tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/fracking-184/articlesFracking – The Conversation2023-10-30T19:11:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2157112023-10-30T19:11:21Z2023-10-30T19:11:21ZThe Beetaloo gas field is a climate bomb. How did CSIRO modelling make it look otherwise?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556529/original/file-20231030-17-lipsnt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C27%2C3617%2C2046&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Even as Australia braces for a summer of projected extreme heatwaves and bushfires amid the intensifying climate crisis, the fossil gas industry is gearing up for a truly enormous new fracking project in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. </p>
<p>In February, a <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/research/greenhouse-gas-and-air-quality/offsets-for-life-cycle-greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-onshore-gas-in-the-northern-territory/">CSIRO-backed report</a> was published, stating Beetaloo could be developed without adding to Australia’s net emissions. In May, the Northern Territory government gave the green light to the project, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/nt-csiro-gisera-report-offsets-beetaloo-basin-emissions/101948768">citing the report</a> as evidence emissions could be “mitigated, reduced or in some cases eliminated”. </p>
<p>This report is important. It was produced by CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance in response to a <a href="https://hydraulicfracturing.nt.gov.au/action-items/9.8">key recommendation</a> from the NT’s <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/inquiry-reports/final-report">Pepper Inquiry</a> into fracking. That recommendation? Territory and federal governments should “seek to ensure” no net increase in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions in Australia from fracking in the NT. </p>
<p>How could it find a massive new fossil fuel field won’t add to emissions? Our <a href="https://climateanalytics.org/media/emissions_impossible.pdf">forensic analysis</a> of the report found it made the most optimistic assumptions about emissions at every stage, and placed far too much faith in Australia’s ability to offset emissions. </p>
<h2>Remind me – how big is Beetaloo?</h2>
<p>Big. The fossil fuel basin 500 kilometres south of Darwin is bigger than any current gas project on Western Australia’s North-West Shelf. </p>
<p>We estimate 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions would be emitted over 25 years to 2050 – a figure 45% higher than in the report. </p>
<p>Our analysis shows annual domestic emissions from fracking in the Beetaloo and processing at Darwin’s Middle Arm industrial precinct would produce up to 49 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, 11% of Australia’s total emissions in 2021. That means a single project would produce more emissions than the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-safeguard-mechanism-deal-is-only-a-half-win-for-the-greens-and-for-the-climate-202612">entire reduction goal</a> under Labor’s revised safeguard mechanism.</p>
<p>Our deep dive into the CSIRO report found its cumulative domestic emissions projections are underestimates of up to 84% in some cases. Emissions are underestimated at almost every stage, from how emissions-intensive fracked gas is to how much methane is lost to the atmosphere and how much is emitted in manufacturing LNG. We have submitted our report to the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/MiddleArm">Senate Inquiry into Middle Arm</a>. </p>
<p>The report also underestimates upstream emissions – emissions created by actually fracking the gas and transporting it to Darwin – by up to 110%, and emissions from turning gas into LNG at the plant by up to 89%. </p>
<p>A CSIRO spokesperson told The Conversation: </p>
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<p>CSIRO scientists have delivered a robust and detailed technical analysis, confirmed through an intensive peer review process, of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with onshore gas production scenarios in the Beetaloo Sub-basin, and <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/March/mitigating-and-offsetting-greenhouse-gas-emissions-in-the-northern-territory">important information</a> about realistic mitigation and offset options. CSIRO stands behind the quality of its research and the integrity of its peer review process.</p>
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<h2>No net increase – by the power of offsets?</h2>
<p>Any large new fossil gas project would, of course, add more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. So how could it represent “no net increase”? </p>
<p>The answer: offsets. The report recommends sequestering carbon in Australia’s soils and forests to offset the global warming caused by burning Beetaloo’s single product, gas. </p>
<p>As we and many <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/nt-csiro-gisera-report-offsets-beetaloo-basin-emissions/101948768">other experts</a> have demonstrated, offsets are <a href="https://climateanalytics.org/publications/2023/why-offsets-are-not-a-viable-alternative-to-cutting-emissions">riddled with flaws</a>. Every tonne of fossil carbon we emit stays in the atmosphere <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-tonne-of-fossil-carbon-isnt-the-same-as-a-tonne-of-new-trees-why-offsets-cant-save-us-200901">far longer</a> than the 100 years a land-based offset might store carbon. Around 40% of our emissions remain in the atmosphere after 100 years. Up to a quarter is still there after 1,000 years. And up to 20% is still there after 10,000 years. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-tonne-of-fossil-carbon-isnt-the-same-as-a-tonne-of-new-trees-why-offsets-cant-save-us-200901">A tonne of fossil carbon isn't the same as a tonne of new trees: why offsets can't save us</a>
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<p>Offsets often don’t work over the short term, because many are simply not real or not additional to what would otherwise have happened. Their problems are <a href="https://theconversation.com/now-we-know-the-flaws-of-carbon-offsets-its-time-to-get-real-about-climate-change-181071">now well known</a>, but not broadly accepted by Australian policymakers. </p>
<p>CSIRO’s report uses overly optimistic estimates of how many offsets are likely to be available. If they could be realised, the offsets required for Beetaloo would take up very large areas of land in Australia – up to 2.9 million hectares, 12 times the size of the Australian Capital Territory. </p>
<h2>The problem with blue hydrogen</h2>
<p>Blue hydrogen is touted as another use for Beetaloo gas. Here, hydrogen is made from fossil gas, with emissions captured and stored to reduce the climate impact of Beetaloo. </p>
<p>CSIRO’s report assumes fossil gas facilities can capture 90% of the carbon from the project. This is way too optimistic. To date, no commercial blue hydrogen facility in the world has achieved anything close.</p>
<p>Even with carbon capture and storage <a href="https://ccep.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/publication/ccep_crawford_anu_edu_au/2021-03/ccep_2103_clean_hydrogen_0.pdf">research shows</a> blue hydrogen is very carbon intensive. Energy experts project that green hydrogen – made by breaking water apart with clean energy – <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/2023-hydrogen-levelized-cost-update-green-beats-gray">will undercut blue hydrogen</a> on cost by around 2030. </p>
<h2>What about the Middle Arm LNG project?</h2>
<p>After the gas is extracted by hydraulic fracturing, it would be transported to the Middle Arm precinct in Darwin to get ready for shipping. We analysed the total cumulative emissions, including exports. The result? 25 years of emissions from this project and its large LNG plant in Darwin would be more than three times the entire country’s emissions in 2021. </p>
<p>One of the companies looking to profit from Beetaloo, Tamboran Energy, has already announced plans to <a href="https://twitter.com/Tamboran_TBN/status/1668800685402468354">expand after 2030</a>. If this gets up, it would add the equivalent of another 30–38 million cars (10–13% of Australia’s 2021 emissions). Given there are only 15 million cars in Australia, this would wipe out the benefit of making our entire light vehicle fleet electric by the mid 2030s.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-win-for-traditional-owners-origin-is-walking-away-from-the-beetaloo-basin-but-the-fight-against-fracking-is-not-over-190906">In a win for Traditional Owners, Origin is walking away from the Beetaloo Basin. But the fight against fracking is not over</a>
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<p>The International Energy Agency <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-roadmap-a-global-pathway-to-keep-the-15-0c-goal-in-reach/a-renewed-pathway-to-net-zero-emissions">has shown</a> we have to slash demand for fossil fuels 25% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 to keep heating under 1.5°C and limit the worst effects of climate change. </p>
<p>If it is allowed to proceed, this single project could undo all of our efforts to cut emissions. Beetaloo and Middle Arm are a climate bomb. They will produce vast volumes of emissions which cannot be offset. The atmosphere doesn’t respond to clever accounting, overly optimistic projections and reliance on offsets – only on how many tonnes of emissions end up there.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Climate Analytics was commissioned to do this research by the Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation. Climate Analytics is a non-profit global science and policy institute engaged around the world in driving and supporting climate action aligned to the 1.5°C warming limit.</span></em></p>In May, the Northern Territory government greenlit the mammoth Beetaloo Basin fracking project. But they did so based on a report with optimistic projections on offsets and emissions.Bill Hare, Adjunct Professor, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2124592023-09-04T02:09:22Z2023-09-04T02:09:22ZHealth evidence against gas and oil is piling up, as governments turn a blind eye<p>We are seeing <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/climate/wmo-statement-state-of-global-climate">deadly heat and fires</a> circle the world. The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/about/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/resources/spm-headline-statements/">warns</a> we are fast running out of time to secure a liveable and sustainable future. Without emergency action to stop mining and burning fossil fuels, the world faces an unthinkable 2.8°C temperature rise.</p>
<p>It’s incomprehensible, then, that many of our politicians support “<a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/January%202021/document/beetaloo-strategic-basin-plan.pdf">unlocking the Beetaloo Basin</a>” in the Northern Territory and developing another <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-12/resources-and-energy-major-projects-2022_0.pdf">48 oil and gas projects</a> across Australia. </p>
<p>“Unlocking” means starting large-scale shale gas extraction. After drilling through 3–4km of rock and aquifers, a cocktail of chemicals, sand and water is forced down the well. This process of hydraulic fracturing is commonly known as fracking. This brings to the surface, and then into the atmosphere, carbon that had been securely stored underground for <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/natural-gas/">300–400 million years</a>. </p>
<p>Today we have launched a <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/aboriginal-and-torres-straight-islander-community/risks_of_og_development.pdf">report</a> that demonstrates the many risks of oil and gas development for human health and wellbeing in Australia. Based on a review of over 300 peer-reviewed studies, our report provides the public and decision-makers with a summary of the now-extensive evidence of these risks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-116-new-coal-oil-and-gas-projects-equate-to-215-new-coal-power-stations-202135">Australia's 116 new coal, oil and gas projects equate to 215 new coal power stations</a>
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<h2>What is the evidence against oil and gas?</h2>
<p>There is a need to combat widely held misconceptions and repeated misinformation about the safety of the oil and gas industry. We undertook the review at the request of concerned paediatricians in the Northern Territory.</p>
<p><a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ace3db">New research</a> clearly shows that “unlocking gas” is at least as harmful to the climate as mining and burning coal. This is largely due to methane leaks at many stages of production. Methane is <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2020/july/emissions-of-methane-are-rising">86 times more powerful</a> than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere over 20 years.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/methane-must-fall-to-slow-global-heating-but-only-13-of-emissions-are-actually-regulated-205941">Methane must fall to slow global heating – but only 13% of emissions are actually regulated</a>
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<p>Doors opened for the 49 planned projects in Australia after state reviews of potential impacts. These reviews are flawed and outdated as the volume of published studies has grown rapidly in recent years. Reviews were undertaken, for example, in <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/314382/140930-CSG-Final-Report.pdf">New South Wales</a> in 2014, <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/inquiry-reports/final-report">Northern Territory</a> in 2017, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=3d33f399-4990-41a4-9513-06612733f7f3&subId=410766">South Australia</a> in 2015 and <a href="https://frackinginquiry.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/final_report.pdf">Western Australia</a> in 2018.</p>
<p>Our report synthesises recent scientific and public health research on five areas of concern about oil and gas operations: </p>
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<li><p>threats to biodiversity, water and food security arising from site preparation, drilling, fracking, wastewater handling, gas pipeline transport and processing</p></li>
<li><p>contributions to the climate emergency</p></li>
<li><p>a vast array of potentially harmful chemicals</p></li>
<li><p>contamination of water, soil and air </p></li>
<li><p>physical, social, emotional and spiritual health impacts near oil and gas fields and their sprawling infrastructure. </p></li>
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<p>Each fracking event to release shale gas uses <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-water-does-typical-hydraulically-fractured-well-require">6 million to 60 million litres</a> of fresh water. Fracking is often applied many times to each of hundreds to thousands of wells in a region. This puts <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aar5982">water security at risk</a> in arid areas. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mining-vs-rivers-a-single-line-on-a-map-could-determine-the-future-of-water-in-the-northern-territory-192626">Mining vs rivers: a single line on a map could determine the future of water in the Northern Territory</a>
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<p>Each step of gas production creates risks of contamination of surface and ground water. With vast quantities of wastewater, it can happen through spilling, leaking, flooding and overflows. Wastewater can even be <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b00716">deliberately spread</a> for so-called “beneficial uses”.</p>
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<p>This wastewater contains <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1235009">hundreds of chemicals</a>. Some are naturally occurring. Others are added during drilling and fracking. </p>
<p>These chemicals can include heavy metals, phenols, barium, volatile organic compounds including benzene, toluene, ethylene and xylene, radioactive materials, fluoride, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, salt and many chemicals of unknown toxicity.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043715">Air becomes contaminated</a> with volatile organic compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, radioactive materials, diesel fumes, hydrogen sulfide, acrolein and heavy metals. Formaldehyde, particulate matter and <a href="https://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/article/doi/10.1525/elementa.398/112753/Air-quality-impacts-from-oil-and-natural-gas">ground-level ozone</a> are formed and travel long distances, damaging health and agriculture.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/companies-that-frack-for-oil-and-gas-can-keep-a-lot-of-information-secret-but-what-they-disclose-shows-widespread-use-of-hazardous-chemicals-193915">Companies that frack for oil and gas can keep a lot of information secret – but what they disclose shows widespread use of hazardous chemicals</a>
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<h2>What are the health impacts?</h2>
<p>People exposed to oil and gas operations experience a long list of harms. These include:</p>
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<li><p>more severe <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/49/6/1883/5900868">asthma in children</a> requiring more medical treatment, emergency department visits and hospitalisations </p></li>
