Fracking in Sussex? Fracking Firm Test Drilling in Balcombe

[Barrel of Fun]

There were people on the Southern news yesterday getting angry because some farmers want to put some solar panels in their fields. Nimbyism is getting out of hand lately.

What relevance does this have to the thread? Certainly in respect to your latter comment on none of those being arrested came from Sussex.

I see our friend Marina Pepper turned up and of all the 12 that were arrested not one was from Sussex. Just a few of the usual jobless rent-a-mob.

How do you know they don't have jobs? Do you have a job? I can only a assume you do and that the job is pivotal to society, if you are so willing to belittle them for standing up in something they believe in.

The Balcombe drilling sets a precedent. Is Fracking safe? You seem certain that it is.

 

[Triggaaar]

Nimbyism at its finest

Strangely it's not nimbys. The people demonstrating at the sight are not locals, but people that have been paid to be outraged.

There were presumably other people present who were not arrested though. The ones that were arrested would be the 'professional' protesters, i.e. the ones that are not particularly concerned with the cause, but just want a day out to challenge authority and to cause trouble. What I have seen of the news coverage, a good number of people were there at the scene who were local to the area

How have you worked out from the news coverage that the protestors were local? According to the locals, they don't recognise anyone who's there protesting.

 

[Scampi]

listen here:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01dhyjl

What strikes me is the level of misinformation there is surrounding this site in Balcombe. Hadn't paid too much attention to the story before, but from the bits that i had seen I though Fracking was about to start in Balcombe "imminently". Seems the media is doing a terrible job of explaining what is actually happening at the site.

 

[joeinbrighton]

How have you worked out from the news coverage that the protestors were local? According to the locals, they don't recognise anyone who's there protesting.

What would you define as 'local'? If you just mean the village of Balcombe, I dare say that a fair chunk of what is a small, affluent population are at work earning a living. Obviously you will always get a lot of 'professional' protesters who come from far and wide, but I would regard people from anywhere in and around the commuter belt Haywards Heath to Three Bridges as having local knowledge. I know of people from Brighton who have attended who certainly don't fit the profile of 'layabouts' but who have a passion for the environment and conservation, as they have worked in that area. Besides which, why is their protest diminished by them being 'out of towners'? This is an issue of wider geographical interest because what happens in Balcombe will happen elsewhere in the UK in due course, and in many people's view, to the great detriment of the environment.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

Here's a great video about this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZkgw-yqs0g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

That video from about 3.30 to 5.10 is why i laugh at these protesters. Copper: 'you are obstructing private property and i am asking you to move, will you move?...please answer my question, will you move' 'i will use force if you do not move, yes or no?', Cops do their job and the protesters complain. Madness.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

The NiMBY's have just been duffed up, on 5-live, by the Chief Exec.

There seems to be a lot of misinformation about.

NiMBY was asked 'so no to fracking would you be happy with wind turbines on the land'.
Absolute silent, followed by guff, then eventually big society talk.

Its a shame the follow up question to her reply 'people should be responsible for their own energy'.

'What if Balcombe is Fracking central and all of Balcombe's residents could earn a decent wage from it?'
Would you still be protesting?

As people have said above this is rent-a-mob stuff tho' sussex police have apparently stated that none of the arrests so far have been locals. So its not even NiMBY-ism its just this weeks protest, the same people who do G8 and London students riots and the rest.

 

[LargeHadronZugzwang]

There seems to be a continual stream of contrarian bile eminating from a certain sauce, none too 'deep' either. Others may trust CEO's and their disingenuous ramblings. Putting your faith in such people entirely is like giving Kissinger a Peace Prize. Then again, as has been said, satire died that day. Throw in the odd NIMBY or Luddite and hey presto, thinking is easy without backing up an argument, technology will solve all of our problems. Indeed, if you use the word 'polyacrylamide' then all manner of chemicals can be excused. Never mind those poor folk up north who obviously won't feel such effects from neurotoxins like Hydrochloric acid and other carcinogenic cocktails. No mention of vast amounts of water used either, still, I'm sure the average CEO has our best interests at heart, even after the landscape does not look none too aesthetically pleasing after depletion rates start to reveal themselves. Those who wish to believe in such people who say there is such a bounteous Utopia on the horizon, need to explain why it is that the CEO of the largest Gas Company in the World with the largest proven reserves says that Shale Gas is a global PR campaign.
http://cluborlov.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/shale-gas-view-from-russia.html

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

As people have said above this is rent-a-mob stuff tho' sussex police have apparently stated that none of the arrests so far have been locals. So its not even NiMBY-ism its just this weeks protest, the same people who do G8 and London students riots and the rest.

