Sir, – Your editorial (February 6th) on the risks of fracking was needlessly alarmist, giving comfort and succour to those who are against all development. Many of the objections that you quote, such as flammable gas pouring out of kitchen taps, bear very little resemblance to reality. For a start, the major sources of supply of potable water in Ireland are lakes and rivers and not underground aquifers; the latter is the case in the US.
I note that you quote approvingly that fracking has been suspended in parts of Germany; but Chancellor Angela Merkel has also banned nuclear energy on the basis of the Fukushima accident. When was the last time that Germany experienced a magnitude 9 earthquake and an enormous tsunami? Her decision was a classic, ill-considered knee-jerk reaction and not a considered response to the situation.
Your reference to an EPA-funded study by the University of Aberdeen to determine the potential risks is somewhat undermined by stating that the university “is no stranger to the gas and oil industry”. Would you prefer that the study be carried out by an institution with no previous experience of the extraction of oil and gas? A European Commission consultancy study, as reported in The Irish Times (Home News) on February 1st, has concluded that specific new legislation is not required.
You do not seem to appreciate how parlous is the state of our energy supply. We are reliant on imports of natural gas from the North Sea and increasingly from further afield. Your own paper carried a report stating that GazProm has warned the European Union that it cannot boost supplies of natural gas to meet rising demand in the West (World News, February 6th).
Naturally enough, GazProm’s priorities are to supply the Russian market first; imagine the consequences if we had suffered a repeat of last year’s harsh winter. In addition, the Commission for Energy Regulation has recently flagged the fragile nature of our gas pipeline from Scotland through which all our imports flow. With the Corrib gas field mired in endless insincere objections, our energy situation is becoming perilous.
Yes, there are risks associated with all human activities, but more information will be available before licences are granted for the production of shale gas; that is, if there are any resources that can be exploited commercially.
This information should be relevant in an Irish context and will facilitate the weighing up of both the risks and the benefits of fracking. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I must admit to not knowing a great deal about fracking. However, it must be a good idea to wait until a full investigation of the pros and cons is completed before taking any action.
The reserves have been there for billions of years. They will probably survive intact for another two. – Yours, etc,