<li><p>higher hospitalisation and death rates due to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33581094/">heart attacks</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33303076/">heart failure</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272722000032">respiratory diseases</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988321001286?via%3Dihub">some cancers</a></p></li>
<li><p>higher injury and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095069620300267">fatality rates</a> due to increased heavy vehicle traffic</p></li>
<li><p>increases in depression, anxiety and social withdrawal, especially among <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35341757/">young</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35325816/">pregnant</a> women</p></li>
<li><p>increases in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194203">sexually transmitted infections</a> associated with the industry’s mobile workforces</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33039138/">reproductive harms</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34413223/">interference with development</a> of unborn babies, including higher risks of low birth weight, pre-term delivery and spontaneous abortion </p></li>
<li><p>higher risk of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37076028/">severe birth defects</a> </p></li>
<li><p>higher risk of <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP11092">acute lymphoblastic leukemia</a>. </p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/land-clearing-and-fracking-in-australias-northern-territory-threatens-the-worlds-largest-intact-tropical-savanna-208028">Land clearing and fracking in Australia's Northern Territory threatens the world's largest intact tropical savanna</a>
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<h2>Putting Indigenous people and others in harm’s way</h2>
<p>Many of the 49 planned projects affect Aboriginal land. Some companies have allegedly violated the rights of Traditional Owners to <a href="https://www.accr.org.au/downloads/Jumbunna-FPIC-review-final.pdf">free, prior and informed consent</a>. The <a href="https://nit.com.au/25-06-2021/2087/fracking-inquiry-for-beetaloo-basin">massive disruption</a> of Aboriginal Country and life puts people at great risk of physical, <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.2153-9561.2012.01066.x">social, emotional</a>, <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/indigenous/outlook-and-impact">cultural</a> and <a href="https://nit.com.au/25-06-2021/2087/fracking-inquiry-for-beetaloo-basin">spiritual</a> harm.</p>
<p>The report also issues a loud warning about sexual violence against First Nations <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/program/fpw/2019/03/14/new-report-finds-increase-violence-coincides-oil-boom">Americans</a> and <a href="https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Final_Report_Vol_1a-1.pdf">Canadians</a> associated with oil and gas activities. The WA <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/(Report+Lookup+by+Com+ID)/EF1DF1A3F5DF74A848258869000E6B32/$file/20220621%20-Report%20No%202.pdf">parliamentary inquiry</a> into women’s experiences of sexual harassment and sexual violence in “fly in, fly out” (FIFO) mines suggests these risks apply equally in Australia. Yet all <a href="https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/898896/0/37">government assessments</a> of oil and gas development in Australia completely ignore these risks. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-beetaloo-drilling-program-brings-potential-health-and-social-issues-for-aboriginal-communities-in-remote-nt-165392">The Beetaloo drilling program brings potential health and social issues for Aboriginal communities in remote NT</a>
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<p>In the United States, the industry has grown so vast within two decades that over <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5783652/">17.6 million people</a> live within a mile (1.6km) of oil or gas wells. By 2016, the estimated <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2752-5309/acc886">cost to the community</a> was US$77 billion. This was the cost of illness, extra health care and premature deaths (7,500) from asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular disease due to air pollution alone. </p>
<p>Our report makes clear any further gas development will have serious impacts on the climate, the people living in or near gas fields and the overburdened health services that serve them.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/two-trillion-tonnes-of-greenhouse-gases-25-billion-nukes-of-heat-are-we-pushing-earth-out-of-the-goldilocks-zone-202619">Two trillion tonnes of greenhouse gases, 25 billion nukes of heat: are we pushing Earth out of the Goldilocks zone?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212459/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melissa Haswell has previously received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health, Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Australian Red Cross, The Healing Foundation, Queensland Health and Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council. She is affiliated with the Climate and Health Alliance, Australian Public Health Association and the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacob Hegedus is member of NSW Young Labor Party</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Shearman and Lisa Jackson Pulver do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new report spans more than 300 peer-reviewed studies to present a comprehensive summary of the risks the industry creates for people’s health and wellbeing, as well as for the planet.Melissa Haswell, Professor of Health, Safety and Environment, Queensland University of Technology and Professor of Practice in Environmental Wellbeing, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services) and Honorary Professor (School of Geosciences), University of SydneyDavid Shearman, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of AdelaideJacob Hegedus, Research Assistant, University of SydneyLisa Jackson Pulver, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2080282023-06-29T20:01:48Z2023-06-29T20:01:48ZLand clearing and fracking in Australia’s Northern Territory threatens the world’s largest intact tropical savanna<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534741/original/file-20230629-25-ez2qiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C12%2C2713%2C1807&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/top-end-termite-mound-northern-territory-1932907244">Jill Marie Smith, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Northern Territory government’s plan to turn 100,000 hectares over to <a href="https://industry.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1232771/agribusiness-strategy-2030.pdf">large-scale crops such as cotton</a> and its support for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/18/darwins-sustainable-middle-arm-development-is-key-to-huge-fossil-fuel-projects-documents-show">onshore gas extraction</a> is threatening the <a href="https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/nature-northern-australia">world’s largest intact tropical savanna</a>. </p>
<p>This is a region of immense cultural, environmental and economic value. It is home to the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/world/kakadu">World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park</a> and rich biodiversity. </p>
<p>As wildlife ecologists and conservation scientists, we are deeply concerned about <a href="https://industry.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1232771/agribusiness-strategy-2030.pdf">plans</a> announced last month that would <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-24/nt-agribusiness-strategy-2030-crops-land-clearing-cotton-gins/102382600">intensify land clearing</a>. </p>
<p>Accelerating habitat loss would all but guarantee failure of the Australian government’s <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/minister-launches-threatened-species-action-plan-toward-zero-extinctions">zero extinctions</a> plan, notwithstanding the fact many of the species placed in harm’s way by fracking and farming are <a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-australian-lizard-species-are-barely-known-to-science-many-may-face-extinction-161572">yet to be discovered</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than relaxing regulation to support development, we need to urgently overhaul Australia’s grossly inadequate environmental laws and safeguards, which also lack enforcement. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TH3FgBvRtlE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Earlier this year (2023), the ABC investigated suspicious land clearing in the NT.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ecocheck-australias-vast-majestic-northern-savannas-need-more-care-59897">EcoCheck: Australia's vast, majestic northern savannas need more care</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Land clearing leaves wildlife homeless</h2>
<p>When we think of unregulated land clearing and habitat loss in the tropics, impoverished countries in tropical South America, Africa and Asia spring to mind. Not a relatively rich, developed country like Australia.</p>
<p>But across Australia’s tropical north, landscapes are afforded little protection. Land clearing leads to habitat loss, erosion and pollution of waterways. </p>
<p>Threatened species such as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/16/tanya-plibersek-approves-habitat-clearing-in-darwin-despite-risk-to-endangered-bird">Gouldian finch</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwil5qOEneP_AhUYRfEDHaRzBgwQFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnt.gov.au%2F__data%2Fassets%2Fpdf_file%2F0018%2F205515%2Fblack-footed-tree-rat-kimberley-mainland-nt.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3iniQrIIhrK_yGQlcC5cCx&opi=89978449">black-footed tree-rat</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-northern-river-shark-12554">northern river shark</a> are being put at risk. </p>
<p>Agriculture, including livestock grazing (pastoralism), is by far the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-08/deforestation-land-clearing-australia-state-by-state/12535438">greatest driver of land clearing</a> in northern Australia.</p>
<p>The land subject to clearing approvals in the NT <a href="https://territoryrivers.org.au/a-fork-in-the-river/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1_SkBhDwARIsANbGpFvOo6KLE0SjyU54tV8tlZJyU4Xf2vYE0HGhRlI_F897xp-9WqjqDaAaAiBJEALw_wcB">increased by 300% between 2018 and 2021</a>. This trend is expected to continue. </p>
<p>First Nations Peoples, environmental scientists, conservation groups, and other members of the public fear the push to develop cotton in the NT will mean <a href="https://envirojustice.org.au/blog/2023/06/06/taking-on-land-clearing-in-the-nt/">clearing a further 100,000 ha</a>. That stems from the 2019 <a href="https://ntfarmers.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/60321b63d7bd4778a95579680cac25f2.pdf">NT Farmers Association business case</a> for the construction of a cotton processing facility in the NT, which is <a href="https://www.katherinetimes.com.au/story/8057683/cotton-gin-plans-expands-prior-to-opening/">nearing completion</a>.</p>
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<h2>Weak laws afford limited protection</h2>
<p>Our national environmental protection law, the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc">Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act</a>, relies on <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/our-role/what-is-protected">self-referral of development activities</a> for assessment. </p>
<p>Proponents of pastoral land clearing projects <a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/ecnt/pages/764/attachments/original/1672987003/ECNT_Nature_Laws_Discussion_Paper.pdf?1672987003">almost never refer their projects</a> to the Australian government for assessment, even if their projects are set to deplete thousands of hectares of habitat within the known range of threatened species. </p>
<p>This means the potential impacts on threatened species and other natural values supposedly protected by national environmental laws, are never assessed by experts. And there is <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/advice/referral-applications-and-proposals#:%7E:text=Under%20the%20EPBC%20Act%2C%20you,responsibilities%20relating%20to%20that%20action.">no mechanism for anyone else to refer</a> the development for assessment.</p>
<p>The NT has no dedicated <a href="https://www.ecnt.org.au/our_nature_our_future_the_case_for_next_generation_biodiversity_conservation_laws_for_the_northern_territory">land clearing</a> or <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8230090/an-urgent-reminder-of-why-we-need-new-national-nature-laws/">native vegetation management</a> legislation. The Pastoral Land Board approves land clearing across pastoral leases (which cover more than 45% of the territory’s land area). Permits for up to 5,000ha are <a href="https://nt.gov.au/property/land-clearing/pastoral-land/pastoral-land-clearing-applications-and-permits">generally granted without any formal environmental impact assessment</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/your-business/public-registers/environmental-impact-assessments-register/completed-assessments/register/clearing-of-native-vegetation-on-ucharonidge-station">On one occasion</a> the proponent referred an application to the NT Environment Protection Agency. But it was deemed clearing the 10,000ha would not have a significant impact. So there was no environmental impact assessment required.</p>
<p>Some of the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-11/land-cleared-for-cotton-farming-northern-territory/101651092">most notable examples</a> of recent uncontrolled land clearing, without any assessment of biodiversity impacts, were for cotton on pastoral land in the NT.</p>
<p>Finally, the current regulatory system covers single development proposals. It is poorly equipped to consider the cumulative impacts of successive individual clearing events.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/extinction-crisis-native-mammals-are-disappearing-in-northern-australia-but-few-people-are-watching-178313">Extinction crisis: native mammals are disappearing in Northern Australia, but few people are watching</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Fuelling fires and biodiversity loss</h2>
<p>The push to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/03/northern-territory-clears-way-for-fracking-to-begin-in-beetaloo-basin">extract gas from the Beetaloo Basin</a> represents another major threat to the region. The export of fracked gas from Beetaloo will be facilitated by the <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/the-politics/rachel-withers/2023/06/14/middle-finger-development">Middle Arm Sustainable Development precinct</a>. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/">runs counter to warnings</a> from the world’s climate scientists that we must rapidly move away from a reliance on fossil fuels if we are to meet ambitions to keep global warming below 1.5°C.</p>
<p>For northern Australia, climate change means <a href="https://nespclimate.com.au/climate-change-science-for-northern-australia/">more severe storms</a>, coral bleaching, <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-killed-40-million-australian-mangroves-in-2015-heres-why-theyll-probably-never-grow-back-166971">death of mangroves</a>, more intense and extended dry seasons (with less water for wildlife), and increased fire risk and severity. </p>
<p>Threats may compound upon each other, as invasive <a href="https://theconversation.com/field-of-nightmares-gamba-grass-in-the-top-end-12178">gamba</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-buffel-kerfuffle-how-one-species-quietly-destroys-native-wildlife-and-cultural-sites-in-arid-australia-149456">buffel</a> grass that favour and promote fire would be even more likely to thrive and expand.</p>
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<h2>A better future for Australia’s tropical savannas</h2>
<p>To protect Australia’s tropical savannas from uncontrolled land clearing and gas extraction, we need: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Stronger national environment protection legislation. The federal government is in the process of <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/our-role/reviews">reviewing the EPBC Act</a>. This is a perfect opportunity to recognise and protect our tropical savannas. The new act must have stronger requirements for the formal assessment of all projects that are likely to affect threatened species. It must also take the cumulative impacts of multiple small projects into account, to avoid “death by a thousand cuts”.</p></li>
<li><p>New NT-focused environmental law such as a <a href="https://www.ecnt.org.au/our_nature_our_future_the_case_for_next_generation_biodiversity_conservation_laws_for_the_northern_territory">Biodiversity Conservation Act</a>, as proposed by the <a href="https://www.edo.org.au/">Environmental Defenders Office</a>, <a href="https://envirojustice.org.au/">Environmental Justice Australia</a> and the <a href="https://www.ecnt.org.au/">Environment Centre NT</a>, would provide tighter regulation of land clearing. This could also consider greenhouse gas emissions, carbon storage and native food production (bush tucker), as well as the intrinsic cultural values of intact ecosystems. </p></li>
