Regardless of whether you share the views of Loizou, Blevins and Roberts on fracking itself, the ridiculous sentences handed down to them should give us all cause for concern. The right to peacefully protest is one of our most fundamental, and it’s one of the best way s we have as citizens to hold power to account and act as a check on its otherwise relentless snowballing. It is an entitlement so vital to the functioning of a healthy democracy that it is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.
The National 20th Oct 2018 read more »
Small earthquakes have been detected near the site of a major fracking operation in Lancashire. The British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded tremors in the area on Friday, less than a week after the energy firm Cuadrilla began hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas. The BGS said the seismic activity its experts discovered near the Little Plumpton site was “not unexpected”. It said fracking was “generally accompanied by microseismicity”. A spokesman for Cuadrilla said engineers were not fracking at the time the tremors were felt. The company also said the kind of activity was “well within” safety thresholds. “The microseismic events recorded were extremely low and well within the green light threshold and confirm that the monitoring system is work ing to the highest standard,” said a spokesman.
Independent 20th Oct 2018 read more »