to balance or even out strip the transportation costs like getting it out of the ground and processing it.

[leicsmac]

I'm trying to remember figures quoted from a newspaper article last week. I think it said if we tapped in to 10% of our known resources below us that'd keep us going for 46 years. So potentially we'd be ok for another 460 year's. Yes it IS finite fossil fuel but I don't think you can worry about what's going to happen to this place in 400 years time.

you're right about the bills though, I was naive in even thinking that the consumer would see a reduction. I'd hope that fracking could only go ahead if we were to see a reduction in our bills though. Like a conditional permit.

Regardless of that though, I think it said fracking could bring us 1 trillion pounds worth of money and thousands and thousands of jobs. Hardly a bad thing is it?

 

Certainly agree with the job creation angle, that'd be a good thing. 

 

The Government would let the energy companies go ahead with something like this whether or not the general public get a reduction in their energy costs, seeing as Government is in bed with big business anyway.

 

The majority of your Gas bill is made up of transportation costs.

Eliminate those costs and energy companies would be placed under massive pressure to reduce bills (if they already hadn't)

 

No they won't. Who would pressure them? The Government regulator? Toothless. The general public? Too apathetic and with no kind of leverage - where would we get our energy from?

 

The big energy companies have a nice little cartel going on and have done for years, and they can pretty much set the prices at what they like regardless of resource abundance. These days they don't even have to come up with reasonable justifications for it as they know they're untouchable.

 

Also think that they are suppressing renewable tech by holding the patents on most of the new renewable stuff and keeping it close until it is absolutely needed to make the biggest profit both before (as resources get scarce) and after (controlling the market through the 'miracle' new tech that's popped up out of nowhere).

[separator]

Most of the easy to get oil and gas reserves have been tapped now, so technologies like fracking or drilling in sensitive areas (arctic regions) will be the next step. There's plenty of fossil fuels still out there. Poland has Europe's largest shale gas reserves (which Fracking is used to get). The north sea still has untapped reservoirs of heavy oil, which until recently has been difficult to get out of the ground as its like treacle and doesn't flow. I've bought shares in a few small companies drilling for these new reserves and will hopefully make a packet (or lose the lot  !!) if this takes off.

 

Fracking is big business in the USA, lets hope it creates jobs and wealth over here.

[OzFox]

The majority of your Gas bill is made up of transportation costs.

Eliminate those costs and energy companies would be placed under massive pressure to reduce bills (if they already hadn't)

 

As discussed in another thread, each well (and there will be many) needs an access road and an average of 1000 trucks a year carrying sand, water and chemicals. There goes your transportation savings.

 

Learn form the US and Australia. Fracking trashes the countryside where the wells are, increases methane leaks from the well casings and lowers the water table that local farmers depend on

[Rincewind]

Don't know much about it. Thousands of jobs? Good if it happens. One thing is certain. Bigger bomuses for the board directors and no change or reduction in consumer bills. They may even find 'extra costs' which will result in bill increases. We. the ordinary people do not matter.

[The Year Of The Fox]

It may make us more independent when dealing with countries we're only allies with for their oil

[Rincewind]

It may make us more independent when dealing with countries we're only allies with for their oil

or stop invading for it.

[davieG]

It may make us more independent when dealing with countries we're only allies with for their oil

With countries finding their own resources the oil in these 'allies' will last longer so we'll probably end up going back to them when we've exhausted the fracking.

 

Or the price these allies are charging will drop due to reduced demand and end up being cheaper than the fracking.

[The Year Of The Fox]

Possibly on your second paragraph Davie G.

But as I said earlier apparentley theres just under 500 years of supply under our own country. I couldnt care less who we're allies with that far down the line

or stop invading for it.

or this yes

[Deucalion]

Got to be done I'm afraid.

 

I just hope it can be done with some kind of sensitivity to the environment.

 

Not so worried about Blackpool though, wouldn't be a great loss if it slid into the sea in my opinion !!  

[ADK]

I'm not really keen on it but seems like people have generally been brainwashed into it. Do i trust the government to make sure this dosn't damage the environment? No.

 

I wouldn't actually mind limited amounts of fracking so long as it is carefully regulated and not used as an excuse to stop investment in renewables.

[MPH]

Most of the easy to get oil and gas reserves have been tapped now, so technologies like fracking or drilling in sensitive areas (arctic regions) will be the next step. There's plenty of fossil fuels still out there. Poland has Europe's largest shale gas reserves (which Fracking is used to get). The north sea still has untapped reservoirs of heavy oil, which until recently has been difficult to get out of the ground as its like treacle and doesn't flow. I've bought shares in a few small companies drilling for these new reserves and will hopefully make a packet (or lose the lot  !!) if this takes off.

 

Fracking is big business in the USA, lets hope it creates jobs and wealth over here.

 

 

 

That would be amusing... English migrants heading to Poland to get a job in the growing fracking business..

[leicsmac]

On a related note, it seems like futuristic fictional civilisations are keen on the idea as they seem to mention it a lot. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7KcpgQKo2I

[MooseBreath]

I think I'm right in saying that we're physically part of an international gas market, and that if we produced a surplus it would just go into that market, which is so big that our gas wouldn't make a huge impact, and therefore gas prices would not move much. If the whole of Europe got on board it would make a bigger difference.

But even so the more gas we're producing, the more money we've got coming in, which can only be a good thing. The only negative is potential environmental impacts. I read an article earlier where the spokesman for environmentalists was a chap who has changed his name by deed poll to "Gayzer Frackman". That's the caliber of person you've got opposing the idea. Nutjobs.

[The Doctor]

Against, the gas you collect is shale gas which isn't really much use as a fuel source, it's a waste of money that could be better spent on either developing fusion or flattening france and covering it with solar panels.

[MPH]

Against, the gas you collect is shale gas which isn't really much use as a fuel source, it's a waste of money that could be better spent on either developing fusion or flattening france and covering it with solar panels.

 

If you made this a campaign promise, I would vote for you in your run for world president!

[The Year Of The Fox]

Cameron is backing fracking. Good on him. Lets get it started