<li><p>Most importantly, conservation planning that is community-led, scientifically grounded and respects <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-26/nt-water-map-petition-cotton-gas-concerns/102516804">the wishes and concerns of First Nations Peoples</a> regarding enterprises on and management of Country. Recent pastoral land clearing in the NT has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-03/criticisms-mount-over-unregulated-land-clearing-in-the-nt/101897606">ignored the concerns of Traditional Owners</a> over the loss of Country (despite having legally recognised Native Title on the land). </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Avoid repeating past mistakes</h2>
<p>While Australia’s tropical savannas are massive in scale, they are increasingly insecure and under significant strain. Against a backdrop of climate change, biodiversity decline and extinction crises, any further development of the north must be subject to rigorous risk-assessment and appropriate environmental protections.</p>
<p>This is essential to ensure any economic benefits justify potential risks. We simply can’t afford to risk repeating mistakes already inflicted on much of southern Australia.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/existential-threat-to-our-survival-see-the-19-australian-ecosystems-already-collapsing-154077">'Existential threat to our survival': see the 19 Australian ecosystems already collapsing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208028/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Euan G. Ritchie is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brett Murphy receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a member of the Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee, and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Scientific Advisory Network. He is a member of the Ecological Society of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Woinarski is a member of the Biodiversity Council and a Director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy</span></em></p>Hungry for development and industry investment, the Northern Territory government is putting one of the world’s last intact tropical ecosystems at risk. Scientists are calling for better protections.Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityBrett Murphy, Professor, Charles Darwin UniversityJohn Woinarski, Professor of Conservation Biology, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1939152023-04-03T12:27:43Z2023-04-03T12:27:43ZCompanies that frack for oil and gas can keep a lot of information secret – but what they disclose shows widespread use of hazardous chemicals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518576/original/file-20230330-20-te72z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C15%2C5168%2C3440&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A deep injection well used for disposal of fracking wastewater in Kern County, Calif.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/deep-injection-well-used-for-disposal-of-wastewater-kern-news-photo/566446781">Citizens of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From rural Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, more than 17 million Americans live within a mile of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1535">at least one oil or gas well</a>. Since 2014, most new oil and gas wells <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=34732">have been fracked</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fracking-101">Fracking</a>, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which workers inject fluids underground under high pressure. The fluids fracture coal beds and shale rock, allowing the gas and oil trapped within the rock to rise to the surface. Advances in fracking launched a huge <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Boom/Russell-Gold/9781451692297">expansion of U.S. oil and gas production</a> starting in the early 2000s but also triggered intense debate over its health and environmental impacts. </p>
<p>Fracking fluids are up to 97% water, but they also contain a host of chemicals that perform functions such as dissolving minerals and killing bacteria. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies a number of these chemicals as <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/hfstudy/recordisplay.cfm?deid=332990">toxic or potentially toxic</a>. </p>
<p>The Safe Drinking Water Act, enacted in 1974, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/uic/underground-injection-control-regulations-and-safe-drinking-water-act-provisions">regulates underground injection of chemicals</a> that can threaten drinking water supplies. However, Congress has <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/belj/vol19/iss1/1/">exempted fracking from most federal regulation</a> under the law. As a result, fracking is regulated at the state level, and requirements <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44134029">vary from state to state</a>.</p>
<p>We study the oil and gas industry in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=0ljDCPkAAAAJ">California</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aBGLAAYAAAAJ&hl=en">Texas</a> and are members of the <a href="https://sarawylie.com/wedj-lab/">Wylie Environmental Data Justice Lab</a>, which studies fracking chemicals in aggregate. In a recent study, we worked with colleagues to provide the first systematic analysis of chemicals found in fracking fluids that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120552">would be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act</a> if they were injected underground for other purposes. Our findings show that excluding fracking from federal regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act is exposing the public to an array of chemicals that are widely recognized as threats to public health.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram of a fracking operation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A schematic of a hydraulic fracking operation, with wastewater temporarily stored in a surface waste pit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/fracking-royalty-free-illustration/501046435">wetcake via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Averting federal regulation</h2>
<p>Fracking technologies were originally developed in the 1940s but only entered widespread use for fossil fuel extraction in the U.S. in the early 2000s. Since the process involves injecting chemicals underground and then disposing of contaminated water that flows back to the surface, it faced potential regulation under multiple U.S. environmental laws. </p>
<p>In 1997, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that fracking should be <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/19971585118f3d146711376">regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act</a>. This would have required oil and gas producers to develop underground injection control plans, disclose the contents of their fracking fluids and monitor local water sources for contamination. </p>
<p>In response, the oil and gas industry lobbied Congress to exempt fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Congress did so as part of the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/uog#:%7E:text=The%20Energy%20Policy%20Act%20of,regulation%20under%20the%20UIC%20program.">Energy Policy Act of 2005</a>. </p>
<p>This provision is widely known as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/w4040983">Halliburton Loophole</a> because it was championed by former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who previously served as CEO of <a href="https://www.halliburton.com/">oil services company Halliburton</a>. The company patented fracking technologies in the 1940s and remains one of the world’s largest suppliers of fracking fluid. </p>
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<h2>Fracking fluids and health</h2>
<p>Over the past two decades, studies have linked exposure to chemicals in fracking fluid with a wide range of health risks. These risks include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2014-0057">giving birth prematurely and having babies with low birth weights</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306722">congenital heart defects</a>, as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.10.023">heart failure</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.2436">asthma and other respiratory illnesses</a> among patients of all ages. </p>
<p>Though researchers have produced numerous studies on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190632366.013.44">health effects of these chemicals</a>, federal exemptions and sparse data still make it hard to monitor the impacts of their use. Further, much existing research focuses on individual compounds, not on the cumulative effects of exposure to combinations of them.</p>
<h2>Chemical use in fracking</h2>
<p>For our review we consulted the <a href="https://www.fracfocus.org/">FracFocus Chemical Disclosure Registry</a>, which is managed by the <a href="https://www.gwpc.org/">Ground Water Protection Council</a>, an organization of state government officials. Currently, <a href="https://www.fracfocus.org/learn/about-fracfocus">23 states</a> – including major producers like Pennsylvania and Texas – require oil and gas companies to report to FracFocus information such as well locations, operators and the masses of each chemical used in fracking fluids. </p>
<p>We used a tool called <a href="https://qbobioyuz1dh57rst8exeg.on.drv.tw/open_FF_catalog/Open-FF_Catalog.html">Open-FracFocus</a>, which uses <a href="https://codeocean.com/capsule/9423121/tree/v14">open-source coding</a> to make FracFocus data more transparent, easily accessible and ready to analyze. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sOGHpz7Id7g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This 2020 news report examines possible leakage of fracking wastewater from an underground injection well in west Texas.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that from 2014 through 2021, 62% to 73% of reported fracks each year used at least one chemical that the Safe Drinking Water Act recognizes as detrimental to human health and the environment. If not for the Halliburton Loophole, these projects would have been subject to permitting and monitoring requirements, providing information for local communities about potential risks.</p>
<p>In total, fracking companies reported using 282 million pounds of chemicals that would otherwise regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act from 2014 through 2021. This likely is an underestimate, since this information is self-reported, covers only 23 states and doesn’t always include sufficient information to calculate mass. </p>
<p>Chemicals used in large quantities included <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=85&toxid=21">ethylene glycol</a>, an industrial compound found in substances such as antifreeze and hydraulic brake fluid; <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=1162&toxid=236">acrylamide</a>, a widely used industrial chemical that is also present in some foods, food packaging and cigarette smoke; <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=239&toxid=43">naphthalene</a>, a pesticide made from crude oil or tar; and <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=219&toxid=39">formaldehyde</a>, a common industrial chemical used in glues, coatings and wood products and also present in tobacco smoke. Naphthalene and acrylamide are possible human carcinogens, and formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen.</p>
<p>The data also show a large spike in the use of <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts3.pdf">benzene</a> in Texas in 2019. Benzene is such a potent human carcinogen that the Safe Drinking Water Act limits exposure to 0.001 milligrams per liter – equivalent to half a teaspoon of liquid in an Olympic-size swimming pool. </p>
<p>Many states – including states that require disclosure – allow oil and gas producers to withhold information about chemicals they use in fracking that the companies declare to be proprietary information or trade secrets. This loophole greatly reduces transparency about what chemicals are in fracking fluids. </p>
<p>We found that the share of fracking events reporting at least one proprietary chemical increased from 77% in 2015 to 88% in 2021. Companies reported using about 7.2 billion pounds of proprietary chemicals – more than 25 times the total mass of chemicals listed under the Safe Drinking Water Act that they reported.</p>
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<h2>Closing the Halliburton loophole</h2>
<p>Overall, our review found that fracking companies have reported using 28 chemicals that would otherwise be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Ethylene glycol was used in the largest quantities, but acrylamide, formaldehyde and naphthalene were also common. </p>
<p>Given that each of these chemicals has serious health effects, and that hundreds of spills <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b05749">are reported annually at fracking wells</a>, we believe action is needed to protect public and environmental health, and to enable scientists to rigorously monitor and research fracking chemical use. </p>
<p>Based on our findings, we believe Congress should pass a law requiring full disclosure of all chemicals used in fracking, including proprietary chemicals. We also recommend disclosing fracking data in a centralized and federally mandated database, managed by an agency such as the EPA or the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Finally, we recommend that Congress repeal the Halliburton Loophole and once again regulate fracking under the Safe Drinking Water Act. </p>
<p>As the U.S. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-poised-regain-crown-worlds-top-lng-exporter-2023-01-04/">ramps up liquefied natural gas exports</a> in response to the war in Ukraine, fracking could continue for the foreseeable future. In our view, it’s urgent to ensure that it is carried out as safely as possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193915/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vivian R. Underhill receives funding from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lourdes Vera serves on the coordinating committee of the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, which develops practices and tools to generate, analyze, steward, and improve environmental data and information. </span></em></p>Fracking for oil and gas uses millions of pounds of chemicals, some of which are toxic or carcinogenic. Two researchers summarize what companies have disclosed and call for more transparency.Vivian R. Underhill, Postdoctoral Researcher in social Science and Environmental Health, Northeastern UniversityLourdes Vera, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Environment and Sustainability, University at BuffaloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1926262022-11-08T03:48:45Z2022-11-08T03:48:45ZMining vs rivers: a single line on a map could determine the future of water in the Northern Territory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493421/original/file-20221104-17-ha3lz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C5176%2C3422&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A water war <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-27/mining-water-rules-changed-nt-government-industry-beetaloo/101476414">is brewing</a> in the Northern Territory – and the battle centres around a line on a map.</p>
<p>Where the line is drawn determines how much groundwater is available for irrigation, mining and gas extraction. The line currently runs through the middle of the resource-rich Beetaloo Basin.</p>
<p>There are recent indications that the NT government will effectively move the line, potentially allowing for substantially more water to be extracted by gas and other industries.</p>
<p>This could cause long-term and irreversible damage to springs, wetlands and rivers upon which people and ecosystems depend. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493420/original/file-20221104-15-ohcw3y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493420/original/file-20221104-15-ohcw3y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493420/original/file-20221104-15-ohcw3y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493420/original/file-20221104-15-ohcw3y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493420/original/file-20221104-15-ohcw3y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=715&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493420/original/file-20221104-15-ohcw3y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=715&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493420/original/file-20221104-15-ohcw3y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=715&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The battle centres around a line on a map separating two climatic zones: arid and top end.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A region rich in nature – and gas</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/BeetalooBasin/Interim_Report/section?id=committees%2freportsen%2f024744%2f77341">Beetaloo Basin</a> lies around 500 kilometres southeast of Darwin. It’s in a region home to the abundant plant and animal life of the <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/pub?pid=csiro:EP116824">Roper River, Elsey National Park, Mataranka Springs</a> and Red Lily Lagoon, among other culturally and ecologically significant sites.</p>
<p>These ecosystems are fed by water stored beneath the surface in large aquifers, which are recharged by rainfall and seepage from rivers and lakes. Below these aquifers lie <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-06/beetaloo-basin-potential-katherine-oil-gas-conference-fracking/101043884">vast reserves of gas</a>. </p>
