Locals Propose Coalition of Communities Against Shale Gas
Last Thursday 17th July, the local group East Kent Against Fracking (EKAF) organised a public lecture in the City of Canterbury to show to the community the hazardous effects of shale gas and oil exploration in the area.
Coastal Oil and Gas Ltd (COG) holds two licences for petroleum exploration and development (PEDLs 249 and 250) relating to parts of Canterbury District. According to people at the meeting, planning applications to drill exploratory boreholes in this area could be soon filed.
“Although Kent County Council (KCC) will be the final decision-maker, Canterbury City Council (CCC) will, of course, be a major consultee,” Pat Marsh, Secretary of East Kent Against Fracking (EKAF) explained.
Mike Sole, Canterbury and Coastal Liberal Democrats Councillor, will be presenting a motion to Full Council on July 24th, calling for the rejection of any kind of unconventional gas or oil exploration in the District. Sole, who was present in the meeting last Thursday, encouraged people to sign the motion in order to present a strong opposing force to companies such as COG.
Shortage of water or gas?
At the Thanington Neighbourhood Resource Centre, Canterbury, located in the middle of a green park, local people gathered to access more information about fracking and its consequences. There was a screen set up showing a documentary entitled ‘The Truth Behind the Dash for Gas.’ It illustrated both the process and the products used in fracking. With a cast of expert researchers narrating and giving numerous interviews, the film made a claim against the method, claiming that 90% of what has recently been duped a “cocktail of chemicals” are in fact toxic, the most common being Methanol. The dangerous negative effects of Methanol poisoning are endless from nausea and dizziness to blindness and death, the documentary claimed.
The film suggested that areas involved in agricultural activity (a major part of the economy of areas such as Somerset, Devon and Cornwall) are in serious danger, with 60% of UK land available to oil and gas companies.
Graham Warren, hydro-geologist and Chair of the Environment Group ‘Campaign to Protect Rural England’ (CPRE) explained that, “there is an unavoidable environmental impact.”
“Imagine that there are 20 boreholes in the Dover area where they are fracking, […] 4 or 5 are contaminated, it is more than likely, that is 20% of the water would be out of action,” Warren claimed, criticising the lack of interest shown by the Water supply companies to this problem, warning that “they are making a big mistake.”
Considering these implications, his argument is “if you go to a region which is heavily faulted and it is in close proximity to a water supply, you should not go fracking.” According to Warren, France, Germany, Poland and Spain are all starting to learn of the dangers and are in turn attempting to prevent them, but “as usual, we [UK] are going to be one of the last to recognise the obvious.”
Linked up together to protect the land?
The implication is that protecting the land from fracking is a group effort. Residents in neighbouring villages to Thanington also took interest in the development of the recent issue, which in turn directly affects them. A resident from Shepardswell, sixteen miles from Thanington, expressed the need for the small communities of South England to join forces against fracking. Bath, Asthon Village and Dover have all been subjected to the drilling of boreholes.
Pat Marsh, Secretary of EKAF, empathised the importance of spreading an awareness about the problems involved in hydraulic fracturing, stating that, “when the people do know what the risks are, 99% of people will not accept it. The important thing is if we lock the gate and we declare our region frack-free” it is very difficult for the companies to get involved into the area. However, she pointed out that if the local community let these companies keep digging and exploring, “there will be no way to say no any more.”
Maria Victoria Gomis