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@cee-dee wrote:

OK, what did iGas do on the site? They didn't do any test drilling. I think you're nit-picking and deflecting from the main issue of the trouble-making rabble rousers who've achieved nothing except they dug holes all over and left a heck of a mess there.

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I don’t condone the mess left by protestors on private land but I admire those who are prepared to protest for long periods in difficult living conditions about something they are genuinely concerned about (excluding the ‘professional’ protestors which probably make a proportion of such groups, but not all).

You say that they have achieved nothing. I’m not sure that you can claim that since they may well have increased public awareness about the issues around fracking, and energy companies will have to work harder to convince the public that it is safe. That’s no bad thing IMO.

Why would people have faith that profit-driven oil and gas companies consider all environmental risks in their operations? History suggests that they do not. Some energy companies have poor health and safety records and do not have everything in place to avert a disaster. The BP deep water horizon spill was the biggest oil spill disaster in history and clearly insufficient precautions were taken when drilling at an underwater depth of 5000ft. They should have had 2 boreholes for a start. If I remember correctly I read at the time that what BP did in the Gulf would not have been allowed in Canadian Arctic waters where drilling would not be allowed until there was a second emergency borehole in place. More initial investment by BP with safety in mind could have saved them millions and averted an environmental disaster and loss of peoples’ livelihoods but these companies seem to just hope that nothing will go wrong when frequently if it can go wrong, it will go wrong.

I’m not convinced that fracking is safe, neither do I trust big energy companies.