Teenager targeted by extremists

"The authors of a report investigating extremism in Greater Manchester after the bombing at Manchester Arena falsely suggested that anti-fracking activists `groomed` a 14-year-old boy featured in a case study, the Guardian understands."

"The 124-page report by the Greater Manchester preventing hateful extremism and promoting social cohesion commission included the story of a teenager referred to Channel, part of the government’s anti-extremist Prevent programme."

"Calling him Aaron, the report described him as an A* pupil who `was referred to the Channel programme by his school due to concerns about his extreme beliefs in relation to the environment, specifically issues around fracking`..."

"But according to Greater Manchester police, the boy in question was never involved in the anti-fracking movement. He had been targeted by an entirely different group of activists, the force said. The detail was then changed without their knowledge, ostensibly to protect his real identity..."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/30/anti-fracking-activists-falsely-accused-grooming-boy-14?CMP=share_btn_tw

Anti-extremism scheme for boy activist

Fracking sites are a risk to babies` health

"Babies born less than two miles from a fracking site are at risk of health problems that could hamper them later in life, new research has found."

"Mothers who lived within 1km (0.6 miles) of a fracking site saw a 25 per cent increase in the likelihood that their child would be born at low birth weight, be born prematurely or have other congenital issues, the study found. "

"Being born at low birth weight (less than 5.5lbs) has been linked to a number of future health risks, including higher risks of asthma and ADHD, as well as poorer education attainment and future professional success."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/babies-negative-health-impacts-fracking-sites-born-shale-gas-a8107786.html

Resistance to drilling under homes

[12 September 2017]

"There is a road in Lancashire, England that you cannot cross without risk of arrest; where everyday people from everyday lives are found amidst scenes of police violence and protest actions as we climb seemingly insurmountable hurdles whilst swathed in restrictive red tape… and why? Because the UK government wants our area ruined for gas extraction."

"And we’re saying no."

"Last October, the government overturned the local government’s refusal to allow Cuadrilla’s test drilling at the Preston New Road site, in the Fylde, Lancashire; they are now constructing up to four wells."

"In response, there has been daily resistance, energetic protests and blockades, with local residents joined by supporters from far and wide. The site is the largest fracking development in the UK, and the first where permission has been given for horizontal drilling under homes."

"The shale gas industry plans to use the unconventional gas extraction method of fracking at this site between Preston and Blackpool – and this is just the start. Licenses have been given throughout England – Scotland, Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and Wales have wisely put moratoriums or bans in place – and fracking work is also underway at a site in Yorkshire near Kirby Misperton, lorries beginning delivering equipment this week. There are also many other areas where fracking is being pursued; opposition too continues to grow, with the campaigner Joe Corre the high court today attempting to stop a sweeping injunction by the firm Ineos against anti-fracking protests..."

"It takes very little to understand why we do this; a quick internet search for ‘fracking + health’, ‘fracking + miscarriage’, ‘fracking + farming’, ‘fracking + drinking water’, ‘fracking + earthquakes’ will set you off on a path of discovery that you’ll wish you’d never started, but you’ll be unable turn back from. Once you know the risks, you can’t un-know them – and for anyone with responsibility for children, it is impossible to turn away."

Read more https://newint.org/blog/2017/09/12/fracking-protests-arrest 
　

The fracking insanity

Anti-terrorist agents threaten Standing Rock protesters

"The Guardian has established that multiple officers within the FBI’s joint terrorism taskforce have attempted to contact at least three people tied to the Standing Rock `water protector` movement in North Dakota."

"The purpose of the officers’ inquiries into Standing Rock, and scope of the task force’s work, remains unknown. Agency officials declined to comment. But the fact that the officers have even tried to communicate with activists is alarming to free-speech experts who argue that anti-terrorism agents have no business scrutinizing protesters..."

"`The idea that the government would attempt to construe this indigenous-led non-violent movement into some kind of domestic terrorism investigation is unfathomable to me,` said Lauren Regan, a civil rights attorney who has provided legal support to demonstrators who were contacted by representatives of the FBI. "`It’s outrageous, it’s unwarranted … and it’s unconstitutional`..."

"The three individuals, who include a Native American and a non-indigenous activist, asserted their fifth amendment rights and did not respond to the officers, according to Regan, who declined to identify them to protect their privacy and out of fear of retribution..."

