[Closed] Help protect our national parks from fracking!

What are the pros and cons?

Potential pollution problems aside I suppose that an area being cracked would be closed to the public

What exactly are we protecting them from? The foot print of a fracking site and associated infrastructure probably isn't much bigger than a trail centre car park or farm yard. The sites aren't intended to pollute the land around them, in fact legislation and monitoring around them will be much tighter than your average farm yard. Farms for example have a pretty poor record when it comes to environmental pollution.

No thanks I'm for diversifying our energy sources

I am broadly a supporter of fracking.

Pros: -
- increased dividends to shareholders of utility companies
- potential for cheaper energy (some debate)
- increased revenue from corporate taxation (yeah right...!)

Cons: -
- continuing pollution from prolonged fossil fuel use
- pollution caused directly by extraction
- cost of subsidy/tax break to 'encourage' exploration and production
- potential for reduced or impaired access to parks
- environmental impacts including destabilisation etc...

Frack on I say.

Pros: some people will make a lot of money from fracking.

Cons: it won't be you or me. There's also the environmental damage, the fact that it will undoubtedly restrict public access to certain areas and it sets a precedent for future schemes to be allowed in UK wilderness areas.

I'm normally not one to sign up for online stuff as there's two sides to every debate, but fracking just seems like a terrible idea to me. Money should be invested in sustainable energy, not stuff like this.

I'm not a big fan of the National Parks. A bit too 'Scottish' an idea for my liking. So no, I'm not against a bit of exploratory Fracking.

colin9 - Member
I am broadly a supporter of fracking.

That's fair enough - room for two sides on an issue after all... If there is a pro cracking petition and you feel strongly about it you could start a thread! 🙂

I'm not a big fan of the National Parks. A bit too 'Scottish' an idea for my liking.

Eh? The first national park in England was designated in 1951, the first in scotland was over 50 years later in 2002. In what way is that a "Scottish" idea?

What, 'sustainable' like a chuffing great steel-giant of a wind farm you mean?? the ones that are never going around because it's too windy? The ones which have further blotted another hundred square miles of countryside with the endless miles of pylons and cables?

Or the ugly acres of solar-farms, sprayed to within an inch of their lives to keep the weeds at bay and all facing South so we get a surge of power at lunch time when nobody needs it??

Let's build a Nuclear power station and have done with it. If they lose the vote, we'll build it in Scotland to say thanks and show we care about the Scottish economy 😀

@gonefishin All a bit 'power to the people' 'let's tell the farmers what to do' for my liking.

[quote=crosshair said]I'm not a big fan of the National Parks. A bit too 'Scottish' an idea for my liking. So no, I'm not against a bit of exploratory Fracking.

the national parks are only in england and wales

I am not sure why th e"nationality" of an idea woudl make you pro another

What about democracy ...not a fan as it is a bit Greek?

Or the ugly acres of solar-farms, sprayed to within an inch of their lives to keep the weeds at bay and all facing South so we get a surge of power at lunch time when nobody needs it??

Bit like traditional power stations that used to stay on line all night and hence the promotion of economy 7...

Or the ugly acres of solar-farms, sprayed to within an inch of their lives to keep the weeds at bay and all facing South so we get a surge of power at lunch time when nobody needs it??

Bit like traditional power stations that used to stay on line all night and hence the promotion of economy 7...

I just couldn't believe how much the Scottish interfere with their private landowners. I was only up there a week and our hosts had about five visits from interfering jobsworths measuring this, assessing that and counting the other. It struck me that the National Park movement here was very similar in its outlook.

I'm a big supporter of the American National Park movement but over here it's just a bit un-English 😉 😀

Just an opinion.........

Don't get me started on planning permission and so called Heritage either 😀

Well if you mean left wing then come out and say that rather than trying to hide behind some slightly weak xenophobic garbage. Scottish people aren't some homogenous mass with identical political viewpoints. That said given that the current government is guttering criticism for it's protection of the national parks due the proximity of some cabinet ministers constituencies, it would seem like the right seem to think they are a pretty good idea!

psst Junkyard, there are two in scotland too. Loch Lomond and Caringorm.

Actually, I'm including nuclear when I say sustainable. Offshore wind farms and hydro electric power are also options if your delicate eyes are easily offended...

No, not just left wing. It's more subtle than that. A kind of patronising arrogance only found in slimy Salmonoids of the Alex variety 😀

@steezysix I just can't believed we've unwittingly visually-raped half of our countryside for some dubious wind-power with barely a consultation. I couldn't believe how many Scotland have got- an absolute travesty.

I'm a big supporter of the American National Park movement but over here it's just a bit un-English

Just an opinion..

obvious troll is obvious

Frack on I say.

will make my mind up based on science, not media scaremongering and political bs

I'm happy for fracking to take place [i]so long as the risks are properly identified and mitigated against[/i] which I know is a big ask.

There's a lot to be said for diversifying our energy sources and there's certainly political risk from expecting to get our gas cheap from Russia for the forseeable. If it drops energy prices and supports economic growth/helps pay off the national debt (which is huge and growing) then [i]well-managed[/i] fracking could help sort out a lot of our problems

Instead of spending time being anti-fracking, thinking about how to reduce the pollution from excessive use of cars and lorries might be a bit more constructive IMO

Is there even any evidence that fracking will take place in our national parks or is it just a story that NIMBYs like to tell? (note there's not a single source for any of the claims made in the petition other than a link to a Guardian article!)