<p>Under NT law, “water allocation plans” must calculate how much water can be extracted sustainably. However, such plans are only in <a href="https://www-tandfonline-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/07900627.2021.1882406">place for 5% of the NT</a>. </p>
<p>Elsewhere – where there is often great uncertainty about the impacts of groundwater extraction – water is licensed according to “contingent <a href="https://depws.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/476669/nt-water-allocation-planning-framework.pdf">rules</a>”. These rules divide the NT into two zones: the top end and the arid zone.</p>
<p>The top end zone allows groundwater extraction of up to 20% of the water that replenishes the aquifer each year. The northern part of the Beetaloo Basin is in this zone.</p>
<p>The arid zone permits much higher rates of extraction: 80% of the aquifer’s total groundwater storage capacity can be extracted over a century, as long as dependent ecosystems are not harmed. The southern part of the Beetaloo Basin sits in this zone.</p>
<p>In arid zones, not much water flows into aquifers due to limited rainfall and high evaporation rates. Extracting a large proportion of water from these aquifers will inevitably reduce outflows to rivers and springs. Arid zones therefore need a much more cautious approach to water licensing.</p>
<p>There are now strong indications that the NT government intends to use arid zone rules in the top end zone – effectively moving the line between the two zones. Alarmingly, this would increase the amount of water that industry could extract from aquifers, including those sitting on top of Beetaloo gas reserves.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two trees frame a shallow river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493206/original/file-20221103-17-s2b01o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5937%2C3943&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493206/original/file-20221103-17-s2b01o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493206/original/file-20221103-17-s2b01o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493206/original/file-20221103-17-s2b01o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493206/original/file-20221103-17-s2b01o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493206/original/file-20221103-17-s2b01o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493206/original/file-20221103-17-s2b01o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Above-ground ecosystems are fed by water stored beneath the surface in large aquifers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Enlarging the arid zone</h2>
<p>A company called Territory Sands plans to mine 110 million tonnes of sand near the small NT town of Larrimah. The sand would be sold to gas companies operating in the Beetaloo Basin, for use in the fracking process.</p>
<p>The sand would have to be washed. To do this, Territory Sands wants to take up to 1.2 billion litres of water each year from the Mataranka Tindall Limestone Aquifer. </p>
<p>The aquifer is currently classified as being in the top end zone. But the NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-09-01/territory-sands-plan-to-mine-for-beetaloo-fracking-nt/101386946">says</a> the aquifer could be considered as being in the arid zone. </p>
<p>Asked by The Conversation’s editorial team why this was the case, the department said extraction rules were “based on the behaviour and characteristics of the aquifer [a project] is drawing from” in accordance with a technical classification <a href="https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/843257/0/0">report</a>.</p>
<p>Territory Sands has used the arid zone rule to calculate how much water it should be allowed to take. The Conversation attempted to contact the company for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.</p>
<p>Official documents <a href="https://depws.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/1049453/mataranka-tindall-wac-meeting-11-minutes-and-appendices.pdf">show</a> the NT government is considering using the arid zone rule for future water extraction in the same area. </p>
<p>Environment groups have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-09-01/territory-sands-plan-to-mine-for-beetaloo-fracking-nt/101386946">expressed concern</a> about the harm excessive extraction from the aquifer could cause. So too have some <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-28/nt-ngukurr-traditional-owners-map/101588434">First Nations communities</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-injustice-runs-deep-in-australia-fixing-it-means-handing-control-to-first-nations-155286">Water injustice runs deep in Australia. Fixing it means handing control to First Nations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="people stand with sign reading 'don't frack the NT'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493419/original/file-20221104-13-ohcw3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493419/original/file-20221104-13-ohcw3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493419/original/file-20221104-13-ohcw3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493419/original/file-20221104-13-ohcw3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493419/original/file-20221104-13-ohcw3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493419/original/file-20221104-13-ohcw3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493419/original/file-20221104-13-ohcw3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fracking in the NT is controversial among First Nations communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the NT’s most popular tourist attractions, the Mataranka thermal pools, depends on the Mataranka Tindall Limestone Aquifer. It also provides water for the Roper River, along which are many <a href="https://www-tandfonline-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/14649357.2013.845684">sites significant to</a> Traditional Owners.</p>
<p>The NT government has in the past tried to apply arid zone rules in the top end zone. In 2020, it used the same rule to <a href="https://www-tandfonline-com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2022.2049053">grant a licence</a> to extract 10 billion litres of groundwater from the same aquifer.</p>
<p>This is despite a senior NT water bureaucrat <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/29/northern-territory-government-was-warned-raising-industry-water-allocation-could-threaten-major-river">warning</a> it would threaten permanent flows to the Roper River.</p>
<p>The NT government withdrew the licence after an independent panel found using aquifer storage as a basis for assessing licences was not precautionary or sustainable.</p>
<p>In a statement provided to The Conversation’s editorial team, the department said there were a number of aquifers and management zones in the Mataranka and Larrimah area – some arid and most top end. </p>
<p>“The specific characteristics of these resources as well as the required environmental and cultural protections, determine how they are managed under a plan,” the statement said. </p>
<p>The department said springs, rivers and wetlands were features of a top end system, so arid zone rules would not apply to them. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="water flows over rocks in tropical river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493699/original/file-20221106-25-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493699/original/file-20221106-25-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493699/original/file-20221106-25-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493699/original/file-20221106-25-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493699/original/file-20221106-25-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493699/original/file-20221106-25-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493699/original/file-20221106-25-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The arid zone rule would threaten the Roper River during dry times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shifting the burden of harm</h2>
<p>The arid zone rules are deeply problematic. In recognition of this, the 2017-18 <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/inquiry-reports/final-report">Pepper Scientific Inquiry into Fracking</a> cautioned against using the rules in the Beetaloo, finding it would be “ecologically unsustainable”.</p>
<p>Using water storage volumes to calculate sustainable yield is out of step with sustainable management <a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/cir1186">practices</a> in other Australian jurisdictions and many parts of the world. </p>
<p>In arid zones, it’s not possible to avoid <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab1a5f">harm</a> to groundwater-dependent ecosystems if most water stored in an aquifer is extracted. Doing so inevitably reduces, or stops entirely, groundwater flows to the surface environment. </p>
<p>And aquifers take time to adjust to changes. So the 100-year time frame that applies under the arid zone rule shifts the burden of harm into the future. If new permits are issues to projects that deplete the aquifer, long-term damage is locked in.</p>
<p>Water extraction in the Northern Territory must be scientifically defensible. Otherwise, future generations and the ecosystems that depend on the water will suffer – and the damage may be irreversible.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-depths-why-groundwater-is-our-most-important-water-source-91484">Hidden depths: why groundwater is our most important water source</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192626/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Jackson receives research funding from the Australian Research Council and from consultancies conducted for the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the Northern Land Council, and the Environment Centre NT.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Currell is currently being engaged by the Environment Centre NT for a consultancy to examine the hydrogeology of NT aquifers and make recommendations regarding sustainable groundwater management.</span></em></p>There are fears the Northern Territory government will allow gas and other industries to extract substantially more water from the environment than is currently allowed.Sue Jackson, Professor, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith UniversityMatthew Currell, Professor of Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1929682022-10-20T13:23:38Z2022-10-20T13:23:38ZLiz Truss: what happened in the night of Westminster chaos that triggered the PM’s resignation?<p>Many factors combined to cause Liz Truss’s demise but it was a night of chaos in the British parliament that triggered her resignation. </p>
<p>Events in the House of Commons on October 19 made it clear that the prime minister had lost control. Conservative MPs were called into a vote that was ostensibly about fracking but may or may not have been a vote of confidence in Liz Truss’s government. Accusations were made that Conservative <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/principal/whips/">whips</a> behaved inappropriately in order to get their MPs to vote with the government.</p>
<p>How did such confusion come about and is this a standard part of <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/the-unusual-channels-how-to-whip-mps-in-the-age-of-coronavirus">whipping operations</a> in parliament? Key questions answered below. </p>
<h2>Is it normal for whips to shout at MPs when arranging a vote?</h2>
<p>It is not normal for whips to shout at MPs. If a rebellion is in the offing, whips will contact their allocated MPs to find out which way they intend to vote. Any MPs stating that they are unsure or will not be following the whip will be passed on to the chief whip or deputy chief whip (or even a cabinet minister) in order to have a more in-depth conversation where carrots and sticks will be used to try to win them around.</p>
<p>It is important to remember that whipping is a two-way relationship. There needs to be mutual respect running in both directions or the system will break down. The fracking vote was clearly a moment of high pressure for the whips, given that the prime minister’s position is precarious at best. The fact that whips were having to resort to shouting (and there were allegations of manhandling and bullying too) suggests that the whips were losing control or had lost control.</p>
<h2>Is it normal for whips to physically force MPs into the chamber?</h2>
<p>No. Even resorting to shouting at your MPs is a sign of weakness rather than strength. If it is the case that Conservative MPs were <a href="https://news.sky.com/video/tory-mp-was-physically-manhandled-into-the-no-lobby-during-vote-says-labours-chris-bryant-12724865">physically manhandled</a> by whips, as Labour MP Chris Bryant has claimed, that is certainly not normal.</p>
<p>There aren’t many examples of this ever happening (although allegations have been made in the past). We have, however, seen the whips beginning to get more assertive over the course of the past year. Back in January, allegations were made that whips were <a href="https://theconversation.com/conservatives-in-crisis-where-whipping-stops-and-blackmail-begins-175585">blackmailing MPs</a> during former prime minister Boris Johnson’s more perilous moments.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1582804624272420864"}"></div></p>
<p>It should be pointed out, however, that the allegations made by Bryant were refuted by Conservative MP Alexander Stafford, who said that he had a “frank and robust conversation outside the voting lobbies confirming my opposition to fracking, with members of the government, nothing more”. Despite this, the speaker of the House of Commons announced that he will be <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2022-10-19/truss-on-the-brink-after-braverman-exit-and-commons-chaos">launching an investigation</a> into the behaviour of the whips.</p>
<h2>Why the confusion around whether MPs were voting on fracking or in a vote of confidence?</h2>
<p>While there was certainly a <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/principal/whips/">three-line whip</a> (meaning the government expected all of their MPs to toe the party line, with no exceptions) on this vote, there is less clarity over whether the government was treating the motion as an issue of confidence in the government. </p>
<p>For context, the vote was on Labour’s motion on fracking. If passed, this would have given the opposition control of parliamentary business to bring forward a bill banning fracking in the UK. This is why the government, at least initially, decided to treat the motion as a matter of confidence. </p>
<p>House of Commons rules (standing orders) give government business precedence most of the time, which effectively means the government has complete control of the agenda. Although Labour’s motion would have only temporarily suspended this rule on a named day, the government saw it as a test of its authority. Similar style motions were used during the Brexit negotiations to force the then minority government to extend the Article 50 negotiation deadline. </p>
<p>The confusion appears to stem from a message reportedly sent out from the government’s deputy chief whip to Tory MPs in the hours before the vote. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1582668826549792768"}"></div></p>
<p>This stated that the vote was being treated as a vote of confidence in the government because to lose would be to allow Labour to take control of the agenda. The memo referred to the vote as having a “100% hard 3 line whip!”</p>
<p>However, at the end of the debate on Labour’s fracking motion, the climate change minister announced that the motion wasn’t a confidence vote.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1582793629051285505"}"></div></p>
<p>This is what triggered the chaos in the division lobbies as MPS lined up to vote. There were reports that the chief whip and deputy chief whip had not been told of the change in plan. The saga continued into the early hours of the morning with journalists reporting receiving a message from Downing Street at 1.30am stating that the vote had always been considered a confidence vote and the minister closing last night’s debate has been mistaken to suggest otherwise. </p>
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<h2>What will happen to those MPs who didn’t vote with the government?</h2>
<p>Downing Street claims that the MPs who failed to vote against the government last night will receive “proportionate disciplinary action” – whatever that means. Given the confusion and the anger already among MPs, it would be highly surprising to see any MPs having the whip removed for their actions in this vote. </p>
<p>What we can be sure of however, is that Tory MPs are deeply unhappy at the moment. The whipping operation was jittery at best before this chaos and it will have been damaged further by the flip-flopping on display – not to mention the allegations that have been made of manhandling and bullying. Governing Conservative MPs under these conditions – regardless of who is prime minister – is going to be tricky.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192968/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Caygill has recieved funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>When government whips turned a vote on fracking into a vote of confidence in the government, confusion ensued.Thomas Caygill, Lecturer in Politics, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1916362022-10-04T15:05:21Z2022-10-04T15:05:21ZFracking: the simple test for whether it should happen in the UK<p>The UK’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, recently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-takes-next-steps-to-boost-domestic-energy-production">announced</a> the reversal of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-ends-support-for-fracking">2019 ban</a> on fracking. Facing an acute energy crisis, the government want to increase domestic energy production. </p>