"Two of them were contacted in North Dakota and a third at their home outside the state, according to Regan. She said all three contacts were made in recent weeks after Trump’s inauguration."

"Trump, a former investor in Energy Transfer Partners, the Texas-based firm behind the pipeline, took executive action in his first week in office to expedite the project. On Wednesday, workers began drilling to complete the pipeline across the Missouri river."

Read more https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/08/standing-rock-dakota-access-pipeline-last-stand

Victoria bans fracking

Shale gas fracking threats

======================

"A PLAN to ban fracking in Glasgow by the city council has been vetoed by Scottish Government officials, the Sunday Herald can reveal."

"The government’s planning unit made the ruling in response to an objection by a company backed by the petrochemical giant Ineos, which wants to frack for shale gas under a large part of the central belt."

"The move has sparked concerns amongst environmental and community groups, who fear that ministers could end up permitting the controversial technology, which fractures underground rocks to release gas. They say planning policy should be reformed."

See Frackwatch Glasgow

https://www.facebook.com/groups/frackwatchglasgow/

An invitation to the Queen

"A group of grandmothers in Lancashire have written an open letter to the Queen telling her their concerns about  fracking."

"And from 2pm [today] the nanas will be delivering the letter and having what they call Nana Tea outside Buckingham Palace. They assure they will be bringing their `best crockery` in case she `pops out`."

"Here’s the letter:"

*The Grandmother Elizabeth,

*Please note that we address you in this way, out of respect for what we consider to be your noblest role and highest obligation: to protect the young.

We recently contacted you about the plight of Lancashire residents who have used every democratic channel available to them in the fight to stop fracking coming to their communities. If you recall, our elected county councillors refused planning permission for two fracking sites in rural Fylde: Cuadrilla then appealed and the decision will now be made by the Secretary of State very soon. We appealed to you as our last democratic resource and asked you, ‘What would you do Ma’am?’.

Read more https://tompride.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/grannies-write-to-the-queen-to-stop-fracking-for-the-health-of-their-grandchildren/

Ineos is pushing ahead with fracking in Scotland

"The petrochemical company, Ineos, is hiring new managers and scientists in London with the `immediate intention` of pushing ahead with fracking central Scotland."

"The £28 billion multinational, which runs plants at Grangemouth, is advertising for a new director, a land manager and geologists to exploit licences granted by the UK government to frack for underground shale gas across hundreds of square kilometres around Falkirk and Stirling."

"The company is proceeding despite a Scottish Government moratorium and widespread opposition to fracking from communities and political parties. Its move has prompted furious responses from environmentalists and campaigners."

"Mark Ruskell, environment spokesman for the Scottish Greens and the newly-elected MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, accused Ineos of jumping the gun. `Scottish communities have made clear their opposition to this dangerous and unnecessary technology and will be angered to hear that this company is gearing up for drilling,` he said."

"`It shows the need for the SNP to come down clearly on the side of communities and turn the moratorium into a permanent ban. The new group of Green MSPs will continue to lead the political fight against fracking and we will increase the pressure on ministers to stop Ineos in their tracks.`..."

"Mary Church, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, accused Ineos of `bullishly` pushing ahead with fracking despite opposition. `Unlike in the rest of the UK, in Scotland Ineos needs to get permission from every single home or landowner who they want to frack underneath,` she said."

"`Given the strong opposition in communities facing fracking, the company’s new land agents will have their work cut out for them. It’s pretty telling that the first of Ineos’s promised fracking jobs are all based in London, bringing nothing to the communities targeted for this dirty industry in Scotland and northern England`."

https://theferret.scot/ineos-hire-staff-fracking-scotland/

Ineos still expects to frack Scotland

 

"INEOS said it still expects fracking to be given the go-ahead in Scotland."

"The comments come after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon openly suggesting she would permanently block plans for it."

"According to reports in The Herald, Jim Ratcliffe, the owner of INEOS said the company is supportive of the current moratorium on fracking being held by the Scottish Government."

