Day of action against fracking attracts dozens


9:30 am - November 3rd 2011

by Sunny Hundal    


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At 5.30am yesterday morning, nine members of anti-fracking network ‘Frack Off’ halted work at Cuadrilla Resources drilling site in Hesketh Bank.

They ran on to the fracking site and climbed up the 30-meter high drilling rig using climbing equipment. Two of the climbers were later given cups of tea by the workman at the drill as they were sat on top of the drill. [short video of the action]

The actions coincided with the publication of Cuadrilla Resources, pioneers of hydraulic fracturing in the UK’s final report on earthquakes. The report confirmed that their test well did cause the earth-tremors in Blackpool earlier this year.

The morning action was meant to set the stage for a bigger action planned later in the day.

Nearly a hundred activists staged a ‘frack mob’ outside a hotel in London with gas masks, protective suits, and noise makers in the afternoon.


(more pictures here)

They were protesting at the £1,500-a-ticket Shale Gas Environmental Summit, which they argue that the event is a blatant piece of ‘Greenwash.’

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.

It has been the subject of much contention due to numerous reports linking the method to water contamination, health problems and earthquakes. The industry is in its infancy in the UK, and there are plans for up to 800 wells in Lancashire alone.

Frack Off is a national grassroots anti-fracking network who launched their website by unfurling a banner 500 feet up Blackpool tower earlier this year.

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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. ukliberty

Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts dozens

Dozens, I tells ye.

Tremendous.

2. Chaise Guevara

@ ukliberty

The title does read like a Daily Mash headline, doesn’t it?

3. Chaise Guevara

BTW, at time of writing (10.45 am), ukliberty’s post above claims to have been written about 40 minutes into the future. So either a) this is a due to a wormhole in time that we can all exploit to gain huge gambling winnings, or b) someone forgot to change the clocks.

4. ukliberty

Chaise,

BTW, at time of writing (10.45 am), ukliberty’s post above claims to have been written about 40 minutes into the future. So either a) this is a due to a wormhole in time that we can all exploit to gain huge gambling winnings, or b) someone forgot to change the clocks.

On my screen the post is dated 11:25 am, November 3, 2011.

Your post is dated 11:49 am, November 3, 2011.

My clock says 11:22am.

5. Chaise Guevara

@ 4 ukliberty

Wormhole in time, definitely. You start posting the winners of horse races as they come in, I’ll get down the bookies. If you see a tricked-out DeLorean, use it with care.

6. damon

Is there any space on LC for a discussion about the pros and cons of fracking and demonstrations like yesterday’s?

I saw some drilling engineers working in Lancashire on the news last night explaining the process and what they’re doing. They’re learning things as they go along. For example the earthquake. They said they were now much better able to monitor the situations which brought them about.
I’m not going to be against a new form of energy extraction that is just in it’s infancy

7. Tim Worstall

Well, yes, earthquakes in Lancashire.

But who bloody cares, it’s Lancashire for God’s sake.

There’s so much gas down there that the rest of us can be warm and toastie for a century. Lancashire will just have to go, sorry.

8. Arch

Tim, Lancashire didn’t suffer much on the event of the earthquakes.

The report found that:

- Minor earthquakes were caused in part by the fracking process.

But that:

- The earthquakes caused no structural damage to the surface.

- The earthquakes were low on the Richter scale: 1.5 and 2.3.

- The earthquakes were also caused in part by rare and unusual geological factors. These factors would be very unlikely to feature at future wells, and so the probability that these factors – in combination with the fracking process – would cause future earthquakes is low.

Here’s Cuadrilla’s press statement:

http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Cuadrilla-Resources-Press-Release-02-11-11.pdf


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Day of action against 'fracking' attracts dozens http://t.co/FukvwjKl

  2. tracy e

    Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts dozens | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/PpCQxJCW via @libcon

  3. Janet Graham

    Day of action against 'fracking' attracts dozens http://t.co/FukvwjKl

  4. sunny hundal

    Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts nearly a hundred to London to disrupt conference http://t.co/rjuTuqcf (cc @NaomiAKlein)

  5. Luther Blissett

    Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts nearly a hundred to London to disrupt conference http://t.co/rjuTuqcf (cc @NaomiAKlein)

  6. David Harney

    Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts nearly a hundred to London to disrupt conference http://t.co/rjuTuqcf (cc @NaomiAKlein)

  7. Sam Bowman

    Free speech for those we agree with! RT @sunny_hundal: Day of action vs ‘fracking’ attracts 100 to disrupt conference http://t.co/jGPqSLH9

  8. Toy

    Free speech for those we agree with! RT @sunny_hundal: Day of action vs ‘fracking’ attracts 100 to disrupt conference http://t.co/jGPqSLH9

  9. Arnie

    Free speech for those we agree with! RT @sunny_hundal: Day of action vs ‘fracking’ attracts 100 to disrupt conference http://t.co/jGPqSLH9

  10. Damian O'Broin

    RT @sunny_hundal: Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts nearly 100 to London to disrupt conference http://t.co/uEhex4JM

  11. Alex Braithwaite

    Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts dozens | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/tz67SEsF via @libcon

  12. Janet Graham

    Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts nearly a hundred to London to disrupt conference http://t.co/rjuTuqcf (cc @NaomiAKlein)

  13. Noxi

    RT @sunny_hundal: Day of action against ‘fracking’ attracts nearly a hundred to London to disrupt conference http://t.co/e4074v3P (cc…

  14. Noxi

    RT @libcon: Day of action against 'fracking' attracts dozens http://t.co/e4074v3P

  15. Anti-LiberalDemocrat

    Day of action against 'fracking' attracts dozens | Liberal Conspiracy: At 5.30am yesterday morning, nine members… http://t.co/Qzapz8ZB





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