Fracking, big oil and the environment

In Middle America a woman turns on her kitchen tap. Flames shoot out of the faucet, singeing her eyebrows. The ground shakes and a massive hole opens up in the street.

No it’s not a natural disaster or the coming of the apocalypse. But an incident of a type which are likely to become more and more common as oil companies attempt to keep dwindling supplies of fuel flowing using the modified techniques of Hydraulic Fracturing or ‘fracking’ to exploit previously extractable deposits of hydrocarbons, mainly natural gas or methane.

The process involves blasting a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into shale deposits deep underground to release trapped gas.

In the US, water sources have been polluted by both methane released from the ground and by chemicals used in the fracking process, mainly due to inadequate barriers between the drilling well and aquifers.

These pollution events and environmental incidents, which include ground tremors, have led to worldwide mass protests against the practice with demands for safety and environmental protection. Protestors’ demands have gone completely unheeded, with corporations and their political mouth pieces claiming the process is both safe and necessary to secure energy supplies, despite a massive and growing body of evidence to the contrary.

In the coming year, the areas in which companies will be allowed to explore on shore oil reserves will increase dramatically, taking in the vast majority of England and a vast swathe of Scotland, running from the central belt to Aberdeen

When Cameron’s government was ‘elected’, they claimed that they would be the ‘greenest government ever’. The government’s environment spokesman, Owen Patterson, actually claims that climate concerns are down to people being ‘emotional about the environment’ and that we should just accept that the climate has been changing for centuries.

big oil

By this wilful ignorance they are clearing the road for their mates in Big Oil to quench their thirst for oil (and profit) at the expense of possibly millions of the poorest people in the world who will lose land and die of starvation or disease as a result of climate change. The IPCC claims that there is a 95% certainty that this is caused by man-made greenhouse gases.

Respected scientific publication, the Climate Change Journal, has reported that just 90 of the world’s companies are responsible for 60% of global carbon dioxide emissions released since 1751. This roll of shame contains all the usual suspects – Shell, BP, Gazprom and Exxon as well as nationalised companies such as Norway’s Statoil.

Expanding fracking in the UK by any amount is a move in the wrong direction. This is because climate change is so critical an issue to our and future generations. We have to strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the lowest level possible.

To do this, the main thrust of our energy investment should be in alternative energy sources harnessing the natural powers of wind waves, tidal, solar and geothermal sources. Scotland has an estimated 25% of EU’s renewable energy potential. These are resources that will never run out and could provide real, sustained economic security.

Unfortunately a familiar story has dogged their development up until now- profiteering and market forces have led to a piecemeal and inefficient situation which is exasperated by the disregard by developers for local communities. Energy prices rise while the real problem of climate change is left unchallenged.

public ownership

A democratically run, publicly owned energy company could manage Scotland’s oil so that it is used responsibly while at the same time unlocking the country’s green heart, creating sustainable economic security long into the future.

While not completely stopping oil production a national energy company would willingly and responsibly face up to the fact that our dependence on oil cannot continue.

A different vision for the environment will be required in an independent socialist Scotland if we are to build a socially just, sustainable society.

Immediate action should be taken to stop the fracking expansion plans currently being tabled. Calling for an immediate moratorium on all new onshore drilling operations, a mass campaign is needed, linking up with similar campaigns in the rUK and uniting socialists, environmentalists and energy campaigners. We should also argue for the formation of a national energy corporation run in the way outlined above with a focus on reducing energy use and dependency on oil, removing all nuclear power and promoting renewables as well as economic sustainability.

In its short 300 year history, capitalism has presided over environmental destruction on a massive scale, from extinctions to deforestation and ozone depletion to climate change. It has shown that mankind has the ability to irreversibly alter the ecology of the planet.

A socialist society would ensure that we could make these positive changes for the good of all the Earth’s inhabitants.