Upcoming Events

no events match your query!

New Events

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link This Site Will Soon Be Hosted at anti-em... Sun Sep 22, 2024 17:24 | Anti-Empire

offsite link Ukraine Shoots Down F-16 With Patriot, A... Sat Aug 31, 2024 11:53 | Anti-Empire

offsite link Surprise Offensive Puts 300 km² of Russ... Fri Aug 09, 2024 08:44 | Marko Marjanović

offsite link The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire

offsite link In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire >>

The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.  We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below). 

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Fracking Stories on Indymedia

Fracking Summary

Fracking is the latest fraud and threat to hit us. It brings promises of boundless energy and wealth. The reality is that these wells are costly in money and can and do cause very serious long term damage over wide areas to the soil and water table by contamination. The few gains that are got go to a few individuals who own or run the corporation pushing this technology. In energy terms it represents the last desperate attempts to keep energy flow at any cost. The truth is that these wells have massive depletion rates of up to 70% in the first year of production, The mechanism to finance these dubious wells is basically a ponzi scheme that is based on resale of fracking licenses. But with the massivedepletion rates just mentioned, it means 70% of the total revenue is obtained in the first year and it rapidly tails off after that. So anyone sold these is left holding the bag as it were and the liability for damage and cleanup. From the recent experience with the property bubble and bust, we know how that worked out.

With Fracking you drill down into the rock in all directions and using high powered water pressure mixed with sand an a cocktail of dangerous poisonous chemicals the rock is shattered and the trapped gas released. This requires vast amounts of energy, piping and water. It literally wrecks the land. In Canada and the USA farmers have been wiped out because all their animals died from the poisons. What will happen in this corrupt country is that our government and their officials will smooth talk everything, give the okay and allow rampant greed to take over. Then when it all goes bust, we the people and thousands of farmers will be left with severely damaged land. It could even wipe out farming. It will certainly destroy our fishing and tourism. The fracking boom could be here and gone in less than 10 years and a small bunch of people will make off with the profits. However for the hundreds of thousands of people affected in the targeted areas the costs will be immense. You have been warned. This will be like the property boom except this time, your very land and means to survive will be destroyed.


See
See this illustration of how it works.

How Fracking Works

Here's another illustration of the fracking process. Image and text just below is from http://NotForShale.com/fracking.htm

Issues with Fracking are as such:

  • Large areas cleared and levelled to allow for drilling sites and road infrastructure to help support the process taking place.
  • Potential damage to water systems, above and below ground from use of toxic fluids and elements used in drilling.
  • Unkown damage to Geological layout.
  • Risk of explosion on site. (incidents have happened in the past in USA)
  • Loud Noise.
  • Escaping gas, this alone can cause health effects.
  • Has the potential to cause earthquakes.
  • When a site becomes exhausted of extracting gas, the site must be heavily secured and treated long term as there could pressure build-up.
  • The storing and treatment of used fluids and chemicals after drilling. This is very costly to the companies drilling.




Issues with Fracking in terms of Northern Ireland / Ireland along with above:

  • No governmental body or independant overseeing the industry here. Therefore accountability is minimal in any given event.
  • No State ownership of resources after drilling. The Shale gas becomes privately owned. Private companies have no obligation to give discount to local economy of resources acquired.
  • Tax payer here must foot the bill in the event of a clean up after an accident.
  • Ireland is small, even a small event could affect the island as a whole. The drilling here is focused in and around border counties with proximity to the Erne-Shannon waterway that could allow chemicals to travel the length of Ireland.
  • The private companies here are new to the drilling industry and have no prior or minor experience of Shale gas drilling.
  • With Fracking the earth for gas, there then comes a need to store that gas. Huge chambers (500 Million cubic metres est) are being unearthed deep beneath the Larne Sub Basin onshore and offshore and along the NorthEast coast. These chambers are being created to store air at high pressure but could also be used to store gas. It is not certain whether gas Fracked in N.Ireland will be stored at these sites but it is a possibility. The salt deposits from the excavated caverns and tunnels may be injected into the sea sending the water/salt levels out of sync causing huge problems for marine life. There are 3 projects to create these chambers in planning.

Articles on Indymedia on Fracking

Statement from some of No Fracking Ireland on EPA 'consultation' process which ended today. - March 8th 2013

Overview of Fracking and Ireland - March 8th 2013

Renouned Investigative Journalist Greg Palast Talks about Fracking in Enniskillen, Carrick on Shannon and Dublin

Poland and Fracking - Lessons to be Learned - Ban Fracking In EU

Counties and Townlands in the Fracking Zones - Are You Living in a Facking Zone? Find Out Here.
Response to the article 'Frank Convery, Yvonne Scannell, Fracking and Local Credibility in Ireland'
Fracking Ireland - Business Group Accept €20,000 From TamboranLocal Fracking Talk Brings Revelations

Open letter to the members of the 31st Dáil Éireann. Hydraulic Shale Gas Fracturing - Tamborans claims - Chemicals involved in the fracking procedure
Presentations: "The Realities of Hydraulic Fracturing" and "Fracking Inhumanity"

Bulgaria Bans Fracking - (from SchNews)
Documentary film “Gasland” on "fracking" free showing in the Northwest

Map of the Areas To Be Fracked

As you can see this affects very large areas of the country. A lot of people are going to be badly affected by this.

Fracking Licenses

Other Related Articles on Fracking and Shale Oil

Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise Imperils Our Future by Richard Heinberg (July 2013)

Fracking May Be Worse Than Burning Coal by Bill McKibben Post Carbon Fellow Sep 10, 2014

IMC network

© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy