How can fossil fuels and uranium be kept in the ground and agrofuels off the land in ways that do not inflict suffering upon millions? Mainstream policy responses to these issues are largely framed in terms of “energy security”.
Yet far from making energy supplies more secure, such policies are triggering a cascade of new insecurities for millions of people. This report considers the pitfalls of “energy security”, both as policy and as rhetoric. Its four sections:
explore the abstract and historical energy concept reflected in physics, which ignores the different types of political struggle connected with each energy source;
describe the wave of new energy enclosures justified by “energy security” that are creating new scarcities and insecurities as people are dispossessed of energy, food, water, land and other necessities of life;
outline how the neoliberal market-driven approach to energy and climate policy strengthens energy exclusions, while the financialisation of energy and climate creates energy shortages and delays effective climate action; and
summarise the violence that accompanies the everyday “normal” operation of fossil-fuelled industrialism that is entrenched within the “securitisation of everything”.
After admitting causing earthquakes last year, UK fracker Cuadrilla’s plans were dealt a blow last week as the company was told to conduct more seismic testing. The company estimates this will cost an extra £1.5m.
Since a test frack caused an earthquake in 2011, the UK government has been liaising with the US-led fracker about how to prevent similar occurrences.
The company has already carried out extensive seismic work – all drilling/ fracking is preceded by seismic surveys.
The company also announced plans to drill a fourth borehole this Spring. In the same letter the company announced its intention to drill an exploratory borehole at Anna’s Road in Westby. Planning permission for the site was granted in 2010.
Despite voluntarily suspended fracking operations the company has continued to drill boreholes, completing its third at Marsh Farm, Banks in December 2011.
Whilst shale gas exploration is a relatively new phenomena in the UK, it seems that the oil and gas industry has been busy fracking up Europe for some time. I saw a link to the film below only last week on twitter. Rural communities in the north of Germany have been living in blissful ignorance in close proximity to fracking sites. They have suddenly been hit by an increased rate of new and rare cancers, with as many as 10 families affected in a community of only 27 households. This is due to the greed of RWE who have been busy hiding the evidence… sorry, pumping away produced water through a network of plastic pipes. Pipes that allow benzene to accumulate and eventually leach through them into the soil. They should have used more expensive pipes with aluminium linings to prevent this, but they claim ignorance and I’m guessing that would have cut the profit margin. Oh well, a few cases of cancer in locals. A price worth paying for the shareholders.
Video 1 – ARD Munich Report – Cancer clusters around RWE Frack sites (English Sub)
I started looking around for other films from Germany. There’s no shortage. I should say at this point that I am in the process of getting the films translated but let me share with you the gist of the next offering. A “furious” chief executive of a water company, responsible for the safe drinking water of 1,000,000 residents discovers to his horror that fracking been taking place in his area. He is not notified, advised or even asked, but has to learn of this information through the local press! After conferring with other water comapnies it appears this is widespread and has involved the use of a number of chemicals that are known to be toxic. Manfred Sholles greatest concern is that nobody can predict where the fractures caused by fracking will extendto and that are are no guarantees that it will not contaminate groundwater and therefore drinking water. A local town councillor makes the point that Exxon-Mobil were granted their first exploratory licences in 2008 but that local town councillors have only just discovered that chemicals were injected into the ground. Apparently no mandatory disclosure is required! Negligence or ignorance on the part of the council…. seemingly a pattern that is being repeated globally.
Video 2 – ARD Monitor – Excon Mobile multiple reinjection of produced water. Manfred Scholle of Gelsenwasser furious that he only found out through the press (German)
This third film terrifies me. it shows a frack site in operation. It doesnt fill me with confidence about health and safety. It looks extremely industrial, messy, dirty and this from one of the largest power companies in the world who also operate nuclear power stations. The report goes on to state that the German government confirm in a written reply to questions by the program that there are indeed risks to groundwater from fracking, contamination by chemicals and danger caused by radio active produced water storage sites. More specifically there is concern over the practise of re- injecting produced water into multiple frack jobs thus increasing the concentration of chemicals and materials leached from the shale… To date there have been hundreds of fracks across Germany. Each one involving millions of gallons of water and tonnes of chemicals.
Video 3 – ARD Munich Report – 2010, thousands of tonnes of toxic benzene laden soil removed from established Fracking sites. (German)
Lastly a fluffy anti fracking film made by German activists. Each person or group citing the reasons why they want to stop fracking. But, its dated April 2011! At that time I don’t think I was alone in my relative ignorance of fracking or the other extreme energy techniques that have appeared. Quietly and almost unobtrusively the big corporations and governments are pushing through with their plans to extract every last drop of fossil fuels regardless of the cost to human health and the environment. A last ditch attempt to keep up the facade of capitalism and ignore our dependancy on energy.
Video 4 – Anti Fracking campaigners made this video in April 2010 (German)
Last Saturday, Bulgarian and Romanian activists along with members of Frack Off braved the cold weather and staged a spectacular demonstration near the Romanian embassy in Kensington. With chemical suits, chants and street performers they protested against the proposed use of controversial ‘fracking’ to extract shale gas in Romania.
Currently Chevron has several licenses for shale exploration in Romania and plan to start drilling in the second half of this year. Besides Chevron, Hungary’s MOL and Canada’s East West Petroleum also have struck drilling agreements with Romania’s Mineral Resources Agency and are awaiting government approval. 1 Of particular concern are the drilling plans for Dobrogea, an area located in southern Romania which is also the agricultural heartland of Bulgaria and Romania.
This demonstration came on the heels of a massive day of action which saw tens of thousands of people protesting in Bulgaria, London and various other cities around the world. Following this massive day of action, Bulgaria decided to ban the use of fracking for shale gas extraction. 2
Pavel Drumev who is a passionate opponent of fracking said, “People across Europe are waking up to the dangers of fracking after seeing the damage done in America. The Bulgarian ban is just the start. We hope that we will create momentum for a Europe-wide ban and full support for renewables instead.”
Fracking has caused earthquakes in Blackpool and a 4.0 earthquake in Ohio. 3 The EPA has also confirmed that fracking is responsible for poisoning tap water in Wyoming. 4 In addition, a recent study by Cornell University has shown that fracking may release more greenhouse gases than the dirtiest fossil fuel coal.
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* Introduction, why we have set up the group
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Tony Grayling, head of Climate Change and Communities at the Environment Agency was quoted as saying ‘we are undertaking due diligence to see if the regulatory framework is fully robust.’
Questions arise, however, as to whether the fracking industry can be adequately regulated at all.
The report investigates the area is known as the annulus – the space between the steel pipe and the borehole edges.
In new wells, 5% tested for gas in the annulus.
After ten years, 30% tested positive. After 30 years it reached 60%.
Given that a well is a permanent feature it’s hard to see how regulators can assure an increasingly skeptical public that a well remains permanently sealed.
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