Upcoming Events

International | Crime and Justice

no events match your query!

New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
A Blog About Human Rights

offsite link UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights

offsite link 5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights

offsite link Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights

offsite link Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights

offsite link Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Fri Mar 29, 2024 00:04 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the virus and the vaccines, the ?climate emergency? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Women?s Team with Five Male Players Wins Football Competition After One Male Player ?Broke Opponent?... Thu Mar 28, 2024 19:30 | Will Jones
A women?s football competition has been branded misogynist after it was won by a team featuring five transgender players, amid accusations one had broken an opponent?s leg in two places.
The post Women’s Team with Five Male Players Wins Football Competition After One Male Player “Broke Opponent’s Leg” ? But Teams Who Refuse to Play Against Them Are Branded “Discriminatory” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Further Evidence Gaza Casualty Numbers Are Fake Thu Mar 28, 2024 17:36 | Will Jones
The evidence that the Gaza casualty numbers from the Hamas-run Health Ministry (now over 32,000) are wildly inflated continues to mount. Mark Zlochin looks at what the proportions of male and female UNRWA workers tell us.
The post Further Evidence Gaza Casualty Numbers Are Fake appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Don?t Be Fooled by the ?Britain is Growing? Fairytales Thu Mar 28, 2024 15:22 | David Craig
Don't be fooled by the 'Britain is growing' fairytales, says David Craig. Any 'growth' is accounted for by the hike in the benefits bill and in civil servants' pay and a heap of other unproductive deficit spending.
The post Don’t Be Fooled by the ‘Britain is Growing’ Fairytales appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Climate: The Movie is a Perfect Cure for Climate Anxiety Thu Mar 28, 2024 13:00 | Toby Young
Climate Change: The Movie, the new film by Martin Durkin, should be shown at every school in the country to disabuse anxious young people of the idea that we're in the midst of a 'climate emergency'.
The post Climate: The Movie is a Perfect Cure for Climate Anxiety appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Moscow attack reminds us of the links between Islamists and Kiev's fundamentalis... Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:57 | en

offsite link Failure to assist a people in danger of genocide, by Hassan Hamadé Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:32 | en

offsite link Yugoslavia March 24, 1999 The Founding War of the New Nato, by Manlio Dinucci Sun Mar 24, 2024 05:15 | en

offsite link France opposes Russian Korean-style peace project in Ukraine Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:11 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N°79 Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:40 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Poland and Fracking - Lessons to be Learned - Ban Fracking In EU

category international | crime and justice | news report author Wednesday June 20, 2012 11:57author by Ban Fracking - No Fracking Ireland Report this post to the editors

How the Industry Spins this Investor Ponzi Scheme

Last week while covering the football in Poland, Pat Kenny's show on RTE radio 1, decided to interview Irish fracker, Oisin Fanning, chairman of San Leon, a company fracking for shale gas in Poland. People contacted the show and demanded the topic recieve balanced coverage and not just a pro-industry rant - eventually RTE agreed to allow Ewa Sufin of the Polish Green Party on air.

The usual industry spin and lies being repeated on RTE by Oisin Fanning were exposed by what Ewa Sufin had to say about fracking in her native Poland and why an EU wide ban must be put in place on this industry.

Below is a transcript of what Ewa Sufin said - you can listen to Oisin Fanning's interview via the RTE link below - iv starts at 1hr.27m
Safe Fracking - A Fairytale
Safe Fracking - A Fairytale

The reality of fracking in Poland, from Ewa Sufin, works at sustainable research and development, CSR manager (Green Party Poland) aired on Radio 1 Pat Kenny Show - Friday 15th Jun - 2012

Italics text didn't get to be said on air

1. (The first point that I would like to speak about concerns energy independence and patriotism) In Poland there is a massive lobbying, a propaganda campaign of the industry and the government, promoting shale gas, nuclear power and coal as the energy mix that will protect Poland from energy dependence from Russia and Gazprom. Supporting shale gas exploitation is shown as a patriotic duty of everyone. They just forget to say that the only way to really guarantee the energy independence to the country is to significantly improve energy efficiency and to develop renewables, not shale gas, and not nuclear power.

2. (The second point concerns the environment and water) . The information diffused in media is minimizing the dangers of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for environment,for human health, and for drinking water supply. Hydraulic fracturing needs up to 20 000cubic meters of water for one well and there are more and more evidences of ground water pollution caused by fracking. Yet water is a real problem in Poland, because Poland has the same quantity of water than Egypt and, as Polish Green party repeats: we can't drink gas. The information about the studies and reports which prove that a threat for drinking water and environment exists, is not diffused in official media, who are on the contrary doing everything to convince the population that there are no environmental risks due to hydraulic fracturing.

