Reporting of the environmental implications of fracking
13th March 2014 A group of wildlife and countryside organisations says current regulations for unconventional fossil fuel development are not strong enough to prevent damage and it calls for a permanent ban on fracking in all protected areas. The group, which includes National Trust, RSPB and the Wildlife […]
11th March 2014 Noise, lighting, traffic and the impact on the natural beauty of the High Weald are the key concerns of organisations responding to Cuadrilla’s application to flow test its oil exploration well at Balcombe. As the consultation period comes to an end, InvestigatingBalcomeAndCuadrilla.com has been analysing […]
Public Health England (PHE) has called for more controls on testing Cuadrilla’s oil exploration well at Balcombe to protect people from possible pollution threats. Responding to the company’s latest planning application, the organisation (established last year to protect and improve the nation’s health) recommended: Further checks on the […]
New Scientist magazine says the Balcombe area of West Sussex could be one of the best places to drill for onshore oil after a study of shale rock throughout England. The study’s leader, Alastair Fraser, of Imperial College London, told the magazine: “Our analysis highlights the Balcombe area […]
5th March 2014 UK Shale conference report 4 Professor Peter Styles, one of the UK’s leading experts on seismicity, said the Blackpool earthquakes in 2011 might have been avoided if Cuadrilla had carried out 3d seismic surveys before it fracked.
28th February 2014 A new report* from the United States has found no comprehensive population-based studies about the effect of fracking on human health, despite broad public concern. The report, in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental science and technology, looked at the available research on the environmental, social and […]
25th February 2014 For the past five months, InvestigatingBalcombeAndCuadrilla.com has been trying to find out What do the Lib Dems really think about fracking? The Department for Energy and Climate Change, under Lib Dem Ed Davey, is preparing to sell petroleum exploration and development licences (PEDL) which will […]
23rd February 2014 We asked Cuadrilla questions about its planning application to flow test the oil exploration well at Balcombe and for a response to calls for it to contribute to the cost of policing the summer protests. Here are the unedited responses. Question: What is ‘acid etching’ […]
18/2/14 The South Downs National Park Authority is to tell the government that no more oil or gas licences should be sold in protected landscapes. The comment will be part of the authority’s response to a government consultation on the next round of Petroleum Development and Exploration Licences […]
18/2/14 The South Downs National Park Authority has halted consideration of Celtique Energie’s planning application for exploratory drilling at Fernhurst because key information is missing. The application will need to go through a new consultation and is unlikely to be decided until the summer. The authority’s chief executive, […]
DRILL OR DROP? 