A little more substance from Jane Hutt this week and continued support from Alun Cairns and some local councillors who have clearly been taking good notes from my speeches at the last two meetings and from this blog.

I left with somewhat mixed feelings today. On a positive note, there is clearly a groundswell that may lead to VoG making a landmark decision to reject the test drilling application. On the downside, I think we could then see a lot NIMBYists melt away from this campaign. We even heard one VoG councillor effectively saying leave the lovely Vale alone and go and mess up the grotty Valleys! And this is exactly what will happen, for sure, if we let them.

And if the test drilling gets approval on Thursday, we then have to monitor its activities, which I suspect will have very modest impacts, and then sit around indefinitely looking out for phase two applications, which will probably avoid Llandow like the plague and pitch up somewhere a bit more discreet. Either way, Thursday will be the end of the beginning of the wider battle we will need to fight.

The next stage is the peaceful, placard waving, slogan chanting fun of site visit protest. Join us at the Llandow site at 2.00pm.

Copy and paste this map url for an accurate location fix of the site

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=51.438634,-3.500508&num=1&sll=51.438922,-3.500433&sspn=0.0043,0.009474&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=51.439029,-3.499231&spn=0.016051,0.025749&z=14&source=embed

Dear Labour Voters of Wales,
Nearly 250,000 Labour votes were wasted in the Assembly second ballot in 2007, because they could not elect any extra Labour members. So use your second vote to make a difference and fight the Tory cuts: vote Green on the second ballot.

I quote: “DON’T MISS: For an in-depth look at what “fracking” could mean for South Wales, see tomorrow’s Echo”. (At the end of today’s piece on Wednesday’s meeting – pg6).

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/04/08/vale-villagers-warned-of-fracking-gas-operation-91466-28481292/

Support from Canada:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/04/05/canadian-group-backs-fracking-protest-91466-28458882/

Support from France: Post #18 here: http://thevalesaysno.com/?p=33 (loving their website name!)

Bonjour

We have the same problem in France, but due to a very concerted campaign anyone who is anyone(or wants to be anyone) from local mayors to mainstream politicians is turning away and saying Non!. It is a real vote loser here.

There is a national day of protest next weekend (17th April) with demos and marches all over France and this is not the usual trawler and tractor blockades, this is huge numbers of real people.

I know it is different in UK, there is little in the way of protest from what I can see. The gas co.s have been keeping a low profile but are starting to fight back (especially Mark Miller of Cuadrilla drilling in Blackpool) and pro-gas websites are springing up. As one of the first groups to appear I suggest you contact other environmental groups (Greenpeace and FOE local branches etc) and try and get some sort of coalition of anti-shale groups, assemble some resources and gang up on the gas companies.

Have a look at my site http://www.schistehappens.com (shale is schiste in French)

It is more of a fanzine that your very grown-up looking site but there is some useful stuff on it. If you want to steal anything from it feel free.

RPJ

Support from New Zealand: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_113479065383673

Say No To Fracking in New Zealand is a group set up to network among people who are passionate about the whenua, Fracking(hydraulic fracturing) may become a common practice within the oil industry so pressure must be asserted on the govt to stop this destructive mining process.

Ideal after your email signatures

Ideal for your Facebook profile pics.

Jane Hutt AM made a brief appearance pledging her unreserved support for the cause. She is the first Labour politician to show any interest in the issue at all, and she clearly heard that there has been a big response to the issue amongst the locals last week. Votes at stake as she seeks re-election! Pretty cynical and none too convincing. Not a word on this issue on her website or Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Re-elect-Jane-Hutt/134296016633180 It is clear that WAG is the body that has to grasp the nettle with this issue, as it is a devolved matter. How she shapes up on this issue after May 5th will be telling.

I shared the platform with Conservative Alun Cairns MP. To be fair, he picked up on the issue relatively early and has demonstrated consistent and seemingly genuine support for the cause. He is not standing for re-election to WAG, to focus on his role as Vale MP. He has to step up to the plate and get this matter a higher profile at a national level. His efforts to date in Westminster appear somewhat timid: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2011-03-31a.50153.h&s=shale+gas+speaker%3A24740#g50153.q0

I talked about the lessons we can learn from what Cuadrilla are up to near Blackpool and went through the full range of threats and implications. Alun Cairns and I then shared responses to questioning from the audience. We actually complemented each other surprisingly well. He acknowledged my greater technical understanding, whereas he clearly has a better appreciation of parliamentary/WAG procedures. We were pretty much united in our general thrusts.

Next up?
1. PUBLIC MEETING – Including representatives of proposers Coastal Oil & Gas Ltd, from Bridgend.

We should all be backing their campaign as they are the most successful anti-fracking campaign group in the UK and have even drawn support from Canada.

I hope this group will expand its remit to become not just the ValeSaysNo campaign, but WalesSaysNo, or even UKsaysNo.

This is echoed here too:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/columnists/2011/04/02/welsh-communities-must-stand-united-against-the-practice-of-fracking-91466-28443866/

Andy

The 22 written submissions to the Energy and Climate Change Committee’s Shale Gas enquiry can be found here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmenergy/writev/shale/shale.pdf
The motivations and bias are fairly obvious in most submissions, but the overwhelming body of evidence supports everything I have had to… Say on the issue and vindicates the ValeSaysNo campaign.

http://www.assemblywales.org/gethome/e-petitions/epetition-list-of-signatories.htm?pet_id=578

Sponsored by Friends of the Earth Cymru.

The rallying call has come from Cardiff. If anyone can help at all it will be much appreciated.

Personally, weekends are difficult, but I will hoppefully get there over the last, bank holiday weekend.

Perhaps we can get a team together for that weekend. We can discuss it and finalise it at the meeting on 21st April.

Andy.

From: Yvan Maurel
Date: 30/03/2011 11:32:11
Subject: Assembly elections – Help elect the first Green AM

Dear Green Party member,
After the historic election of Caroline Lucas as first ever Green MP in Brighton, the Welsh Assembly is the last level of government in the UK without an elected Green.
We can make history again here in Wales as we are very close to getting the first Green Assembly Member elected in South Wales Central – Cardiff area. We are therefore appealing to you to join us and help on the campaign in Cardiff, specifically on any of the following dates for leafletting door-to-door and/or canvassing:
Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd April

Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th April
Saturday 30th April, Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May

We generally do 3 sessions over a weekend: Saturday at 10am and 1.30pm, and Sunday 12 or 12.30pm. Social drinks and/or meal is part of it, let’s enjoy it! We will be out every weekend til 5th May and also some evenings during the week. Please consider coming up to do a session or two, we can also put you up in Cardiff, just get in touch, thank you.

BE PART OF IT – MAKE HISTORY IN WALES

Yvan Maurel, Wales Green Party
02920 310 306 / 07583 665 447
vivarf@hotmail.com