The precautionary principle from European Treaty is never evoked.

3. (The third point concerns a democracy of the whole process) There was no honest public debate on shale gas exploitation and no transparent democratic institutional process of the decision. Nobody knows in Poland about the excellent French example of a transparent and honest democratic procedure, which had as effect the ban of hydraulic fracturing on the territory of France, except for research. Polish media say that it's nuclear lobby's job, and by the way they almost don't speak about the bans of fracking by other countries or states like New York state, Quebec, Bulgaria, South Africa, and even our neighbor Czech Republic.Besides that, more than 100 licenses that have been handed out to industry during the last few years, were handed out without any transparency, and few months ago seven persons were arrested in charge of corruption, but no license was canceled after that. We, Greens, requested the Supreme Audit Chamber to investigate the process of concessions giving for searching for shale gas in Poland as in our opinion environmental and health procedure were not followed.The head of the Chamber declared that they would carry out such a control in this year.

4. (The fourth point concerns citizens' rights) The new geological law voted last year in Poland gives all the rights to the mining companies, and it doesn't protect the landers, who can't refuse the drilling, because they are threatened with eviction. Even local governments have no right to oppose. People are getting by mail contracts ready to sign, without any explanation about the consequences and about their rights, because they have no rights anymore.

The mining companies are coming with gifts for people, organize dances, try to show that they are friendly and will do no harm. They don’t say to local communities that fracking threatens their agriculture, tourism and sustainable industries. But when people want a real information and ask very concrete questions about hazardous products the companies will be using, and what they will do with the toxic waste, the representatives of the companies don’t answer and very often they just leave the meeting.

5. (The fifth and the last point concerns institutional problems) We are afraid that there will be no efficient control of what companies will do, because the Ministry of the Environment instead of protecting the environment and health safety, has been transformed into an economic department focused on the promotion of shale gas and nuclear power plants’ construction. There was an incident reported and filmed, when unknown mining company has poured into the old gravel pit a big quantity of toxic fracturing waste, causing leaks into the soil and emissions to air. It was in the region where the Ministry of Environment and Polish Geological Institute had realized a model environmental study around just one well to prove that hydraulic fracturing is safe and causes no water, soil or air pollution. The report of this study admitted that the waste of the fracturing was very toxic, but it said that it will be correctly treated. However the treatment is very expensive. So three days after the publishing of the results of this model study, the fracturing waste of unknown origin was poured in to an old gravel pit in the same region. We can be sure that this kind of proceeding will be very common when there will be thousands of wills across the country and hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of very toxic waste to treat.

To finish, I would like to say to Irish listeners that in Poland there are many, many people that are deeply scared about the future of their countryside, their clean air, land and water, the health of their children and generations to come, and all that because of a short term logic and dirty, destructive, reinforcing climate changes energy.

The Polish and Irish people must inform themselves through public community meetings, online independent academic research and the mistakes made in the U.S, where there are stories every week in the media of pollution and sickness in communities where fracking is going on. They must organize themselves and protest. May be we should register an European Citizens Initiative and try to get one million signatures in all the European countries to ban hydraulic fracturing in European Union.

by Ewa Sufin

Related Link: http://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/rteradiowebpage.html#

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   Exaggerated Reserve Figures - Par for the Course     Ban Fracking    Wed Jun 20, 2012 12:10 
   Recent Letter to Irish Times     Ban Fracking    Wed Jun 20, 2012 12:15 
   Safe Fracking an Industry Myth - Josh Fox (director of 'Gasland')     Ban Fracking    Wed Jun 20, 2012 12:25 
   New Short Film on Fracking by Josh Fox     Ban Fracking    Wed Jun 20, 2012 17:59 
   Bunjee without the cord     John Burke    Wed Jun 20, 2012 21:28 
   fracking is a total scam..     water drinker    Wed Jun 20, 2012 23:35 
   When You Hear the Industry Saying It's Safe - Reply With The Facts     Kate    Thu Jun 21, 2012 14:56 
   Methane Gas Toxicity Ban Fracking     Gerry Seger    Sat Feb 09, 2013 00:22 
   Fracking Toxic Waste Water     Gerry Seger    Wed Feb 13, 2013 18:15 
 10   Fracking in Michigan USA     Gerry Seger    Wed Feb 13, 2013 18:26 


Number of comments per page
  
 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy