Supplying Opposition...

One day this blog will be a place I can wonder at topics for ages before getting swallowed into one to explore - before moving onto another and another more. Sadly for now, as the threat of harm by those in the energy sector pushing the extraction of shale gas and other unconventional energy using techniques like 'fracking' grows and the power and impact of lobbyists continues to devour any semblance of democracy ...I am compelled to stay with this ugly subject. 

This is an invitation, a suggestion ...a hope that as many as possible who do not want to see 'fracking' putting our communities at risk, will join together as individuals or groups to come to Blackpool (it's lovely!) on Thursday 24th April 2014 for a day of opposition - expressed in any lawful, peaceful way you choose to express it.

Energy minister Michael Fallon is coming to the beautiful Winter Gardens, Blackpool to knit supply chains for the shale gas industry... our town was literally the epicentre for the one and only time the 'fracking' part of the process of shale gas extraction has taken place (although they drill all over in preparation) - this scheduled event is coming here because Lord Brown's Cuadrilla want to get on with fracking (they HAVE permission) as soon as possible...

...we NEED all the help we can get on this one. Usually we create events or agree to join actions and act as one body in protest but this time - it would be great to have every body do exactly what they want to do - peacefully - so each group and individual is encouraged to arrange whatever they feel appropriate. The point is to be creative, informative and unpredictable xxx

Some coverage of the upcoming event here:
http://www.lep.co.uk/news/business/deadline-approaching-for-gas-conference-1-6533833

and from the organisers here:
http://nwenergy.org.uk/north-west-shale/

*Ideas – (yellow & black are the colours used by many to say NO to fracking):
-Frocking NOT Fracking (dress it up!!)
-Get creative with knitting like ‘yarn bombing’ in advance maybe
-Banners of course are good and so is messages written all over yourself
-The Green Party are the ONLY party saying NO to fracking – share that information
-BE the rig – get creative with structures J
-Use any musical or other talents
-Simply be you and be witness which is powerful – think ‘Standing Man’
-Honour the PROTECTORS who slow the trucks at Community Protection Camps – symbolic tents/mock lock-ons etc.

…or anything else peaceful and lawful that you can think of xhttps://www.facebook.com/events/485789431548948

Labour Councillor Press Release Fracking Lancashire

HOSTING the following Press Release as I can't locate another link. It matters because it comes from a Labour Councillor of Lancashire County Council and it ACTUALLY says things like this:

[.. the impact on the rural roads will increase the deterioration and direct damage during the exploratory stage, if this is increased to full production the road network will collapse.
..The current government appears to be developing a Free Range Fracking policy, which restricts local authority's ability to implement measures that would reduce the impact on local communities.
..There is no clear or cohesive specific industry specific legislation regarding environmental or health and safety legislation that protects local communities from the possible risks that such an industry brings with it. There is just a series of cobbled together quasi judicial bodies that have developed regulation from other industries that they may be able to take action on once something goes wrong.
..Expecting the People of Lancashire to carry the cost of these roads, to the determent of the existing network is totally unacceptable. The people of Lancashire should not be forced to subsidies the Fracking Industry." ..]

The rest is here:

Lancashire Roads Fracking Impact
( Cllr John Fillis)
Lancashire County Council has been given notice of two possible planning applications to develop the construction of Well Pads, Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing of 4 Exploratory Boreholes at 2 sites in the Fylde District.

Should planning applications be submitted. Lancashire County Council will require a Transport Assessment to be undertaken for each site to investigate the traffic impact of the proposal on the highway network.
These two possible drilling sites will be typical in the infrastructure requirements if wide spread development takes place across Lancashire.

One site is just off an "A" road which indicates direct access affording the prospect for an acceptable and safe means of access to be provided to trunk road standards. The traffic from the site can be contained within the principle road network.