Confirmed by Sussex Police on the BBC South East Today news that none of the arrested protesters come from Sussex, its just the usual people who turn up when anything vaguely controversial is going on and turn it into a big event. They have failed pretty badly though as the police have done a good job in making sure the trucks have got through - and TESTS (thats all it is, it may not even fully go ahead anyway but try telling them that) could start tomorrow.

The news also asked the Sussex Police PCC how much policing has costed so far. She didnt give a price, but did say 3 days policing of the recent Brighton protests cost just under half a Million, this has been going on for 7 days now so would be over that amount by now. So its people from other parts of the country, coming to Sussex to cause trouble and we of course foot the bill !!

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Confirmed by Sussex Police on the BBC South East Today news that none of the arrested protesters come from Sussex, its just the usual people who turn up when anything vaguely controversial is going on and turn it into a big event. They have failed pretty badly though as the police have done a good job in making sure the trucks have got through - and TESTS (thats all it is, it may not even fully go ahead anyway but try telling them that) could start tomorrow.

The news also asked the Sussex Police PCC how much policing has costed so far. She didnt give a price, but did say 3 days policing of the recent Brighton protests cost just under half a Million, this has been going on for 7 days now so would be over that amount by now. So its people from other parts of the country, coming to Sussex to cause trouble and we of course foot the bill !!

Tests which, potentially, open the door to nationwide fracking.

What does it matter where they came from? They believe that fracking is being foisted upon us and is potentially hazardous. It just so happens that the tests are being carried out in Sussex. Kudos to them for standing up in what they believe in.

There are plenty of organisations set up to protest against fracking. It might be wise to do a little investigation in to that before just writing them off as being 'rent-a-mobs' or unwashed hippies or troublemakers, whatever one wishes to call them.

Cost wise, at least these guys are protesting against something real as opposed to the example you used of the March for England pub crawl and UAF dust up.

There are plenty of financial scandals which are far more costly, but ignored. It's, so far, cost £3m to provide 24 hour surveillance on the Ecuadorian Embassy for over a year to keep checks on Julian Assange, just as one example.

 

[Stat Brother]

As people have said above this is rent-a-mob stuff tho' sussex police have apparently stated that none of the arrests so far have been locals. So its not even NiMBY-ism its just this weeks protest, the same people who do G8 and London students riots and the rest.

The people asking the questions on that 5-live clip didn't strike me as rent-a-mob.
They also struck me as people who didn't have a clue about the facts in this case.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Tests which, potentially, open the door to nationwide fracking.

The word there is "potentially", for all we know there may actually be nothing there and Cuadrilla may pack up and go somewhere else !!

What does it matter where they came from? They believe that fracking is being foisted upon us and is potentially hazardous. It just so happens that the tests are being carried out in Sussex. Kudos to them for standing up in what they believe in.

Well, yes it does when thousands is being spent on policing this lot who arent even from the local area so if it did go ahead, they wouldnt even be putting up with it. There are plenty of other sites where its being looked at. Im sure if the locals of Balcombe were so against it, they could protest against it themselves.

There are plenty of organisations set up to protest against fracking. It might be wise to do a little investigation in to that before just writing them off as being 'rent-a-mobs' or unwashed hippies or troublemakers, whatever one wishes to call them.

Im not tarnishing the whole lot, a lot of them are peaceful. For example earlier today they stood with their backs to a truck going into the site, then when it went in they silently fell to the floor and "died" -incredibly over dramatic and a bit silly but thats peaceful. Obstruction and breaching the police like all those arrested have done (as well as supergluing yourself to another person) is wrong and illegal.

Cost wise, at least these guys are protesting against something real as opposed to the example you used of the March for England pub crawl and UAF dust up.

You could say the EDL and UAF all have reasons for protesting too (albeit pretty pathetic ones). They may have a reason, bit it doesnt make it right, especially breaking the law,.

[QUOTE}There are plenty of financial scandals which are far more costly, but ignored. It's, so far, cost £3m to provide 24 hour surveillance on the Ecuadorian Embassy for over a year to keep checks on Julian Assange, just as one example.[/QUOTE]

Assange is being ignored simply because its gone on for too long, that and he isnt supergluing himself to the Ecuadorian Embassy like some of these people, is he ? (Or maybe he is, thats why no one has seen him).

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

Tests which, potentially, open the door to nationwide fracking.

What does it matter where they came from? They believe that fracking is being foisted upon us and is potentially hazardous. It just so happens that the tests are being carried out in Sussex. Kudos to them for standing up in what they believe in.

There are plenty of organisations set up to protest against fracking. It might be wise to do a little investigation in to that before just writing them off as being 'rent-a-mobs' or unwashed hippies or troublemakers, whatever one wishes to call them.

Cost wise, at least these guys are protesting against something real as opposed to the example you used of the March for England pub crawl and UAF dust up.

There are plenty of financial scandals which are far more costly, but ignored. It's, so far, cost £3m to provide 24 hour surveillance on the Ecuadorian Embassy for over a year to keep checks on Julian Assange, just as one example.

