Police were accused of bowing to the mob last night as
campaigners brought drilling at a potential fracking site to a halt. Hardcore
activists celebrated as energy bosses announced they would ‘scale back’
operations in Balcombe on the advice of the police. The controversial decision
came as senior officers feared an influx of another 1,000 protesters. They
warned the drilling company they could not guarantee the security of the West
Sussex site. The move provoked outrage from business, industry groups and MPs
who said that – regardless of the fracking debate – the police decision set a
dangerous precedent for other lawful activities. --Chris Greenwood and Nick
McDermott, Daily Mail, 17 August 2013
Imagine if at the dawn of the industrial revolution, water wheels had been banned? Or if the Luddities had got their way, and outlawed new spinning machines? What if coal mining had been outlawed because the new-fangled pit technology was not trusted? We are in danger of doing something similar with shale gas today. Just like with coal at the beginning of the industrial revolution, beneath our feet lie zillions of cubic feet of gas. A way of extracting it has been discovered which could unleash enormous productive potential. So what do we do? Enterprises that seek to lawfully utilise the new technology are prevented from doing so by the new Luddites. The state stands by, regulating every aspect of the new technology, but doing little to guarantee the freedoms of the innovators. --Douglas Carswell, The Daily Telegraph, 18 August 2013
In the Battle of Balcombe, Britain’s need for a sensible energy policy is pitted against a chorus of angry nonsense. This is the kind of nonsense that gives environmentalism a bad name. Society may be divided on the merits of fracking, but Cuadrilla’s responsibility in the battle of Balcombe is to uphold the law while seeking new energy reserves, not to pander to propagandists or, for that matter, voters. It is the Government that needs a democratic mandate. It has one, and it supports fracking. Given this context, the advice given by Sussex police to Cuadrilla to suspend operations until it can guarantee the company’s security amounts to a lamentable surrender. Protesters’ right to protest is precious and protected by law. So is business’s right to go to work. --Editorial, The Times, 19 August 2013
Europe’s unwillingness to embrace fracking has made it a sink for American coal, and this past March US coal exports hit an all-time high. The cheap price of our natural gas is attracting industry from all over the world, and American companies are dabbling in onshoring as both a PR boon and as a way to keep a closer eye on quality control. These phenomena, combined with a strengthening economy, are driving up exports of goods as well, which have risen 35 percent since 2010. And while overall exports are still far away from Obama’s doubling target, they are up 33 percent—for which our energy industry deserves a lot of credit. --Walter Russell Mead, Via Meadia, 19 August 2013
Imagine if at the dawn of the industrial revolution, water wheels had been banned? Or if the Luddities had got their way, and outlawed new spinning machines? What if coal mining had been outlawed because the new-fangled pit technology was not trusted? We are in danger of doing something similar with shale gas today. Just like with coal at the beginning of the industrial revolution, beneath our feet lie zillions of cubic feet of gas. A way of extracting it has been discovered which could unleash enormous productive potential. So what do we do? Enterprises that seek to lawfully utilise the new technology are prevented from doing so by the new Luddites. The state stands by, regulating every aspect of the new technology, but doing little to guarantee the freedoms of the innovators. --Douglas Carswell, The Daily Telegraph, 18 August 2013
In the Battle of Balcombe, Britain’s need for a sensible energy policy is pitted against a chorus of angry nonsense. This is the kind of nonsense that gives environmentalism a bad name. Society may be divided on the merits of fracking, but Cuadrilla’s responsibility in the battle of Balcombe is to uphold the law while seeking new energy reserves, not to pander to propagandists or, for that matter, voters. It is the Government that needs a democratic mandate. It has one, and it supports fracking. Given this context, the advice given by Sussex police to Cuadrilla to suspend operations until it can guarantee the company’s security amounts to a lamentable surrender. Protesters’ right to protest is precious and protected by law. So is business’s right to go to work. --Editorial, The Times, 19 August 2013
Europe’s unwillingness to embrace fracking has made it a sink for American coal, and this past March US coal exports hit an all-time high. The cheap price of our natural gas is attracting industry from all over the world, and American companies are dabbling in onshoring as both a PR boon and as a way to keep a closer eye on quality control. These phenomena, combined with a strengthening economy, are driving up exports of goods as well, which have risen 35 percent since 2010. And while overall exports are still far away from Obama’s doubling target, they are up 33 percent—for which our energy industry deserves a lot of credit. --Walter Russell Mead, Via Meadia, 19 August 2013
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