"Ratcliffe claimed the company’s position would be vindicated by new research which means fracking could be permitted from next year."

https://www.energyvoice.com/other-news/105028/ineos-hopeful-fracking-will-get-green-light-scotland/

According to Ian R Crane, ex oil man and anti-fracking campaigner, "Jim Ratcliffe (Chairman of INEOS) knows fine well that the SNP will lift the Scottish Moratorium on UGE within weeks of achieving their anticipated majority in Holyrood at the Scottish Parliamentary elections this coming Thursday (7th May) ... the Scots are about to be totally FRACKED by their attachment to the mistaken belief that Nicola Sturgeon has any real intention of holding another Indie Ref ! "

In connection with his ongoing legal battle with Rathlin Energy he said that yesterday he had been: "Royally shafted in the misnamed Royal Courts of Justice!"

Read about the case: https://drillordrop.com/2016/04/28/surveillance-on-anti-fracking-campaigner-revealed-in-court/

Difficult choices

"THE Nationalists are beginning to feel the heat on the controversial named person scheme, writes Tom Peterkin..."

"It has been Ruth Davidson’s Scottish Conservatives who have made the most decisive attempt to seize the initiative on this. Speaking to Tory strategists, it is clear they feel they have found an issue which is playing poorly for the SNP on the doorsteps."

"That may be true, but the best the SNP leader has so far been able to offer in terms of reassurance to parents have been some muddled statements suggesting that parents would be able to "opt out" of the scheme – not something that makes much sense when the legislation is compulsory for all children."

"The sense of confusion appears to have percolated down to the SNP candidates on the ground."

"There exists YouTube footage of a hustings meeting held in the Northfield area of Edinburgh. When put under pressure by a member of the public concerned about the named person scheme, the SNP candidate Lloyd Quinan appeared to indulge in some pretty spectacular policy-making on the hoof..."

"Questioned on the named person scheme, Quinan suggested that the SNP would take the legal steps required to make the legislation optional."

Read more: http://www.scotsman.com/news/tom-peterkin-davidson-bids-to-derail-snp-with-named-person-1-4099696#ixzz45kZGOZCL

Dear Dear ! What have all the court cases been about then ?
 
As for Ruth Davidson:

"The Scottish Conservatives plan to get thousands of redundant oil and gas workers jobs in the fracking industry if elected in May."

"The Press and Journal can reveal Ruth Davidson’s party manifesto will commit to `utilising the expertise` of offshore workers to develop unconventional gas extraction in Scotland."

"Scottish Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens support an outright ban on fracking, while the SNP have imposed a moratorium on the controversial practice."

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/holyrood/887482/tories-plan-give-redundant-oil-workers-fracking-jobs/

Nowhere has hydraulic fracturing been done safely. Ruth Davidson would put children`s health at risk by polluting Scotland`s water with toxic fracking fluid.

 

 

There`s a lot of serious thinking to do.

Proposal to curtail protest in Australia

"This week Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) government proposed shocking new legislation that could severely restrict people’s right to protest. The Deputy Leader of the opposition, Walt Secord said, `..gas exploration operations will be treated as mining under New South Wales law. Make no mistake: This bill was drafted with the Bentley blockade, the Knitting Nannas Against Gas, and the Pilliga in mind. It should be feared by north coast communities and the Pilliga.` "

"The new laws have clearly been designed to prohibit groups like the Knitting Nannas of Australia..."

"Under new laws, those daring to speak out could be imprisoned for up to seven years. This new bill would categorically penalise, criminalise and demonise protest. Member of the opposition, Adam Searle (Labour) said, `We are seeing the party of big business talking, because this provision… would elevate the rights of business over the rights of any other property owner. Nothing could speak more clearly to that than this provision.  If these laws are passed, they will serve as a severe infringement of every Australian’s freedom of expression, for the benefit of the oil and gas industry.` "

"If you ask people whether they trust the government to put our children’s health and well being above corporate interests; sadly but predictably, the response is more often than not a resounding `no`. This bill in the NSW government’s hands makes a mockery of democracy, takes away individual rights and severely limits the ability of a Nan to safeguard her grandchildren."

"It’s disgraceful that those who disobey these newly proposed laws could get up to seven years in prison; and for what? Protecting land, water, and food integrity? Looking out for their children and others in their care? There are provisions in the Bill that allow police to crack down on and disperse peaceful protests, give police new powers to stop and search persons and vehicles without a search warrant, and to seize property without due process or supervision by the courts."

