Yearly Archive: 2013

Why Cuadrilla really stopped work in Lancashire 2 months ago

Why Cuadrilla really stopped work in Lancashire 2 months ago

Two months ago we posed the question of why Cuadrilla were claiming to be voluntarily delaying their drilling at Anna’s Road Now, they had been waiting rather impatiently for nearly 2 years for the unofficial ban on fracking to be lifted. They messed up their drilling at Anna’s road and...

Do we really look THAT stupid?

Do we really look THAT stupid?

“BPC (Balcombe Parish Council) criticised Cuadrilla for using a Market Research Company that had conducted a survey in the village and had been disingenuous with parishioners about who had commissioned them and the purpose of the survey. Cuadrilla said if this happened this was against the instructions given to surveyors...

Oh Canada!

Oh Canada!

What, you may ask has what happens in Canada got to do with fracking on the Fylde? Well the EU is considering a draft Canada-EU Trade Agreement treaty which would “establish a fair and equitable treatment” obligation that outlaws any “breach of legitimate expectations of investors”. In practice this means...

Bribery – a bad misjudgement by the government

Bribery – a bad misjudgement by the government

It’s fairly obvious that the proposed offer of community bribes wouldn’t be necessary if what was being proposed with fracking wasn’t a bad thing for the area. However, we think that the government may have miscalculated very badly in making it clear that they think they can buy off any...

Ignorance is bliss – at least where our potential councillors are concerned

Ignorance is bliss – at least where our potential councillors are concerned

Yesterday we attended the event hosted by Frack Free Fylde at which prospective Lancashire County Councillors from Lytham were quizzed about fracking and their views on it by local people. Well we say their “views”, but what was depressing and revealing was the lack of interest that most of them...

The Impact of Shale Gas on Energy Markets – Energy and Climate Change

The Impact of Shale Gas on Energy Markets – Energy and Climate Change

Friday saw the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Climate Change release its report entitled The Impact of Shale Gas on Energy Markets – Energy and Climate Change Over at Fracking Digest they have done a great job at summarising the meat of the report for easier digestion. Having read the...

An Unwelcome Gift

An Unwelcome Gift

I was reading Tina Rothery’s blog and came across her notes for last night’s presentation in Lancaster. It struck a real chord, as somebody who has been labelled as an “activist” over the last few days because of my complaint to the ASA about Cuadrilla’s newsletter. I am not an...

Cuadrilla’s Reaction to the  ASA ruling on their newsletter

Cuadrilla’s Reaction to the ASA ruling on their newsletter

We thought the reaction from Cuadrilla was worthy of a post all on it’s own. Let’s take a look at how they reacted (and also how they didn’t) Here is what their CEO Francis Egan had to say, as reported in the Blackpool Gazette. We would love to be able...

Press Reaction to the  ASA ruling on Cuadrilla’s newsletter

Press Reaction to the ASA ruling on Cuadrilla’s newsletter

It has been interesting to see how far the news of the ASA ruling, which effectively bans Cuadrilla from making certain claims about the safety of fracking, has travelled. The Guardian was the first paper to publish an article http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/24/caudrilla-censured-fracking-safety-claims Curiously this article suggested (incorrectly) that the ASA had suggested...