I remember when Chris Bonnington put forward a proposal to ban driving in the Lakes and there was a hell of a fuss...

Junkyard, not trolling at all. America is so different to here- so much bigger and a lot less populated.
There version is all about wonder at nature, education and a sense of pride. Ours is more centred on controlling people and petty bureaucracy.

I'm all for it if it means more laughing at newsreaders talking about fracking 😀

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And nuclear... nuke away 😀 . Cleanest and long term the only option. If we just hide that waste that is 😉

Think broess sums up my views - what he said!

Fracking in the Peaks will be interesting!!!!.They keep banning vehicles of the green lanes see what they do with that?Suppose be a lot of shale gas under the Peaks.I expect they will do it around Buxton near the Quarries out of the National Park 😉

I'm not a big fan of the National Parks. A bit too 'Scottish' an idea for my liking. So no, I'm not against a bit of exploratory Fracking.

National Parks were first created in England and Wales. 10 parks were created in the 1950's. Scotland has only recently created 2 National Parks in 2002 and 3003.

I am not against fracking in the right locations and with suitable controls.

God forbid they frack in the New Forest. They can't even cope with bikes without frothing at the mouth.

I am broadly a supporter of fracking.

I would be surprised if they get away with it in the national parks, the public opposition would be enormous, they will simply have to frack in places like under your house, since this Government is looking to prevent you from opposing that from happening.

Or what about in our forests? You know the ones this Government tried to sell off, and have quietly re-introduced that notion, in the very same paper that sets out how Lord brown is going to wreck the place with fracking.

He did such a good job in the gulf of Mexico.

There's a lot to be said for diversifying our energy sources and there's certainly political risk from expecting to get our gas cheap from Russia for the forseeable.

We don't get our gas from Russia.

If it drops energy prices and supports economic growth/helps pay off the national debt (which is huge and growing) then well-managed fracking could help sort out a lot of our problems

What, you think energy companies are clamouring to invest in fracking just to sell it to you cheap? 😆

Oil doesnt have to be massively intrusive. A big chunk of D Day was only possible because 3.5 million barrels were extracted from Sherwood Forest at Eakring with only a few hundred people ever knowing about it. The wells went on to total 47 million barrels, with very little to see on the ground that couldn't be hidden with a bit of shrubbery. I'd much rather a bit of (careful) drilling and fracking than going cap in hand to that nice Mr Putin.

Frack on.... frack off!

OP If you want it banning in the 'National Parks', does that mean you are happy for it to happen next to my house (which isn't in a National Park)?

There's a [url= https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/337209/14R_Offer.pdf ]Map[/url] on the DECC website which shows 14th onshore round of licensing blocks under offer, as well as blocks currently under licence.

El-bent - Member
We don't get our gas from Russia

Maybe, maybe not, but possibly will do.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/10715674/Where-is-our-gas-coming-from-Centrica.html

I'll confess to being sceptical about the claims of fracking offering a huge boost to our economy

I'm sure i read an analysis somewhere stated that the majority of the north seal oil boom money got sunk into the London property markets, helping to drive up our housing bubble debt based economy
If we had a Norwegian style sovereign wealth fund then things might be different

Oil companies need to big up their reserves to keep the share price high, don't believe the hype !

As for fracking national Parks I suppose it depends how lax the laws are they can drill horizontally from quite a distance so it should possible to avoid conflicts with users

And pollution (from shale fracking, they've been fracking gas and oil onshore in the uk since the 80s). There's been some examples of groundwater contamination in the USA and the small earthquakes near Blackpool show that you need to be careful but accidents can happen

Less intrusive than covering the hills with windmills.

Can't we just leave it where it is until we know if the technique messes up water tables etc? It's not going anywhere and as a resource leaving it in the ground can only make it more valuable. Win all round in my book. Oh yes we are not interested in long term stuff just short term gain.

Less intrusive than covering the hills with windmills.

Such a lovely way to mill flour though.

crosshair - Member

Junkyard, not trolling at all. America is so different to here- so much bigger and a lot less populated.
There version is all about wonder at nature, education and a sense of pride. Ours is more centred on controlling people and petty bureaucracy.

Funny that, I found the exact opposite.
America is huge, but there is virtually no tolerance of wild camping by the law enforcement authorities.
They do not like people wandering around and living on the land:
It's un-American - no profit in it.

fracking in parks - some scaremongering the sites are just as (more likely) likely to be in farm land or somewhere else

Instead of spending time being anti-fracking, thinking about how to reduce the pollution from excessive use of cars and lorries might be a bit more constructive IMO

This needs serious attention too.

And I don't want people to frack under private property too.

[i]And I don't want people to frack under private property too. [/i]

Hmm, do you actually understand how fracking works - it's a bit like saying that a deep-mine can only mine under its own land.

We still need gas for years to come.

Fracking could be the most environmentally sound way of sourcing that gas.

Base your opinion on science and information not the Daily Mail and some NIMBYs