<p>According to conventional economic theory, whether or not fracking should occur is simple. If the private benefits exceed the social costs, then fracking companies should be able to obtain local consent by compensating households with cash. If the costs are so large that households cannot be compensated, then fracking should not happen.</p>
<p>Yet in recent history fracking has occurred irrespective of whether there is a public appetite. In 2016, the government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/06/uk-fracking-given-go-ahead-as-lancashire-council-rejection-is-overturned">permitted</a> fracking at <a href="https://cuadrillaresources.uk/our-sites/preston-new-road/">Fylde’s Preston New Road site</a>, overturning Lancashire county council’s initial rejection. </p>
<p>The current approach echoes this. Despite <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-63073928">announcing</a> that fracking will only take place where there is local consent, guidance on how this will be gauged is unclear. A framework for transparent cost-benefit analysis on prospective extraction sites has so far <a href="https://www.ukpol.co.uk/jacob-rees-mogg-2022-statement-on-shale-gas-extraction/">not been introduced</a>.</p>
<p>Fracking in the UK has a difficult history. However, if fracking is to play a role in the country’s future, how should it unfold?</p>
<h2>Calculating fracking’s worth</h2>
<p>The first step is to estimate how much companies are willing to pay for the right to explore for and extract shale gas in a given area. This represents fracking’s private benefit. </p>
<p>The introduction of <a href="https://www.itu.int/itunews/issue/2000/09/the_dawn.html">3G mobile communication services</a> in the UK illustrates how this can be done. How much mobile operators valued a license to provide 3G was unknown, but overcharging might have delayed the development of critical communications infrastructure.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/0895330027166">auction</a> was held, allowing mobile operators to bid competitively until each of the five licenses were allocated to the highest bidder. The auction raised £22.5 billion and established precisely how much companies valued the licenses. </p>
<p>Auctions have become regular practice in UK utility markets. Renewable energy companies <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contracts-for-difference/contract-for-difference">compete</a> for contracts to produce electricity. The bidder offering electricity at the lowest price is paid a flat rate for their production over the next fifteen years, insulating them from volatile market prices. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fishing boat in front of an offshore wind farm against a deep sunset sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487854/original/file-20221003-9808-k7g16f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Auctions have become regular practice in UK utility markets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fishing-boat-wind-turbines-135915140">ShaunWilkinson/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Through a similar process, it would be possible to accurately determine the value of shale gas extraction in the UK. For each potential extraction site, fracking firms could bid competitively for exclusive drilling rights. The winning bid would be legally bound to an upfront payment to the local authority in the case that consent is given.</p>
<h2>Involving local consent</h2>
<p>The second part of the process should then determine whether firms’ valuation of shale gas extraction is higher than the social cost. </p>
<p>The costs associated with fracking are high. Shale gas is mostly methane, a fossil fuel <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-geological-science-of-shale-gas-fracturing">with high carbon emissions</a>. </p>
<p>Its extraction also involves drilling using a high pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals. Fracking in the UK has been <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47816810">linked</a> to several local earthquakes as a result. The process also produces highly saline <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/ew/c7ew00474e">wastewater</a> that must be disposed of. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas">recent survey</a> shows just 27% of Britons support fracking. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1574685708920528896"}"></div></p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.lancs.live/news/cost-of-living/lancashire-residents-who-back-fracking-24904173">reports</a> indicate that fracking firms are currently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/about-shale-gas-and-hydraulic-fracturing-fracking/developing-shale-oil-and-gas-in-the-uk#regulation">obtaining consent</a> in Lancashire by negotiating directly with individual households. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095069622000353">Research</a> into the Texan fracking industry shows that this approach underestimates the social cost. Fracking companies generally have a greater knowledge of their own industry and the legalities of licensing law than households. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close-up shot of a gas drilling unit in a rugged arid landscape against a cloudy blue sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488011/original/file-20221004-12-okpt28.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Texas, fracking companies obtain consent by negotiating directly with households.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/west-texas-pumping-unit-1104529418">Sean Hannon acritelyphoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The researchers also found that factors including language, poverty and race also determined how much compensation a household received. In Texas, non-native English speakers generally received comparatively low compensation, while their contracts were 10% less likely to contain environmental, noise or road traffic clauses.</p>
<p>To avoid this issue, county or city councils could instead grant approval if they deem the compensation offered to local residents as sufficiently high. Councils generally command greater <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2017-11/trust-in-professions-veracity-index-2017-slides.pdf">public trust</a> than national politicians and through local consultations, a more precise estimate of fracking’s cost to local residents can be gauged. </p>
<h2>Does fracking make economic sense?</h2>
<p>By comparing valuations of the costs and benefits, a decision on whether there is a case for fracking can be made. If the industry believes there is an abundance of shale gas to extract, then it may well resume.</p>
<p>However, there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-if-liz-truss-wants-a-major-shale-gas-industry-she-is-280-million-years-late-190421">doubts</a> over whether Britain has enough shale gas reserves for fracking to become commercially viable. The British Geological Survey <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11653-4.pdf">reported</a> in 2019 that the UK has ten times less shale gas reserves than the level cited by fracking advocates. </p>
<p>Since then, the scientific evidence has not changed and even the UK shale gas industry has recognised fracking’s minimal value. Shale gas executives are <a href="https://twitter.com/DrSimEvans/status/1495699340819668994">cautious</a> not to claim that the UK industry can cut soaring energy bills. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918301764">Questions</a> remain over the economic viability of UK fracking. However, if it is to have a future then this should be determined by a system of formal compensation and consent. This way, if shale gas extraction in the UK is as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/21/fracking-wont-work-uk-founder-chris-cornelius-cuadrilla">futile</a> as the science suggests, then it will not happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fracking in the UK has a difficult history – economic theory suggests that whether fracking should occur is a simple case of consent and compensation.Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1910782022-10-03T22:20:49Z2022-10-03T22:20:49ZThe magnificent Lake Eyre Basin is threatened by 831 oil and gas wells – and more are planned. Is that what Australians really want?<p>The heart-shaped Lake Eyre Basin covers about one-sixth of Australia. It contains one of the few remaining pristine river systems in the world.</p>
<p>But new research shows oil and gas activity is extending its tentacles into these fragile environments. Its wells, pads, roads and dams threaten to change water flows and pollute this magnificent ecosystem. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/MF/MF22063">study</a>, by myself and colleague Amy Walburn, investigated current and future oil and gas production and exploration on the floodplains of the Lake Eyre Basin. We found 831 oil and gas wells across the basin – and this number is set to grow. What’s more, state and Commonwealth legislation has largely failed to control this development.</p>
<p>State and national governments are promoting massive gas development to kickstart Australia’s economy. But as we show, this risks significant damage to the Lake Eyre Basin and its rivers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="mining infrastructure on flooded ground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487704/original/file-20221003-22-tidi6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487704/original/file-20221003-22-tidi6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487704/original/file-20221003-22-tidi6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487704/original/file-20221003-22-tidi6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487704/original/file-20221003-22-tidi6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487704/original/file-20221003-22-tidi6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487704/original/file-20221003-22-tidi6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mining infrastructure in the Lake Eyre Basin, here recently flooded, threatens the pristine natural wonder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Doug Gimesy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A precious natural wonder</h2>
<p>The Lake Eyre Basin is probably the last major free-flowing river system on Earth – meaning no major dams or irrigation diversions stem the rivers’ flow. </p>
<p>This country has been looked after for tens of thousands of year by First Nations people, including the Arrernte, Dieri, Mithaka and Wangkangurru. This care continues today.</p>
<p>The biggest rivers feeding the basin – the Diamantina, Georgina and Cooper – originate in western Queensland and flow to South Australia where they pour into Kathi Thanda-Lake Eyre.</p>
<p>As they wind south, the rivers dissect deserts and inundate floodplains, lakes and wetlands – including 33 wetlands of national importance. </p>
<p>This natural phenomenon has happened for millennia. It supports incredible natural booms of plants, fish and birds, as well as tourism and livestock grazing. But our new research shows oil and gas development threatens this precious natural wonder.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unknown-wonders-kati-thanda-lake-eyre-13523">Unknown wonders: Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Massive industrial creep</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/MF/MF22063">analysis</a> used satellite imagery to map the locations of oil and gas development in the Lake Eyre Basin since the first oil wells were established in late 1950s. </p>
<p>We found 831 oil and gas production and exploration wells exist on the floodplains of the Lake Eyre Basin – almost 99% of them on the Cooper Creek floodplains. The wells go under the river and its floodplains into the geological Cooper Basin, considered to have the most important onshore petroleum and natural gas deposits in Australia. </p>
<p>Our research also shows how quickly oil and gas mining in the Lake Eyre Basin is set to grow. We identified licensing approvals or applications covering 4.5 million hectares of floodplains in the Lake Eyre Basin, across South Australia and Queensland.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/assessments/geological-and-bioregional-assessment-program/cooper-basin/cooper-gba-region-stage-two-report">CSIRO</a> recently examined likely scenarios of 1,000 to 1,500 additional unconventional gas wells in the Cooper Basin in the next 50 years. It predicted these wells would built be on “pads” – areas occupied by mining equipment or facilities – about 4 kilometres apart. They would typically access gas using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protecting-australias-lake-eyre-basin-means-getting-our-priorities-right-44836">Protecting Australia's Lake Eyre basin means getting our priorities right</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>Fracking is the process of extracting so-called “unconventional gas”. It involves using water and chemicals to fracture deep rocks to extract the gas. This polluted water, known to be <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep46582">toxic to fish</a>, is brought back to the surface and stored in dams. </p>
<p>Two locations we focused on were in South Australia at the protected, <a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/water/wetlands/coongie-lakes">Ramsar-listed Coongie Lakes site</a>, which was recognised as internationally significant in 1987. The other site was in Queensland’s channel country, also on the Cooper floodplain.</p>
<p>In total across the Coongie Lakes sites, we found a three-fold increase in wells: from 95 in 1987 to 296 last year. We also identified 869 kilometres of roads and 316 hectares of storage pits, such as those that hold water.</p>
<p>Some of these dams could potentially hold polluted fracking water and become submerged by flooding, particularly at Coongie Lakes.</p>
<h2>A disaster waiting to happen?</h2>
<p>Examples from around the world already show oil and gas exploration and development can reduce water quality by interrupting sediments and leading to elevated <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/4/941">chemical</a> <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1213871110">concentrations</a>. Production waste can also degrade floodplain <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1515/3/032037">vegetation</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/assessments/geological-and-bioregional-assessment-program/cooper-basin/cooper-gba-region-stage-two-report">CSIRO says</a> risks associated with oil and gas development in the Cooper Basin include:</p>
<ul>
<li>dust and emissions from machinery that may cause habitat loss, including changes to air quality, noise and light pollution</li>
<li>disposal and storage of site materials that may contaminate soil, surface water and/or groundwater through accidental spills, leaks and leaching</li>
<li>unplanned fracking and drilling into underground faults, unintended geological layers or abandoned wells</li>
<li>gas and fluids contaminating soil, surface water, groundwater and air</li>
<li>changes to groundwater pressures could potentially reactivate underground faults and induce earthquakes.</li>
</ul>
<p>Fracking for unconventional gas also requires drawing <a href="https://www.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/assessments/geological-and-bioregional-assessment-program/cooper-basin/cooper-gba-region-stage-two-report">large amounts of water</a> from rivers and groundwater.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-5-fossil-fuel-projects-overshoot-their-original-estimations-for-emissions-why-are-there-such-significant-errors-177714">1 in 5 fossil fuel projects overshoot their original estimations for emissions. Why are there such significant errors?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>The laws have failed</h2>
<p>Our findings raise significant questions for Australian governments and the community.</p>
<p>Are we prepared to accept industrialisation of the Lake Eyre Basin, and the associated risk of pollution and other environmental damage? Have the companies involved earned a social licence for these activities? Where do the profits end up, and who will bear the social, environmental and financial costs of such intense development? </p>
<p>Clearly, state and federal environmental protections have failed to stop unfettered development of the basin.</p>
<p>These policies include the Lake Eyre Basin <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/policy/national/lake-eyre-basin/agreement">Agreement</a>, signed by the states, the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory, which has been in place since 2000.</p>
<p>Australia’s federal environment law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act – is supposed to protect nationally important areas such as Ramsar wetlands. Yet our research identified that just eight developments in the basin were referred to the Commonwealth government for approval and with only one deemed significant enough for assessment. This legislation does not deal adequately with the cumulative impacts of development. </p>
