Hi Andy
We already knew that fracking was a bad idea, but this is astonishing.
Last night, David Cameron’s plan to allow fracking firms to drill under our homes was rubber-stamped by the House of Lords.
But here’s where it gets even worse: At the very last moment, the draft of the law was updated to allow fracking firms to pump “any substance” under people’s homes and property — and leave it there! [1]
This makes a mockery of the prime minister’s claim that UK fracking regulations are some of the most stringent in the world. And it absolves fracking firms of any responsibility for clearing up the mess they create.
Our MPs are now the last defence before the laws are approved by Parliament. Can you sign the petition asking all MPs to strike down Cameron’s new fracking law?
https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fracking-backlash
The fracking industry has already been mired in accidents and mistakes. In April 2009, cattle were discovered dead near a drill site in Louisiana. An investigation later found fracking fluid had leaked from the well pad and run into an adjacent pasture. And in July 2013, US fracking firm XTO Energy was forced to shell out $100,000 in compensation after a spill of contaminated wastewater in Pennsylvania. [2]
Despite claiming that the UK has tough regulations to prevent disasters like this, the government is now rushing to remove obstacles, muddling through laws that will put the interests of shale drillers before the safety of our environment and our climate.
We don’t have long before MPs will get their final say on Cameron’s plan to allow drilling under our homes. If we can show them how unpopular his idea is, they’ll think twice before voting it through.
Please ask your MP to take a stand today:
https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fracking-backlash
Thank you
Richard
Greenpeace UK
1. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/14/uk-to-allow-fracking-companies-to-use-any-substance-under-homes
2. http://issuu.com/greenpeace/docs/case_against_fracking-withadditions/21