Voice of Russia: Is fracking the future of British energy?
UK government has given the go-ahead for a firm to resume the controversial technique known as fracking – or hydraulic fracturing – to extract natural gas from shale rock in Lancashire. The company – Cuadrilla – had suspended operations after its activity was thought to have caused two tremors near Blackpool.
Fracking sees a mixture of water, sand and some chemicals pumped into a well under high pressure to force the gas from the rock.
In the US, large-scale fracking has seen gas prices tumble by more than half and is credited with helping the country’s economic recovery. Over here, Energy Secretary Ed Davey says shale gas is a promising new energy resource.
But environmentalists say fracking can contaminate water supplies and cause air pollution. They warn that if the UK commits to power from fossil fuels then it will miss its targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
So is fracking the future of British energy?
VoR’s Tom Spender discusses this with Nick Grealy, a self-proclaimed ‘shale gas missionary’ who runs the No Hot Air website;Vanessa Vine, campaigner for the protest group Britain & Ireland Frack Free and a resident of Balcombe village in Sussex, where Cuadrilla has a licence to frack; Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent for the Guardian newspaper; Tony Bosworth, an energy campaigner with Friends of the Earth.