<p>And finally, gas extraction and production is <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-5-fossil-fuel-projects-overshoot-their-original-estimations-for-emissions-why-are-there-such-significant-errors-177714">associated with</a> substantial “fugitive” emissions - greenhouse gases which escape into the atmosphere. This undermines Australia’s emissions reduction efforts under the Paris Agreement.</p>
<p>The governments of South Australia and Queensland should restrict mining development in the Lake Eyre Basin. And stronger federal oversight of this nationally significant natural treasure is urgently needed.</p>
<hr>
<p>In response to this article, Chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, Samantha McCulloch, said in a statement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The oil and gas industry takes its responsibilities to the environment and to local communities seriously and it is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in Australia. The industry has been operating in Queensland for more than a decade and the gas produced in Queensland plays an important role in Australia’s energy security.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Kingsford received part funding for this work from The Pew Charitable Trusts as well as the Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW Sydney. It was also written as part of an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant on Ramsar Sites. He also receives funding from state and Commonwealth governments, non-government organisations, including Bush Heritage Australia, the Ian Potter Foundation and Nari Nari Tribal Council. He is affiliated with the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania, Ecological Society of Australia and Birdlife Australia. </span></em></p>Lake Eyre Basin contains one of the few pristine river systems left in the world. But new research shows oil and gas activity is extending its tentacles into these fragile environments.Richard Kingsford, Professor, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1913932022-09-27T16:24:27Z2022-09-27T16:24:27ZWhy fracking holds such symbolic power for the Conservative right<p>The UK government has lifted a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) in England. In his statement, new business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg argued that it was in the national interest for local communities to tolerate “<a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-09-22/hcws295">a higher degree of risk and disturbance</a>” given the current energy crisis. </p>
<p>Much has already been written about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-liz-trusss-government-means-for-climate-action-190280">potential impacts of this policy change</a>. Instead, I want to look at what this decision means on a symbolic level. </p>
<p>Policies have an important symbolic dimension, meaning they can be read as expressing particular messages to an audience. For instance, a policy can signal who we are and what we stand for, where we’ve been and where we should go, ways of living that we should seek to maintain or attain, and threats and opportunities to doing so. </p>
<p>Politicians know this, which is why political statements are often carefully crafted to hit particular notes that resonate with the identities, aspirations and fears of particular audiences. So, what is this policy trying to signal?</p>
<h2>‘The problem with this country is that we don’t make things anymore’</h2>
<p>In my academic research I have looked at how fracking has been framed in <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/85010/">the UK policy debate</a>. Enthusiasm for the idea that the UK should attempt to repeat the US shale revolution started to emerge among a group of backbenchers <a href="http://www.ukuh.org/media/sites/researchwebsites/2ukuh/89490%20SGUK%20Political%20Debate.pdf">over a decade ago</a>. Those backbenchers predominantly came from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2020.1740555">the right of the Conservative party</a>, but the group also included Labour MPs representing what we would now call the former “red wall”. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1567634401474781186"}"></div></p>
<p>While the prospect of tax revenue and improved energy security obviously played a role, the single most important reason underpinning their enthusiasm for shale was what we might call <a href="http://www.ukuh.org/media/sites/researchwebsites/2ukuh/89490%20SGUK%20Political%20Debate.pdf">competitiveness anxiety</a>. They looked across the Atlantic and saw gas prices tumbling in the US and worried about the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries in the UK.</p>
<p>Such worries grew out of a wider and longer-term sense of melancholy about British post-war industrial decline. A key appeal of fracking was the hope that it would slow or even reverse this slide by both creating industrial jobs in the fracking industry and saving them in energy-intensive industries. </p>
<p>This view was encouraged by the fact that the most promising UK shale gas resources happen to sit under parts of the Midlands and the north of England that have been among the worst affected by deindustrialisation.</p>
<p>It wasn’t just hope that animated support for fracking, but fear about the consequences of failing to grasp the opportunity and what that would say about the country. Speaking to people who supported fracking I was often struck by the recurring sense of a bleak future for the UK if it was rejected. </p>
<p>At times their discourse painted a picture of complacent moral failure. The UK was seen as a consumer economy that no longer makes things, and an overly-sensitive net importer of energy that expects secure and affordable supplies while no longer tolerating the impacts of energy production.</p>
<p>The point is not necessarily that this picture is accurate, but that it rings true to some people. The decision to overturn the moratorium signals that the new government is taking these hopes and fears seriously. It says that this perceived decadence and over-sensitivity will not be indulged.</p>
<h2>‘You can’t stop using fossil fuels overnight’</h2>
<p>The UK government always maintained that shale gas was compatible with the country’s climate change policies as it could <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shale-gas-and-oil-policy-statement-by-decc-and-dclg/shale-gas-and-oil-policy-statement-by-decc-and-dclg">bridge the gap</a>“ between coal being phased out and more nuclear and renewables being deployed. </p>
<p>However, the right wing of the Conservative party has often demonstrated scepticism if not hostility towards renewables and the transition to a low-carbon economy. These days, such thinking tends to coalesce around the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60572049">Net Zero Scrutiny Group</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Protesters hold 'frack free Stockport' sign" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486804/original/file-20220927-20-qt8xga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fracking remains unpopular among the general public.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John B Hewitt / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These legislators, and the section of public opinion they speak for, value fossil fuels for the wealth they have produced and the comfortable lifestyles they have enabled. They worry that the transition to a low-carbon economy threatens this. </p>
<p>They tend to see themselves as realists and pragmatists, in contrast to (what they see as) the naive idealism of environmentalists. They tend to favour what might be called a managed transition to a low-carbon economy and think that more radical pathways will threaten prosperity and limit human lifestyles. </p>
<p>Indeed, they tend to consider the natural world as a resource to be exploited to <a href="https://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/the-politics-of-the-earth-9780198851745?cc=gb&lang=en&">fulfil human wants and needs</a>. The notion of placing limits on human activity and consumption for the sake of environmental protection is <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/06/30/energy-rationing-inevitable-without-fundamental-rethink-net/">anathema</a> to this perspective.</p>
<p>The perspective I’ve sketched out here is of course contestable. My point is simply that it exists, it is concentrated in the Tory right, and the decision to overturn the fracking moratorium appeals to it. </p>
<p>As such, while the moratorium was not related to climate change, the decision to overturn it nonetheless signals that the new government will bring (what it sees as) a hard-headedness to energy and climate policy. And that, when push comes to shove, it will likely favour growth and short-term societal needs over the environment.</p>
<h2>Limited public appeal</h2>
<p>Of course, what sounds like sweet music to the ears of those with the above political impulses will sound utterly discordant to many others. Attempts to speed up planning consents will <a href="https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/don-t-fast-track-fracking">reactivate concerns</a> about industrialisation and local democracy, and the ongoing <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59207416">sewage discharge scandal</a> has surely not helped promote trust in UK environmental regulation. On climate change, fracking is widely perceived <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522003573?via%25253Dihub&key=cc6d4790b67ac987c783e29db25cea06743a3545">as a backwards step</a>.</p>
<p>It will be worth watching <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas">polling</a> in the months to come to see if the energy crisis and expected financial incentives for communities lead to <a href="https://www.ukoog.org.uk/about-ukoog/press-releases/251-new-poll-money-off-energy-bills-increases-support-for-shale-as-pensioners-cut-spending-to-cover-energy-costs">an increase in support for fracking</a>. However, there is a real risk that this policy will once again appeal to the views and concerns of a relatively narrow segment of the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurence Williams currently receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust. The work on which this article is based was funded by NERC and ESRC (grant number NE/R018138/1) </span></em></p>Fracking resonates with anxieties over deindustrialisation and decarbonisation.Laurence Williams, Research Fellow in Environmental Politics, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1909062022-09-20T05:47:00Z2022-09-20T05:47:00ZIn a win for Traditional Owners, Origin is walking away from the Beetaloo Basin. But the fight against fracking is not over<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485488/original/file-20220920-21-2euzzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C17%2C3843%2C2567&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What a difference six months makes. Before the federal election, the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory was to have spearheaded Australia’s “gas-led recovery”. But Origin Energy this week <a href="https://www.originenergy.com.au/about/investors-media/origin-to-divest-beetaloo-basin-interests-intends-to-exit-upstream-exploration-permits/">announced</a> it would sell its share of the basin project ahead of a wider exit from new gas ventures. </p>
<p>The Beetaloo Basin holds a truly enormous amount of fossil carbon – prompting Greens leader Adam Bandt to describe it as a “<a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/origin-announces-exit-from-gas-exploration-starting-with-beetaloo-basin/">climate bomb</a>”.</p>
<p>Origin’s exit is not a killing blow to the controversial project. But it shows increasing corporate jitters about investing in gas. And the announcement came as major iron miner Fortescue <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/fortescue-to-spend-9-2b-to-eliminate-fossil-fuel-use-by-2030-20220920-p5bjfq.html">announced plans</a> to eliminate fossil fuel use within eight years. </p>
<p>Origin’s exit is a major win for the region’s Traditional Owners, many of whom feared the fracking would cause large-scale environmental damage, as well as harming the climate. But Origin has sold its rights to frack Beetaloo – so the fight is far from over.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="fracking protests origin energy" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485479/original/file-20220920-376-22yjsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Traditional Owner activists targeted Origin over its fracking plans, as in this 2019 protest outside Origin’s offices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is this basin and why does it matter?</h2>
<p>Oil and gas are usually found in geological basins – large, low-lying areas filled with rocks and sediment. The Beetaloo Basin covers 28,000 square kilometres and lies around 500 kilometres south-east of Darwin. Origin’s former exploration area lies near the town of Daly Waters. </p>
<p>Fracking the basin has been planned since 2004. The former Morrison Coalition government planned a so-called “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/17/scott-morrisons-gas-led-recovery-what-is-it-and-will-it-really-make-energy-cheaper">gas led recovery</a>” to accelerate its development, fuelled by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-14/federal-government-road-funding-props-up-beetaloo-development/13057974">large amounts of taxpayer money</a> to encourage the fossil fuel industry to frack the remote area.</p>
<p>The move was unpopular with the region’s Traditional Owners, with fracking <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/inquiry-reports?a=494297">described</a> by Traditional Owner Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves as “digging up my body, breaking my Tjukurpa (Dreaming)” in a government inquiry. </p>
<p>Local Traditional Owners formed the <a href="https://www.nurrdalinji.org.au/our_story">Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation</a> to fight fracking, in partnership with local pastoralists.</p>
<p>Origin’s statement makes no mention of these tensions in its decision. Indeed, it talks of “<a href="https://www.originenergy.com.au/about/investors-media/origin-to-divest-beetaloo-basin-interests-intends-to-exit-upstream-exploration-permits/">strong support</a>” from the local community, including native title holders. </p>
<p>Despite this rhetoric, the work by Traditional Owners and pastoralists created enormous pressure for Origin to back out of the project. </p>
<p>This win demonstrates yet again how Indigenous people around the world are <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/indigenous-peoples-increasingly-engaging-in-climate-action">playing a key role</a> in warding off the worst of the climate crisis. </p>
<p>This occurs not only when Indigenous people oppose fossil fuel projects on their land, but through their management of 38 million square kilometres of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0100-6">land</a> across 87 countries.</p>
<p>This is an enormous estate – one quarter of the Earth’s land surface – and often covers land rich in biodiversity. </p>
<p>Australia’s First Nations peoples hold rights and interests in land covering about <a href="http://www.nntt.gov.au/assistance/Geospatial/Pages/Maps.aspx">40% of the continent</a>, again land that has been sustainably managed by First Nations peoples for thousands of years and is therefore highly environmentally valuable. </p>
<p>Land management is central to combating climate change, through nature-based solutions such as storing carbon in trees, soils and mangroves and seagrass meadows. First Nations communities have at least 60,000 years of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/3/61">knowledge</a> of how to care for Country in ways which can aid climate adaptation, mitigation and repair. </p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>Origin has <a href="https://www.originenergy.com.au/about/investors-media/origin-to-divest-beetaloo-basin-interests-intends-to-exit-upstream-exploration-permits/">sold</a> its rights to a company half-owned by Tamboran Resources Limited.</p>
<p>Under the previous Coalition government, Tamboran subsidiary Sweetpea Petroleum <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/BeetalooBasin/Second_Interim_Report/section?id=committees%2freportsen%2f024928%2f79618">received A$7.5 million</a> of public money to drill exploration wells in the Beetaloo. Tamboran and Sweetpea <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/BeetalooBasin/Second_Interim_Report/section?id=committees%2Freportsen%2F024928%2F79618">refused to appear</a> at a 2021 Senate <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/BeetalooBasin">inquiry</a> into oil and gas activities in the Beetaloo Basin – a move the Senate committee declared was “unacceptable”.</p>
<p>Tamboran is now trying to <a href="https://www.afr.com/street-talk/tamboran-gets-its-beetaloo-buy-now-for-133m-funding-package-20220919-p5bj62">raise $133 million</a> to pay Origin for the rights and invest the rest in developing the project. </p>
<p>As the International Energy Agency <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/7ebafc81-74ed-412b-9c60-5cc32c8396e4/NetZeroby2050-ARoadmapfortheGlobalEnergySector-SummaryforPolicyMakers_CORR.pdf">has warned</a>, we cannot open new fossil fuel projects if we hope to limit global temperature rise to the crucial 1.5°C threshold.</p>
<p>For more than a decade, climate activists have called on institutions to divest themselves of their fossil fuel holdings. Origin has divested itself of Beetaloo and BHP is divesting its <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/woodside-bhp-ink-oil-mega-merger-20210817-p58jeq">oil and gas portfolio</a>. </p>
