Germans are
concerned about the risks of fracking, a method to extract oil and gas:
Chancellor Angela Merkel sends out words of caution, environmental experts say
it’s dispensable. But in Europe, fracking is on the rise.
aThere is
hardly anything that Germans are as much afraid of as environmental risks in
the soil. Thousands take to the streets regularly against plans to store
nuclear waste deep underground. And lately, there have been active initiatives
against fracking - despite the technique not yet being commercially used on a
large scale. At least not in Germany.
Hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking, as it is more commonly known, is a method to release
petroleum or natural gas from rock formations by injecting a mixture of water,
sand and chemicals deep underground at high pressure. Oil and gas can then be
extracted; but parts of the chemical cocktail remain in the soil. That's why
environmental experts warn that fracking could pollute the groundwater.
Fracking
has experienced a boom over recent years in the United States. Experts have
said the US could soon even overtake Russia as the world's top gas producer.
There are calculations that suggest Germany could satisfy its own gas demand
for 13 years if it decided to use the controversial extraction method. Fracking
was done to a limited degree in Germany until US fracking activities triggered
a controversial debate. Companies had to stop all fracking activities in
Germany as a result.
Recommendation
to forego
 |
| Environmental advisor Martin Faulstich: Forego fracking |
The
fracking stop came at a time when Germany is actually seeking out new sources
of energy. After the Fukushima tsunami and nuclear reactor meltdown, Berlin
decided to phase out all nuclear energy by the mid-2020s.
But the
government's advisory council on the environment (SRU) warned of risks fracking
may pose. The experts said they had too many concerns outweighed the potential
benefits of fracking. They also said Germany didn't need additional gas
supplies from complicated and costly sources. Instead of fracking, the SRU
experts said they still favored wind and solar power.
"That's
why we've recommended that we forego fracking here in Germany," the
council's chairman Martin Faulstich told DW.
Chancellor
Angela Merkel has not openly shown interest in pursuing fracking in Germany. In
a phone consultation with fellow party members she said, "We have to do
everything we can to avoid environmental risks." Her government, she added
aimed to "limit [fracking] and to make its use more complicated and make
the method more environmentally friendly in comparison to its current legal
status."
Under
current law, fracking falls under the statues established for the mining
industry. Those regulations provide owners of a mine with a great deal of
latitude on their operations.
Unsuitable
topic for general elections
Germany's
ruling coalition of Christian conservatives and junior partner free market
liberal FDP have now put forward a draft law which would ban fracking in water
protection areas. In other areas, strict environmental compatibility studies
would have to be carried out, which in practice would amount to a ban.
"Under
current circumstances, we can rule out fracking," was how Hermann Gröhe,
the secretary general of governing party CDU, said of the topic.
Many in
Merkel's Christian Democratic Union want the draft law to go even further. They
are worried that the fear of chemicals in the soil could benefit the Greens
party in the election campaign. That's why they're now campaigning for a proper
ban - as are the Greens. Many German states that are governed by opposition
parties SPD and Greens also want to see fracking banned. They have the majority
in the German Bundesrat, Germany's upper house of parliament. That's why the
fracking law would not stand a chance at the moment anyway.
 |
| Campaigners are concerned about potential groundwater pollution |
Beer
brewers have also put up resistance in Bavaria. They are concerned about the
purity of the groundwater. That's why the CSU, the CDU's sister party that
governs the state of Bavaria, is also against fracking. Currently, the FDP -
with Economy Minister Philipp Rösler at the forefront - is the only political
party which speaks out in favor of at least assessing the possibilities of the
extraction method in Germany.
Pressure
from Europe
In Europe,
Germany comparably isolated in its opposition to fracking. Others frown when
they're confronted with the German concerns - even German nationals. EU Energy
Commissioner Günther Oettinger this week complained that the EU needed a
radical overhaul.
He said the
bloc was in a "truly abysmal state," and he criticized the German
government for its policies. Oettinger, a top member of Angela Merkel's CDU
party himself, said Germany was strong, but it couldn't get any stronger
because the government was setting the wrong agenda, by focusing on
"childcare benefits, a women's quota, minimum wages; and then they say no
to fracking."
In many EU
countries, fracking is popular, particularly in central and eastern Europe,
where many - like Poland - still rely on climate-unfriendly sources of energy
like coal. They would prefer to switch to less harmful shale gas. Hungary,
Poland, Romania, but also Spain and Britain are in favor of fracking.
Amid
ongoing anti-fracking protests, Romania's head of government Victor Ponta
called on his people to "not be deterred from the right path which the US
have already embarked on". It will take a long time before Germany embarks
on that path - if at all.
"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)
“… 4 - Energy (again)
The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!
Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”
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