Fracking for shale gas: Hancock’s half-truths
The new energy minister calls shale “the holy grail” of energy policy. He’s probably right. It’s a mythical object that no-one’s found, and over time just has increasing comedy-value.
The new energy minister calls shale “the holy grail” of energy policy. He’s probably right. It’s a mythical object that no-one’s found, and over time just has increasing comedy-value.
Judging by yesterday’s announcements, the government believes the hype about shale gas. Like a love-struck teenager it seems blind to any downsides and is lavishing its beloved with gifts such as tax breaks and streamlined regulation.
Today, at 6AM in a release barely more than a paragraph long, the Treasury announced that the British Geological Survey (BGS) had found 1300trn cubic feet worth of shale gas trapped in the rocks beneath Lancashire.
Speaking at today’s TUC’s climate change conference, John Gummer, the Tory head of the Climate Change Committee, launched a stinging attack on the Daily Mail.