Access to the more rural development will need to negotiate a significant length of narrow rural road. The highway consultant for the developer is considering a number of routes. To date, no routes have been agreed as being acceptable. Many of the local roads have very limited carriageway width and there is limited scope for the creation of passing places / carriageway widening. The impact of safety of the development traffic is an issue for close consideration through the Transport Assessment process. Given the nature of the local roads likely to be affected here, HGV movements at the anticipated levels may have a material impact on highway stability. For example, they may over-run the edge of carriageway where they meet traffic coming in the other direction, resulting in verge rutting and crumbling the tarmac. They may also accelerate the deterioration of local road surfaces. These and other similar impacts on road condition constitute another key issue for consideration through the Transport Assessment process.

As a build up to the Transport Assessment, Lancashire County Councillor John Fillis, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, recently visited these sites in order to gain a clearer understanding of the challenges the Shale Gas (Fracking) Industry brings to the rural roads especially.

Cllr John Fillis said "There are many debates currently taking place regarding the safety, necessity and morality of the Fracking Industry. Lancashire County Council has a duty to consider these proposals based on current planning guide lines and without prejudice.

The issues that are of primary concern to the Highways Department are the availability of an appropriate route to the development sites, the impact that the additional vehicle movements will have on highway safety, the impact that these traffic movements will have on the structure of the highway and local communities that live along or may be required to access those routes.

From the information we have so far the impact on the rural roads will increase the deterioration and direct damage during the exploratory stage, if this is increased to full production the road network will collapse.
Unlike other industries where we are able to plan the infrastructure to support it and provide the environment that separates it from intruding on residential areas, were possible.

The current government appears to be developing a Free Range Fracking policy, which restricts local authority's ability to implement measures that would reduce the impact on local communities. There is no clear or cohesive specific industry specific legislation regarding environmental or health and safety legislation that protects local communities from the possible risks that such an industry brings with it. There is just a series of cobbled together quasi judicial bodies that have developed regulation from other industries that they may be able to take action on once something goes wrong.

The government has announced that it will make one off funding available to local communities through a charity, the council will receive some funding retrospectively, while the majority of the money flows down south into the government's coffers. Expecting the People of Lancashire to carry the cost of these roads, to the determent of the existing network is totally unacceptable. The people of Lancashire should not be forced to subsidies the Fracking Industry."

▶ Tina Louise's Speech at the Mother's Against Fracking Rally 30.03.14. - YouTube

▶ Tina Louise's Speech at the Mother's Against Fracking Rally 30.03.14. - YouTube

Press Release BY Julie Wassmer

Busy few days... thankfully captured in this Press Release by the very brilliant Julie Wassmer :

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release: Tuesday 1st April 2014

FYLDE CAMPAIGNERS JOINED  BY BIANCA JAGGER AT LONDON ‘MOTHERS AGAINST FRACKING’ RALLY

Bianca Jagger(1), Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, joined hundreds of mothers and children at a Mothers Against Fracking(2) rally organized by Frack Free Fylde campaigner, Gayzer Frackman, on Mother’s Day (Sunday 30^th March) in London.


The event was held at Old Palace Yard near the House of Lords in Westminster(3), between noon until 3pm, as a demonstration of opposition from families to fracking in the UK.

Speaking at the event, Bianca Jagger said: “As a mother, a grandmother and soon to be a great grandmother, I am deeply concerned about the impact fracking will have on our way of life. Our environment, our water sources, the air and the land are precious resources which we must conserve if we are to leave a habitable world to future generations. Prime Minister Cameron, I urge you to stop endorsing this hazardous technology. It will be a betrayal of our children, our grandchildren and great grandchildren.”

Dr Becky Martin, spokesperson for Mothers Against Fracking said: “We were grateful to Gayzer for organising the rally and to Bianca Jagger for supporting us on the day. The event was inclusive but the focus remained on a large and very visible group of mothers, from all walks of life, who wish to publicly show concern for the future health of their children should the unconventional gas industry be allowed to go ahead in the UK. We do not believe that the industry can be safely regulated as fracking is an inherently risky process and we will continue to campaign until this threat to the health and well being of our children goes away.”

Frack Free Fylde campaigner Gayzer Frackman was joined by fellow Lancashire campaigners, Tina Rothery and Julie Daniels from RAFF (Residents Action on  Fylde Fracking) and their joint message was a simple one: “Our children's futures do not come with a price tag.”


