Britain’s treasured national parks could become drilling sites in a recent move by the government to open them up to fracking by big oil and gas companies. It’s part of a wider government plan inviting companies to apply for licenses to drill for oil and gas all across the UK -- and about half the country is up for grabs.
The current process to get a licence to drill in the UK is long and relatively robust, but Minister for Energy Matthew Hancock wants to speed up the process so companies can start drilling with six months of making an application.
And we all know what that means: cut corners and bad decisions. Unfortunately, once our national parks have been desecrated by fracking, there’s no coming back.
Tell the government to immediately remove national parks from the list of areas open to fracking operations.
Fracking is an especially destructive form of oil and gas drilling -- it uses a technique of breaking up rock to get to oil supplies, and there are serious environmental concerns. Ground water can be contaminated by the gases and toxic chemicals used in the fracking process. And waste from the fracking process is commonly mishandled.
The big losers of the fracking process are us: our health is at risk, while the big oil companies take the profits.
The government is defending its decision by saying that people living in or around national parks will be protected by tougher rules for fracking. But at the same time, it has removed the ability for millions of homeowners to stop companies from drilling directly under their properties.
An outright ban would protect our national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty in Britain.
The government is touting the potential temporary benefits of a new oil or gas discovery. But is the potential permanent loss of our natural beauty really worth it?
Send your message to the government: protect our national parks from fracking by big oil.
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Read more:
“Fracking push gets go-ahead across UK as ministers tighten safeguards, The Guardian, 28 July 2014.