"You may have heard the tale of the slow-boiling frog: If you put a frog in water and very slowly bring it to the boil, the frog won’t notice the danger until it’s too late. It’s worth keeping this little tale in mind each time a new bill passes into law, another tax takes a nibble out of your income, another part of our NHS is privatised and yet another school gets into the Academy business. Our democracy is being stripped away from us, the walls are closing in and our ability to do anything about it is becoming severely curtailed."

http://www.talkfracking.org/news/new-bill-to-outlaw-protest-against-csg/

Spring conference will not debate fracking

"Commenting on the revelation that a motion put forward by at least 20 SNP party branches calling for a complete ban on unconventional gas and fracking has been excluded from the spring conference agenda, Friends of the Earth Scotland Director Richard Dixon said: `It is disgraceful that the SNP have rigged the agenda of the spring conference to avoid a debate that would embarrass the leadership.`"

"Following a confused process at last year’s autumn conference, at least 20 branches backed a motion calling for a complete ban on unconventional fossil fuels including fracking. Judging by the mood in the room last autumn there is little doubt that had the motion made it onto the spring agenda the party would vote for a full ban. Community campaigners and party members across the country will be deeply disappointed with the SNP today."

http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/node/2114

Test drilling has been given the go-ahead

On Sunday, 3,000 people protested against underground coal gasification across the Forth.

In this process, coal seams are set on fire underground but it has never been done successfully anywhere in the world.

The last place it was tried was in Australia with disastrous results. Nobody knows how to extinguish the fires underground which can burn for decades.

Some seriously disturbing news regarding Nicola Sturgeon's appointment of Campbell Gemmell as an "independent" to...
Posted by Stirling Against Unconventional Gas Extraction on Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Premature births are more likely around gas wells

"Expectant mothers who live near active natural gas wells operated by the fracking industry in Pennsylvania are at an increased risk of giving birth prematurely and for having high-risk pregnancies, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests."

"The findings, published online last week in the journal Epidemiology, shed light on some of the possible adverse health outcomes associated with the fracking industry, which has been booming in the decade since the first wells were drilled. Health officials have been concerned about the effect of this type of drilling on air and water quality, as well as the stress of living near a well where just developing the site of the well can require 1,000 truck trips on once-quiet roads."

"`The growth in the fracking industry has gotten way out ahead of our ability to assess what the environmental and, just as importantly, public health impacts are,` says study leader Brian S. Schwartz, MD, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Bloomberg School. `More than 8,000 unconventional gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania alone and we’re allowing this while knowing almost nothing about what it can do to health. Our research adds evidence to the very few studies that have been done in showing adverse health outcomes associated with the fracking industry.`"...

"Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in Pennsylvania, USA" was written by Joan A. Casey, David A. Savitz, Sara G. Rasmussen, Elizabeth L. Ogburn, Jonathan Pollak, Dione G. Mercer and Brian S. Schwartz.The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES023675-01, ES071541), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Heath & Society Scholars Program and the National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship.

http://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2015/study-fracking-industry-wells-associated-with-premature-birth.html

 

 

Thanks to pressure from anti-frackers, there is now a moratorium in place on underground coal gasification. But test drilling is to go ahead in Scotland which is not a good sign. Does this mean the moratorium will be lifted once safely past the next Holyrood election?

TEST drilling for unconventional coal and gas has been given the go-ahead as part of an 18-month process to determine whether industrial-scale fracking should be allowed in Scotland. [This is part of the fracking process and means all systems will be in place for a quick decision.]

A detailed research programme into the potential benefits and possible risks of unconventional fossil fuel extraction will be carried out between now and next summer, ministers announced, pushing a decision on the controversial technology back until after the election. [Who`s doing the research other than Cluff  and Ineos ?]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13836051.Test_drilling_to_start_as_part_of_fracking_study/

 

"A campaign group is to launch a protest in the middle of the Forth Road Bridge this weekend against plans to allow coal to be burned underneath the Firth of Forth."

"Our Forth plans to hold a demonstration on Sunday at 2pm which will see hundreds of people link hands along the Forth Road Bridge. The protest is calling on the Scottish Government to extend its freeze on fracking to cover offshore underground coal gasification (UCG)."

Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/forth-road-bridge-protest-planned-for-weekend#16DrsrbhKffd4sqA.99



No plans for SEPA to monitor Underground Coal Gasification

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=7&v=KpH13W0rw8g

Mel Kelly has received a reply from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to her Freedom of Information request on how SEPA plans to monitor Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) around the Firth of Forth.