Frackman, who changed his surname by deed poll after his home was damaged by seismic events caused by fracking operations in the Fylde(4), said: ‘The potential industrialisation of huge areas of the UK brings with it all the risks to public health, wildlife and the environment that have been documented in other countries where fracking has gone ahead.” He continued “the government’s arguments for extreme energy exploration are discredited. Shale will not bring down the cost of energy bills, nor will it create a jobs boom and it cannot come quick enough to bridge any gap in our energy needs so why would we compromise our children’s health for false promises?”(5)

Other speakers included the Green party leader: Natalie Bennett, Vanessa Vine of BIFF (Britain & Ireland Frack Free), Tina Rothery of RAFF (Residents Action on Fylde Fracking), Louise Somerville Williams (Frack Free Somerset), Julie Wassmer (East Kent Against Fracking) and Tammy Samede from the Barton Moss Camp in Salford where a protest has continued for over 3 months against exploratory drilling by I-Gas.
On Monday 31^st March at 3pm, the protest continued when Frackman, Rothery and Daniels joined Mothers Against Fracking to become the 17^th group to hand deliver a letter of protest to David Cameron at 10 Downing Street as part of the Walk the Walk campaign(6) begun by Gayzer Frackman in November last year after an epic walk from Lancashire to Downing Street to hand deliver the first letter of the campaign.

Gayzer Frackman will be demonstrating at Downing Street on Tuesday April 1^st to raise awareness of the 3^rd anniversary of earthquakes caused by Cuadrilla’s fracking in Lancashire.

Ends

Notes for Editors
(1)Bianca Jagger’s titles are:-

Founder and Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation.

Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador

IUCN Plant a Pledge Ambassador

Member of the Executive Director's Leadership Council of Amnesty International USA

(2)Mothers Against Fracking campaign group
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mothers-Against-Fracking/795339480493819?fref=ts
Email: frackfreefamilies@outlook.com

(3) Mothers Against Fracking event address for Sunday 30^th March 2014:
Old Palace Yard, Abingdon Street, Westminster SW1
(12-3pm. Speakers from 1pm)
Twitter:#MumsSayNo

(4)Gayzer Frackman’s group: Frack Free Fylde
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FrackFreeFylde?fref=ts
Email: info@frackfreefylde.com
Website: www.frackfreefylde.com

(5) Economics:  Fracking will not bring down the cost of energy bills.

• Lord Stern, a cross-bench peer and professor at the London School of Economics, described the government's claims of cheaper energy from UK unconventional gas supplies as "baseless".
• Since UK gas is traded internationally, any shale gas ‘boom’ in the UK would be unlikely to have an impact on the gas price.
• In the USA, where fracking artificially lowered gas prices significantly at the outset, gas is rarely exported because other markets are too far away.
• Expert commentators from the International Energy Agency to Deutsche Bank have also said different geological, legal and regulatory conditions make it unlikely the US shale gas boom would be repeated in the UK.

·         The CBI, Chatham House and OFGEM have all expressed their doubts about shale gas bringing prices down.
·        
Employment:  Fracking will not create a jobs boom.

• David Cameron clings to the IOD report of 74,000 jobs being created by the shale industry. This report was funded by Cuadrilla, (the fracking company chaired by the government's special adviser on this industry, Lord John Browne), demonstrating that many arguments for fracking are made by those who have vested interests.
• A far more recent AMEC report provided a greatly reduced estimate of between 15,500 - 24,000 jobs - and only during the peak production period of between 4 & 9 years.
• This is a woeful amount when balanced against the million climate jobs which could be created in that time. 

Energy security: Fracking will not bridge an energy gap.

• The government claims that shale gas is needed as a bridge to renewables which are not yet fully available for our energy needs.
• But shale energy cannot be produced in time either.
• Shale requires another decade for production but the offshore industry has existing infrustructure in place and the full potential to meet energy needs until renewables come on line.
• It is also vital for us to ensure Climate Security – the forthcoming IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report is expected to show that we will miss our targets for carbon reduction and exceed global warming levels by 2c leading to irreversible impacts on food and water security and coastal habitats.)