I think both the cost of the police operation and the origin of the protesters are valid points for discussion.

Yes there are other financial scandals on-going as i type but two wrongs don't make a right, we should be discussing the Assange cost as well as this operation not ignore them both. I think that the EDL/march for england / UAF violence is as real as any protest. Is not what the UAF stand for AS valid as anti-fracking?

The argument over rent-a-mob is also interesting (some are dedicated i agree but there are some people who just like a face off with the cops) as i believe your voice is loudest when it is focused and is weaker when not. You loose focus and thus credibility when on a monday your anti-globalisation, tuesday anti-student cuts and today anti-fracking.

 

[beorhthelm]

Tests which, potentially, open the door to nationwide fracking.

What does it matter where they came from? They believe that fracking is being foisted upon us and is potentially hazardous. It just so happens that the tests are being carried out in Sussex. Kudos to them for standing up in what they believe in.

why would this test open the door to nationwide fracking? the success or otherwise of fracking at Balcombe will have no bearing on whether they frack 50 miles down the coast or up north in the other massive shale deposits. i would assume they know theres oil at Balcombe from previous exploration (oh yeah, everyone forgets they are reusing a previous test site) just that it is/was uneconomical to extract. as for the hazards, why assume that the protestors have it all right? as far as i can tell they grossly overplay issues (see picture of dirty water, dead cow) and much of the bad news from US fracking traces back to Pennsylvania where the frackers acted without any oversight or care.

 

[Triggaaar]

What would you define as 'local'? If you just mean the village of Balcombe, I dare say that a fair chunk of what is a small, affluent population are at work earning a living. Obviously you will always get a lot of 'professional' protesters who come from far and wide, but I would regard people from anywhere in and around the commuter belt Haywards Heath to Three Bridges as having local knowledge.

I agree that anyone around that area would count as local. There are certainly plenty of retired people from Balcombe that could go, they just don't seem particularly bothered. They've been given DVDs full of anti fracking propaganda, and they don't believe it.

Besides which, why is their protest diminished by them being 'out of towners'?

I didn't suggest it was, but your post said you got the impression they were local, and I don't think many are. What does make a difference is whether the people there pretend they are outraged locals, or admit they are there because they've been paid, or they're there because they travel the country opposing everything that could harm the environment.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I can't think of fracking without thinking of the recent Battlestar Galactica series, who cleverly used frack as a substitute for f*ck. I'm really not sure we should be encouraging widespread f*cking....I mean fracking...

 

[dougdeep]

Some people on this thread seem to have the wrong idea about what is going on in that field near Balcombe. They are drilling a test well to see what is down there. They are hoping to find oil, but whatever they find they will pass on the information. No Fracking is going to take place there or anywhere else for quite a while if at all. For those that don't know there are oil wells already in East and West Sussex.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

I think you mean gas doug, not oil.

 

[Stat Brother]

Some people on this thread seem to have the wrong idea about what is going on in that field near Balcombe. They are drilling a test well to see what is down there. They are hoping to find oil, but whatever they find they will pass on the information. No Fracking is going to take place there or anywhere else for quite a while if at all. For those that don't know there are oil wells already in East and West Sussex.

and in Balcombe about 20 years ago.

 

[jakarta]

There seems to be a continual stream of contrarian bile eminating from a certain sauce, none too 'deep' either. Others may trust CEO's and their disingenuous ramblings. Putting your faith in such people entirely is like giving Kissinger a Peace Prize. Then again, as has been said, satire died that day. Throw in the odd NIMBY or Luddite and hey presto, thinking is easy without backing up an argument, technology will solve all of our problems. Indeed, if you use the word 'polyacrylamide' then all manner of chemicals can be excused. Never mind those poor folk up north who obviously won't feel such effects from neurotoxins like Hydrochloric acid and other carcinogenic cocktails. No mention of vast amounts of water used either, still, I'm sure the average CEO has our best interests at heart, even after the landscape does not look none too aesthetically pleasing after depletion rates start to reveal themselves. Those who wish to believe in such people who say there is such a bounteous Utopia on the horizon, need to explain why it is that the CEO of the largest Gas Company in the World with the largest proven reserves says that Shale Gas is a global PR campaign.
http://cluborlov.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/shale-gas-view-from-russia.html

You talk about the chemicals used in a knowledgeable manner - are you a professional chemist/toxicologist?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Re: fracking in sussex....

Some people on this thread seem to have the wrong idea about what is going on in that field near Balcombe. They are drilling a test well to see what is down there. They are hoping to find oil, but whatever they find they will pass on the information. No Fracking is going to take place there or anywhere else for quite a while if at all. For those that don't know there are oil wells already in East and West Sussex.

No one has got the wrong idea. It's quite clear what is going on.