"3.2 It was confirmed that the SEPA has not received any applications for Underground Coal Gasification activities and, at this time, no monitoring plans or processes specifically relating to UCG have been developed"

"Now another interesting point is it will be the companies that do the monitoring - but based on the Australian experience - when all 3 companies - 100% of the trials - deliberately withheld the fact they had caused environmental damage - breaching the planning and environmental rules for the trials - this proves the private operators cannot be trusted and surely proves for UCG - SEPA should be doing the monitoring - not the private operators - and as SEPA has not developed any way to monitor this the planning consent should not go ahead - the entire file attached the appendix at the end has other useful info - still got another 6 FOI outstanding for UCG monitoring with SEPA now - split the questions up - to get copies of files of meetings between SEPA and the UCG license holders, Coal Authority, H&S executive and any info they have got from Australia - which I think is zilch I'm sure the attached confirms unlike the officials in America the Scottish Parliament has not even contacted the Queensland government."
See More

 

F0185781 Review Response EIR final.pdf

Portable Document Format

Fracking and water: what`s the connection ?

Fracking is the process of breaking up underground rock using millions of gallons of water under extremely high pressure. Mel Kelly and Ian Crane discuss the issue in Scotland, beginning about 22 minutes into the video.

       

The `back door` privatisation of Scotland`s water has been slyly pushed through a bit at a time and all mainstream parties are implicated.

"Aside from the Conservatives no political party has openly declared itself in favour of the full privatisation of Scotland’s water industry. In fact the major parties said little in relation to water in their manifestos for the last Scottish election in 2003. Yet the two coalition parties in the Scottish Executive, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, introduced the Water Services (Scotland) Act in 2004 without signalling their intention to do so during the election. When one considers that this legislation effectively transferred power over the budgetary process to the WIC it is perhaps surprising that this was not put to the electorate during the previous years Scottish Election."

"Despite the volume of recent water legislation in Scotland the pressure for more changes to the governance structures of Scottish Water continues. "

http://www.stuc.org.uk/files/e-brief%20nov%202006/Waterreportfinal.pdf

Mel Kelly accuses Nicola Sturgeon of doing a deal with David Cameron to open up Scottish Water to UK wide marketisation during the last weeks in the run up to the Scottish referendum. Some devolved powers had to be handed back to Westminster to allow a change in the law. What does this say about the First Minister`s true stance on the Scottish independence issue?

As for fracking:

"Since the moratorium was called, the Scottish Government has refused to address a series of concerns from MSPs over what the moratorium means in practice. It remains unclear whether test drilling for fracking is covered, with chemical giant Ineos keen to push ahead with plans to explore shale gas reserves in the Grangemouth area. John Wilson, the independent MSP who has seen his own questions ignored for months, said this week that ministers' refusal to answer questions was simply unacceptable`."

"The SNP has also been criticised from within its own ranks for omitting underground coal gasification, a separate process that sees coal seams set alight underground and gas extracted, from its moratorium. A grassroots SNP members' group was set up this week and is aiming to persuade the leadership to take a tougher stance."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13767815.Sturgeon_under_cross_party_fire_over_fracking/?ref=mr&lp=13

Prevent training for teachers

 

"Police have told teachers that they should consider environmental activists and anti-fracking protesters as potential extremists under the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism strategy, TES has learned."

"More than 100 teachers from several schools were given the advice during a Prevent training session in West Yorkshire, where they were also warned by a police officer about extreme anti-capitalist groups."

"One teacher said the officer went on to refer to the behaviour of Green Party MP Caroline Lucas – who was arrested for her part in blocking a road at an anti-fracking demonstration in 2013 – as an example of extremism."

"Teaching unions have condemned the advice. Ms Lucas has told TES that she is "shocked" and is planning to write to the police to complain."

"Equating peaceful political demonstrations with violent extremism is both offensive and deeply misguided," the MP said. "It’s this kind of thinking that has led police in this country to waste vast amounts of taxpayers’ money in infiltrating environmental groups."..

"Amanda Brown, assistant general secretary of the NUT teaching union, said: "I’m quite alarmed that a police officer, who people would trust and think is offering the right advice, would say that it might be considered as extremism that someone is expressing their right, in a democracy, to express a view."