<p>But these are not true victories for the climate if the fossil fuel assets are sold to be extracted and burned by another company.</p>
<h2>Keeping it in the ground</h2>
<p>If we are serious about saving our planet we need to legislate to close down fossil fuel assets and force shareholders and investors to cop the losses.</p>
<p>In selling its share, Origin has taken an estimated loss of up to $90 million. But the fight against fracking in the Beetaloo is not over. </p>
<p>Still, it’s important to recognise what’s been achieved. As Johnny Wilson, Chair of Nurrdalinji Corporation <a href="https://www.nurrdalinji.org.au/mr_origin_divests">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We hope this is the start of more companies turning their back on gas production where we live. Fracking is not what we want … The government should give up backing the industry with taxpayers’ money and invest in health, education and clean energy from the sun because that’s what will keep our future strong.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190906/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lily O'Neill has previously done consulting work in relation to fracking in the Beetaloo Basin for the Commonwealth Government. She was previously a PhD candidate on an ARC linkage project that received money from Santos, one of the companies still involved in the Beetaloo Basin. She has collaborated with Original Power, an organisation involved in supporting Traditional Owners in the Beetaloo who wish to protect Country.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Neville owns shares in Australian Ethical Investments. He receives funding from the ARC. </span></em></p>It’s great news Origin is walking away from fracking and gas. But other companies are still keen to frack the Beetaloo despite climate and environment concerns.Lily O'Neill, Senior Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneBen Neville, A/Prof and Deputy Director of Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1904212022-09-15T15:31:52Z2022-09-15T15:31:52ZFracking: if Liz Truss wants a major shale gas industry, she is 280 million years late<p>In <a href="https://theconversation.com/britains-electricity-since-2010-wind-surges-to-second-place-coal-collapses-and-fossil-fuel-use-nearly-halves-129346">some respects</a>, the UK has been among the world’s most successful countries at taking action against climate change over the past few decades. Yet that progress could be reversed and thrown away for a few years of slightly cheaper gas for a few people, and a lot of profits for even fewer people.</p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/fracking-if-liz-truss-wants-a-major-shale-gas-industry-she-is-280-million-years-late-190421&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>That’s because new prime minister Liz Truss has pledged to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/ban-on-fracking-to-be-lifted-as-part-of-liz-trusss-energy-plan-12692646">overturn a 2019 ban on “fracking”</a> for shale gas in England. It’s true that the transition to low-carbon energy was never going to be easy. But shale gas is methane, a fossil fuel with high carbon emissions, while fracking has already been trialled unsuccessfully in the UK and its re-emergence is not founded on new evidence which can materially change results. This is not an act based on data but on desperation and dogma.</p>
<p>The first problem is there simply isn’t enough gas. For fracking to become a large-scale viable business in the UK, a very large geological resource of shale gas is essential. The enthusiasm for shale gas trials in the UK between 2011 and 2019 was founded on government-commissioned reports from the <a href="https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/2782/bgs_decc_bowlandshalegasreport_main_report.pdf">British Geological Survey (BGS)</a>, which predicted that many tens of years worth of gas supply may exist beneath central and northern England, south-east England and central Scotland. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Annoted map of Great Britain" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1225&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1225&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484343/original/file-20220913-3993-qzgn5o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1225&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map from one of the British Geological Survey’s assessment studies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/2782/bgs_decc_bowlandshalegasreport_main_report.pdf">'The Carboniferous Bowland Shale gas study: geology and resource estimation', BGS (2013)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But such reports are explicitly speculative, and always calculate the maximum possible resource. Usually, after more detailed work, the commercially viable reserves are no more than 10% of the original estimate. </p>
<p>In the UK, results from exploratory drilling were mostly bad. The drilling triggered multiple small and several medium <a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-causes-earthquakes-by-design-can-regulation-keep-up-106183">earthquakes</a>. And to add further insult, rock samples were analysed and found to contain only <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11653-4">small quantities</a> of extractable gas or oil. </p>
<p>What gas and oil there is, is not at the same extreme underground pressures found in more successful shale fields of the US and Canada. These high pressures are a sign there is lots of easily-extractable fuel. </p>
<p>The idea that the UK has a similar huge potential shale gas resource assumed its shales had not already generated gas – that the potential is still to come. However, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11653-4">laboratory results</a> show that gas has already been generated in these rocks in the geological past. Over millions of years, Britain’s landmass has been buried, lifted back up, buried again and eroded. This complex geological history has provided many opportunities for gas to leak away through the country’s many faults and cracks so that only the dregs remain. If the UK wants to develop a major US-style fracking industry, it is 280 million years too late. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-uk-shale-gas-reserves-are-at-least-80-smaller-than-thought-122076">How we discovered UK shale gas reserves are at least 80% smaller than thought</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Widespread scepticism and mistrust</h2>
<p>Even if enough gas is discovered, there is the huge challenge of bringing in specialist equipment and skilled people to do the drilling and development. To produce abundant gas for the country will require thousands of boreholes over ten years. Disposing of huge amounts of salty and radioactive <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/ew/c7ew00474e">wastewater</a> represents another really big challenge.</p>
<p>No wonder then that the UK government is wary of stating that the agreement of local residents is needed before fracking can go ahead. Because fracking has had a difficult history in the UK, and was only ever imposed top-down by the David Cameron government, there is widespread <a href="https://theconversation.com/mistrust-and-earthquakes-why-lancashire-communities-are-so-shaken-by-fracking-tremors-108108">scepticism and mistrust</a> among the communities who have been affected by proposed drilling. </p>
<p>Those doubts can perhaps be converted to acceptance by prolonged dialogue, providing better information, and building up trust – but that takes years. Another option proposed by some shale developers would be to make direct cash payments to local residents and communities – up to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/08/fracking-uk-not-fix-fuel-bills-economically-high-risk">6% of initial revenues</a> in some cases. The US shows that sharing the financial spoils can provide quick routes to opinion change. But strong regulation is needed to prevent shale developers from paying a community to support development, then rapidly exiting an area once the gas has been depleted, and abandoning the consequences. A fracked borehole drilled in 2019 near Preston is <a href="https://cuadrillaresources.uk/uk-regulator-withdraws-notice-to-plug-shale-gas-wells-at-preston-new-road-pnr-lancashire-site/">still not plugged</a>. </p>
<p>The UK did have a lot of onshore shale oil and gas, a long time ago. But because the country has the wrong <a href="https://theconversation.com/there-may-be-a-huge-flaw-in-uk-fracking-hopes-the-geology-80591">geological history</a>, that oil and gas has long gone, flowed out along the abundant faults and fractures. American and Canadian geology is much simpler, and that’s why their shale gas is still there. </p>
<p>Solar and wind make cheaper electricity than gas, and methane leaks are measurably warming the world. The International Energy Agency and IPCC both state very clearly that fossil fuel production needs to decrease rapidly. Why would the UK trash its best international reputation and future world-leading clean energy industries? Fracking in the UK has multiple commercial and technical challenges which may or may not be overcome, has an immense public perception legacy to convert, and the environmentally acceptable pathway is very unclear.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Haszeldine receives research funding from UK research councils EPSRC and NERC, and SGN Scottish Gas Networks. Funding on hydorgen research from Horizon Europe and EPSRC. He serves on the BEIS CCUS Council and voluntariliy advises NECCUS to co-ordinate CCS developments in Scotland </span></em></p>Britain was once sat on huge gas reserves, but most of it leaked away long ago.Stuart Haszeldine, Professor of Geology, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1902802022-09-09T14:27:50Z2022-09-09T14:27:50ZWhat Liz Truss’s government means for climate action<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483691/original/file-20220909-7256-ooc4dy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=975%2C860%2C4532%2C3375&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The new prime minister Liz Truss has announced plans to reverse the fracking ban and drill for more North Sea gas.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/uk-foreign-secretary-liz-truss-holds-2184533585">Clicksbox/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever since climate change appeared on the political agenda, there has been general agreement on the need for a robust response. While the implementation of climate policy has lagged over the past decade, that basic consensus has held. Liz Truss’s new government puts that under serious strain.</p>
<p>There are a number of components to worry about. First of all, the job of coordinating climate policy has gone to <a href="https://www.desmog.com/jacob-rees-mogg/">Jacob Rees-Mogg</a>, a man with a history of climate denial who continues to decry “climate alarmism”. He is open in his hostility towards the pursuit of net zero and brazen in his support for fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Various other members of the new government also actively oppose ambitious climate policy. Steve Baker, a critic of the government’s net-zero strategy and founder of the <a href="https://www.desmog.com/net-zero-scrutiny-group/">Net Zero Scrutiny Group</a>, which works to undermine climate action, is now a cabinet minister. Two of Truss’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/07/liz-trusss-chief-of-staff-brings-key-figures-from-lobbying-firm-into-no-10">key advisers</a> also have blemished climate records.</p>
<p>The prime minister herself has <a href="https://www.desmog.com/2022/09/05/analysis-new-uk-prime-minister-liz-trusss-links-to-climate-science-denial/">extensive connections</a> to organisations opposing climate action. She is also a vocal advocate for the role of gas as a transition fuel. </p>
<p>Truss is more ideological than her predecessor. Boris Johnson’s opportunism often <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrial-revolution">created openings</a> for climate action that served other elements of his agenda. His support for wind turbine manufacturing in red wall seats is evidence of this. Driven by an ideological commitment to “free markets”, Truss is less likely to take such an approach. </p>
<p>There are some appointments that offer optimism. The new junior minister for climate change, Graham Stuart, has <a href="https://www.endsreport.com/article/1798233/graham-stuart-new-climate-minister">consistently pushed for renewables</a>. While the former climate minister, Chris Skidmore, has been appointed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/08/liz-truss-appoints-green-tory-chris-skidmore-to-lead-net-zero-review">lead a review</a> of the UK’s net zero strategy.</p>
<p>However, the decision to select a loyal cabinet with questionable environmental credentials indicates a sharp shift away from previous commitments to climate action.</p>
<h2>Fossil-fuelled response to the energy crisis</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An offshore oil rig with a flare emerging from one of its chimneys." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483696/original/file-20220909-23-1qd39x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483696/original/file-20220909-23-1qd39x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483696/original/file-20220909-23-1qd39x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483696/original/file-20220909-23-1qd39x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483696/original/file-20220909-23-1qd39x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483696/original/file-20220909-23-1qd39x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483696/original/file-20220909-23-1qd39x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The new government’s response to the energy crisis so far has been to increase fossil fuel supply.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/flare-boom-on-offshore-oil-rig-432473">Ingvar Tjostheim/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new government’s response to the energy crisis reflects this. So far, the focus has been on expanding fossil fuel supply. Up to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-uk-announce-dozens-new-north-sea-oil-gas-licences-sources-2022-09-07/">130 new licences</a> are being approved for North Sea oil and gas drilling, while plans to overturn <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/liz-truss-fracking-ban-energy-bills-b2162399.html">the moratorium on fracking</a> have been announced. </p>
<p>Neither fracking or North Sea gas exploration will have an immediate impact on natural gas prices. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-uk-announce-dozens-new-north-sea-oil-gas-licences-sources-2022-09-07/">New production</a> will not come on stream immediately and even when it does the supply will remain relatively small. </p>
<p>The populist rhetoric about protecting people from rising costs has seen heat pumps, electric vehicles, and renewables all attract blame. However, the £130 billion being borrowed to cap energy bills will help energy <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/sep/07/liz-truss-energy-bills-cap-will-fail-to-protect-poorest-say-thinktanks">corporations</a> far more than poor households. </p>
<p>These actions will undermine attempts to eliminate fossil fuel consumption, instead consolidating more capacity for years to come. Oil and gas companies can also be expected to fiercely resist future attempts to reverse this move.</p>
<p>Measures consistent with net zero instead have the potential to address the energy crisis and should be prioritised. Enhancing energy efficiency, insulating housing, and accelerating the shift away from natural gas could have an immediate impact on <a href="https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/whats-insulation-and-can-it-save-me-money">energy demand</a>. However, these measures would undermine the oil and gas industries to which the new government is allied, making their adoption improbable.</p>
<h2>How severe is the threat?</h2>
<p>Whether UK climate policy will be watered down depends on factors beyond the prime minister’s immediate control. </p>
<p>Legislation, including the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/27/contents">Climate Change Act</a>, has so far been effective in constraining governments from relapse. Its structure of five-year carbon budgets, and <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/">external scrutiny</a> has generally kept policy moving forward.</p>
<p>There is also organised support for climate action within the Conservative party. The influential <a href="https://www.cen.uk.com/">Conservative Environment Network</a>, with a <a href="https://www.cen.uk.com/our-caucus">membership</a> of 133 MPs and 17 members of the House of Lords, resist reversals on climate action. They have immediately pressured the new government over their net zero commitments.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1567796889046622208"}"></div></p>
<p>How effectively they oppose policy shifts will depend on various factors including their own political ambitions and electoral situation. However, fracking and the expanded fossil fuel production are <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/trackers/should-britain-start-extracting-shale-gas">deeply unpopular</a> with the public, which will further help the group. Organised parliamentary support for climate action, if it materialises, can restrict how far climate policy can be undermined.</p>