(6)Walk the Walk - Downing Street. Campaign Facebook page:-https://www.facebook.com/events/263004400519592/

Press Release issued by Julie Wassmer.

Editors please note:-
Gayzer Frackman will be demonstrating in London on 1^st April. If you cannot reach him please contact:-


Photos show: 1. At Downing Street, Gayzer Frackman (left) with members of Mothers Againt Fracking. 31st March 2014.
2. Gayzer Frackman (left), Bianca Jagger (centre), Kent Campaigner Julie Wassmer (right) Mothers Against Fracking event 30th March 2014.

3.Gayzer Frackman (left), Natalie Bennett (leader of the Green Party) centre, Julie Wassmer (Kent campaigner) right at Mothers Against Fracking event 30th March 2014.
4. At Downing Street. Dr Becky Martin, Julie Wassmer, Tina Rothery and Helz Cuppleditch. 31st March 2014.
5 At Downing Street. Gayzer Frackman, Tina Rothery, Becky Martin, Helz Cuppleditch, Julie Wassmer 31st March 2014..

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We swarm...

We singe each other where our edges touch
Much too much ‘us’ in one place
Disaplacing reality as we
Scorch ourselves in embrace
Tracing lines of fire at our extremes

Cause only where extremes are spent
Were we ever able
Ever meant
To be

No place in day-to-day space for us
Just existing in the ether at the  shadow lines
Spine to spine on the line of existence
That breath of space where we embrace
Our souls

Where souls embrace our whole

And we recognize our entirety by being
Seeing the join and making it fade with recognition
Knowing that only here and now
Somehow, is the real of existence

I love you
I love who we are
When we’re together
Like this
Bliss in co-joined decision
To act
As one
For all
And all
For one

http://www.northfylde-ps.co.uk/alancadman.html

We’re swarming now…
Like starlings gathering at sunset
We’ve finally met our points of union
And soon there’ll be so many more
We’ll soar…
High on truth and trust
Filled with lust
…for the honourable path

Talk Fracking | We need to talk about fracking

Talk Fracking | We need to talk about fracking

2014 ...out of place

The best faces come when staring bleakly into the worst places... seeking solace.

The ugly of the reality, of the shape of the corruption and abuse of power we uncover as we strive to make sense of the seeming idiocy of those imposing on us ...is sickening.   As we question those in office about the decisions they are making that directly affect our lives - we are made to hush. As we stand to protect vital resources from obvious, immediate threat - we are pushed down and arrested away. As we speak and share and spread truths to those not yet informed - we are shouted down by over-funded, over-hyped, PR-manipulated BS from Marketing Agencies charged with masquerading beasts as saviours.

This can’t have just happened; must have been a system morphing over time from what is perceived as ‘democracy’ to this ugly brute of bullying hypocrisy that somehow ‘puts us in our place’ – as if such a thing existed!

I blame our parents… and theirs and theirs and theirs – couldn’t they see this coming? Didn’t they notice the ebbing away of true human rights and freedoms? Didn’t they recognize that the gifts of ‘choice’ were myths and treason?

And what are WE now? Are we them? Will our children wear their soft-coated shackles and thank us for them? If we sit back – don’t act… then we add to the barbaric attacks on our resources and most of all – our ability to affect our lives, protect ourselves, stand up for others and play any role in what new rules are enforced upon us to barricade us out of the way.

It’s been a terrific and horrific journey from Occupy, through fracking... to here

The terrific is actually more magical than that word explains – my heart is so damned, ridiculously full it could explode… expanded and nourished by the most glorious humans I have ever met. I’ve learned more than I thought could be known, have hugged with true hearts and genuine feeling more than all the rest of the years of my life and I have never felt more positive about the future – my faith is beautifully wrapped, intact and makes a map of certainty.

Yeah the awful stuff is happening, threatening, burdening us with dwelling still in the cold ugly places of faceless, soul-starved corporates… but WE are there – it isn’t just you or just me holding up a sign… we are tribe!

What now? What next? It's just this moment become 2014 and it feels like that really matters; feels like we need each and every, single other... more now than ever before.