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/police-tell-teachers-beware-green-activists-counter-terrorism-talk

Underground coal burning across the Firth of Forth

Some background from the Herald:

COAL-GAS company involving the UK's biggest private landowner, the Duke of Buccleuch, has been accused of "bullying" after it slapped a legal gag on a lone environmental campaigner.

Lawyers acting for Five-Quarter, a Newcastle-based firm that wants to exploit gas in undersea coal seams, have threatened to sue an Ayrshire business analyst for "malicious falsehood"...

Mel Kelly wrote a 42-page report entitled Theft Of Austerity Britain's Coal on what she sees as the danger of underground coal gasification. It criticises Five-Quarter, its directors and other firms, and has been circulated to politicians and the media.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13162139.Coal_gas_company_accused_of_bullying_environmental_campaigner_with_legal_gag/

Some background from the Morning Star:

INEOS chairman Jim Ratcliffe has received private assurances from the SNP that it does not oppose fracking...The Switzerland-based billionaire said his business was given the nod earlier this year during private talks with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon — on the same day her party confirmed a moratorium on the damaging extraction process.

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-9e37-SNP-assured-Ineos-it-backs-fracking#.VeeGOBGFPIW

Some background from the National:

Cluff Natural Resources, who have licences to explore the possibility of underground coal gasification (UCG) in three sites in Scotland, wrote to the Scottish Government at the time of the moratorium on fracking, asking if their operation would be affected by the temporary ban.

In a letter to Communities minister Alex Neil, Algy Cluff, the company’s chief executive, said his company "has already committed to invest a significant amount of money"...

Responding, Alex Neil said that UCG was not covered by the fracking moratorium.

WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: "No company should ever be allowed to hold Scottish ministers or Scotland’s environment to ransom like this. This latest revelation again highlights why plans to burn coal under the sea should be a non-starter, and why the Scottish Government must extend its moratorium on unconventional gas extraction to include underground coal gasification."

Currently, Cluff Natural Resources and Five Quarter Energy Holdings both have licences to explore UCG. Cluff is looking at sites under the Firth and Forth, Kincardine and in Largo Bay.

Five Quarter is also looking at a location under the Firth and Forth and a site in Musselburgh...

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland, Tommy Sheppard, SNP MP for Edinburgh East, said: "Underground coal gasification to me is a more problematic technology than fracking because it involves going into disused coal seams and applying not only high pressure but very high temperatures, and I think the potential for something going wrong is much more considerable than it is with fracking."

http://www.thenational.scot/news/underground-coal-gasification-company-is-holding-scottish-environment-to-ransom.5764

Mel Kelly got an email from Newcastle law firm Muckle telling her to "cease and desist" distributing her report to avoid a costly legal action. Such gagging has been termed a SLAPP - a strategic lawsuit against public participation.

She said: "I will continue campaigning to raise awareness of underground coal gasification, which will likely prove to be just as controversial as fracking, once the public and legislators become fully aware of the many possible consequences for our health, wealth and environment."

No commercial operations have come from underground  coal gasification anywhere in the world and what small trials there have been have caused horrendous environmental damage.

Mel Kelly explains that companies will build onshore surface plants, then start drilling horizontally, then drill vertically to reach coal seams underground. [I think she means they will drill vertically, then horizontally and has got this the wrong way round in the video.] They plan to go under water, to coal seams just off-shore that connect to the mainland. The plan is to burn billions of tonnes of coal underground in order to extract gas useful to the company but there is no requirement for them to collect the carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide or other toxic gases that leak to the surface, as a result of the process. Apart from the pollution of soil, water and air, there is the risk of explosions and subsidence.  All of this is being planned for an area around the Firth of Forth, that will affect a stretch almost between Edinburgh and Glasgow, the most densely populated part of Scotland.

Not only that, but the Kincardine Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge are important commuter routes in Scotland and in striking distance of huge chemical plants - not the sort of places that should be put at risk of collapse or explosions, Mel Kelly asserts.

What can be said is that those who claim to be corporate parents who know better about families and children, than the families and children themselves, are found to make the most horrendous decisions for children and future generations.

Dates for the calendar

Saturday 26 September Get the frack out of Scotland. 1 to 5 pm at Holyrood.

October 11th at 2pm on the Forth Road Bridge ...protect the Firth of Forth from Underground Coal Gasification. A family and community event, linking hands across the bridge.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1642166826064509/