<p>The situation the new prime minister finds herself in is both novel and politically delicate. She is the first prime minister to be elected <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/25/liz-truss-wins-election-tory-prime-minister">against the wishes</a> of the majority of her own party’s MPs. This may weaken her ability to pass legislation. The decision to select a loyal cabinet, forming a narrow range of opinion may intensify the problem she faces.</p>
<p>While the new government represent a threat for UK action on climate change, their ability to inflict damage to climate policy will be restricted. But, immediate risks remain regarding expanded hydrocarbon production. This undermines the pursuit of net zero while doing little to relieve pressure on energy prices.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Paterson has previously received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada). He is a member of the Green Party. </span></em></p>Liz Truss has appointed a loyal cabinet with varied environmental credentials. What will this mean for UK climate action?Matthew Paterson, Professor of International Politics, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881122022-08-16T14:41:41Z2022-08-16T14:41:41ZSouth Africa’s proposed fracking regulations should do more to protect groundwater<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479402/original/file-20220816-9763-z7u5be.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Karoo landscape, a water-scarce area near potential shale gas sites.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo courtesy Surina Esterhuyse</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa is extremely water scarce, and water supply will become more challenging in the future. The <a href="https://www.africaportal.org/publications/delicate-balance-water-scarcity-south-africa/">population and economy are growing</a>, increasing demand. Rainfall is variable and more extreme and prolonged droughts are expected because of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128183397000059">climate change</a>. More than 80% of South Africa’s available surface water resources are already <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/Groundwater/Documents/NGS_Draft-Final_04012017.pdf">allocated for use</a>. Groundwater resources will therefore become more important in South Africa.</p>
<p>There is, however, a potential threat to those groundwater resources. South Africa depends heavily on <a href="https://cdn.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/planning-a-just-transition-in-south-africa.pdf">coal for energy</a> but its coal resources are being <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/265445/proved-coal-reserves-in-south-africa/">depleted</a>. The country may turn to unconventional oil and gas resources to augment energy supply. And methods to extract oil and gas can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479716307289">contaminate and deplete groundwater</a>. </p>
<p>Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is used to extract trapped oil and gas from underground geological formations. A mixture of water, chemicals and sand is injected into these formations under high pressure. This opens up micro-fractures in the rock to release the trapped oil and gas, but it can also disturb the deep geological formations and aquifers. Groundwater can be contaminated if deep saline groundwater migrates to potable groundwater resources via hydraulic connections.</p>
<p>In addition to migration of saline groundwater, the chemicals used during fracking can contaminate groundwater. Wastewater may also get into groundwater via spills and leaks. And the hydraulic fracturing process requires large volumes of water. </p>
<p>Regulations that are properly developed and enforced are therefore vital to protect groundwater resources in South Africa when <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-021-00145-y">extracting unconventional oil and gas</a>.</p>
<h2>Regulations to protect groundwater</h2>
<p>On 7 May 2021, the Department of Water and Sanitation published <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202105/44545gon406.pdf">regulations on the use of water in oil and gas extraction</a>. And on 11 July 2022, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment published <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Proposed-Regulations-pertaining-to-the-Exploration-and-Production-of-Onshore-Oil-and-Gas-Requiring-Hydraulic-Fracturing.pdf">proposed regulations for the exploration and production of onshore oil and gas</a> for public comment. These regulations aim to protect the environment during oil and gas development. </p>
<p>The environment department also published a document for comment specifying what <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NEMA-Intention-to-prescribe-minimum-conditions-for-onshore-exploration-of-oil-and-gas-intending-to-frack-8-July-2022.pdf">information must be supplied</a> when applying for a licence to produce oil and gas. The two departments’ regulations should be read together since both protect groundwater resources. </p>
<p>Based on a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-021-00145-y">survey</a> of South African groundwater experts that my colleagues and I conducted, I’ve reviewed the proposed regulations and identified aspects that need attention.</p>
<p>A strength of the regulations is that they list penalties for contraventions, which will help with enforcement. However, there are gaps in the regulations. Some extraction methods and related processes are not regulated. </p>
<h2>Gaps in fracking regulations</h2>
<p>The environment department’s regulations only address unconventional oil and gas development that requires hydraulic fracturing. Other techniques are also used to free those resources. For example, depressurisation can be used to liberate coalbed methane. All the extraction methods should be included in the regulations.</p>
<p>The regulations say that water sources and fracking wells at the extraction site should be at least 2km apart. This is not far enough. Based on what the survey of experts found, fracking wells should be at least 10km away from municipal wellfields, aquifers and water supply boreholes. They should be at least 5km away from seismically active springs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Karoo landscape with windpumps" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Putsonderwater, meaning ‘well without water’ in the extremely water-scarce area between Marydale and Groblershoop.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo courtesy Danita Hohne</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These minimum distances, known as setbacks, are also needed where there are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-021-00145-y">other geological and groundwater features</a> that increase the risk of groundwater contamination. </p>
<p>The regulations do not address specific measures to contain fractures to the production zone, or to prevent fluids from migrating beyond this area. Operators should have to monitor these risks and report to the regulator. If monitoring shows that fluid is moving outside the production zone, operations must stop until the situation is corrected. </p>
<p>The proposed regulations don’t address fracturing fluid management. The water department regulations require that a list of chemicals planned for use in the fracturing fluids be submitted to the department for approval, but this alone is insufficient to protect groundwater. A risk management plan for each well that is to be fractured must be submitted to the regulator. It must identify the chemical ingredients and the volume and concentration of the fluid additives. The plan must assess the potential environmental and health risks of the fracturing fluids and additives – and show how operations will minimise risk. </p>
<p>The regulations require a waste management plan. It should be more comprehensive, by considering both solid waste and wastewater. The plan should include transport, storage and management of wastewater and other substances used, and procedures for preventing and addressing spills. It should monitor and report on the actual volume of recovered fluids, the chemical composition of these fluids, and any radioactive fluids that were identified. </p>
<p>The information disclosure regulations are inadequate. They require that various information sources be uploaded onto the website of the holder. They do not require public access to this information. It would be better to load the data onto a centralised website run by an independent institution, where it is available and in a usable form.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-fracking-plans-could-affect-shared-water-resources-in-southern-africa-147684">How fracking plans could affect shared water resources in southern Africa</a>
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<p>The well decommissioning regulations do not specify how long decommissioned wells should be monitored. The risk of well leakage <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Final-Report-GISERA-W20-Monitoring-of-Decommissioned-Wells.pdf">over the long term</a> means that a monitoring timeframe of <a href="https://seasgd.csir.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Ch-5_Water_13Nov2016_LR.pdf">50 years or more may be necessary</a>. The regulations should consider who will be responsible and carry the associated costs. </p>
<p>Ancillary activities are not regulated. For example, there’s no mention of pipeline management or monitoring. Pipelines could leak and contaminate groundwater resources, especially if they are buried. </p>
<p>The minimum information requirements document also needs revision. Information about where wells will be located should be publicly available. For the groundwater baseline (the groundwater quality and quantity before fracking), both shallow and deep aquifers should be assessed, and possible fluid migration pathways should be identified.</p>
<p>If these aspects are addressed and the regulations properly enforced, the regulations will do a better job of protecting groundwater resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Surina Esterhuyse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New regulations for protecting water resources during oil exploration are inadequate and should be reviewed.Surina Esterhuyse, Senior Lecturer Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1807482022-05-05T15:19:21Z2022-05-05T15:19:21ZFracking review suggests UK has softened precautionary principle since leaving EU – here’s why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461596/original/file-20220505-1456-bvw8pi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6154%2C3000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fracking-well-head-connected-pumps-1138852370">LHBLLC/Shutterstock </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government recently <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066525/BGS_Letter.pdf">conceded</a> that the reasons for its <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-governments-fracking-ban-has-a-convenient-loophole-126475">2019 ban</a> on hydraulic fracturing “have not gone away,” and there is “no compelling evidence” to support rethinking it. Better known as fracking, this industrial process injects millions of gallons of water underground at high pressure to release fossil gas from rocky pores.</p>
<p>The moratorium was prompted by a series of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-49471321">tremors</a> at the UK’s lone fracking rig in Lancashire. Cuadrilla, the operator, was scheduled to seal off its wells in March 2022.</p>
<p>Yet, a month later, the government <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066525/BGS_Letter.pdf">permitted</a> a scientific review of the safety of fracking in the UK. Cuadrilla obtained a <a href="https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/news-publications/news/2022/nsta-withdraws-requirement-to-decommission-three-cuadrilla-wells/">one-year extension</a> to prove that its operations are safe for the environment and public health. The company hopes to eventually resume its operations pending a positive outcome from the review.</p>
<p>The government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/urgent-question-response-on-fracking">defends</a> its decision by <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066525/BGS_Letter.pdf">saying</a> that it wants to keep “all possible energy generation and production methods on the table” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60642786">rise</a> in global oil and gas prices. It <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066525/BGS_Letter.pdf">admits</a>, however, that fracking would not provide a “solution to near-term (gas) pricing difficulties”. Fracking is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-fracking-is-not-the-answer-to-soaring-uk-gas-prices-177957">unlikely</a> to ever produce enough gas in the UK to ease soaring energy bills.</p>
<p>The decision to reopen the possibility of fracking in the UK marks a departure from European Union regulations now that it is no longer a member of the bloc. The UK appears poised to emulate environmental regulation in the US, where fracking has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629622000157">caused significant harm</a>.</p>
<h2>Brexit and the precautionary principle</h2>
<p>The precautionary principle is a legal approach that allows regulators to restrict or prohibit the use of a technology even if the environment and health risks related to the technology are uncertain.</p>
<p>After leaving the EU, the UK adopted its own <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/30/contents/enacted">environmental legislation in 2021</a>. It later released a <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environmental-principles/draft-policy-statement/supporting_documents/draftenvironmentalprinciplespolicystatement.pdf">draft environmental principles policy statement</a> proposing that, while applying the precautionary principle, UK regulators “should only prevent or defer an innovative development where that risk outweighs the benefits”. </p>
<p>This proposed interpretation of the precautionary principle echoes the <a href="https://ashford.mit.edu/sites/default/files/documents/C28.%20LegacyOfPrecaution_19.pdf">American understanding</a>, that takes into account the financial impact of restricting or banning a technology before regulating it.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/brexit-could-kill-the-precautionary-principle-heres-why-it-matters-so-much-for-our-environment-86577">Before Brexit</a>, the UK implemented the precautionary principle through EU law. <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM:precautionary_principle#:%7E:text=The%20precautionary%20principle%20is%20an,should%20not%20be%20carried%20out.">The EU version</a> regulates an environmental risk even if the likelihood of it happening is slim. Or, it puts the burden on the operator to show that the activity is safe.</p>
<p>Critics <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X2030751X">argue</a> that this approach stifles innovation, as operators will baulk at the cost of scientifically demonstrating the safety of their technology. On the other hand, the American approach may allow lucrative technologies to permanently damage the environment and public health before the inherent risks <a href="http://law.syr.edu/uploads/docs/deans-faculty/cost-benefit-analysis-and-precautionary-principle.pdf">are clear</a>. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629622000157">Despite mounting evidence</a> of <a href="https://www.unco.edu/nhs/biology/about-us/franklin-scott/lab/images/Meng2017.pdf">environmental harm</a>, including drinking water contamination and greenhouse gas emissions, fracking is still exempt from <a href="https://www.psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/compendium-8.pdf">several precautionary regulations</a> in the US. For instance, fracking waste is still not regulated as hazardous waste and corporations are <a href="https://www.watershedcouncil.org/hydraulic-fracturing---regulations-and-exemptions.html">not required to apply</a> for permits disclosing waste disposals under US federal law.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A metal column in a green field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461594/original/file-20220505-24-3bqe8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5287%2C3324&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461594/original/file-20220505-24-3bqe8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461594/original/file-20220505-24-3bqe8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461594/original/file-20220505-24-3bqe8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461594/original/file-20220505-24-3bqe8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461594/original/file-20220505-24-3bqe8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461594/original/file-20220505-24-3bqe8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A shale gas well in the US, where fracking has proceeded at breakneck speed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fracking-american-shale-well-1449364412">FreezeFrames/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The UK’s proposed version of the precautionary principle drifts from the European “better safe than sorry” approach and towards the cost-centric American one. <a href="https://www.theoep.org.uk/what-we-do">The Office for Environmental Protection</a>, a UK public body established under the 2021 environment legislation, <a href="https://www.theoep.org.uk/node/112">criticised</a> the government’s draft version of the precautionary principle for its “unusual emphasis on innovation, which may detract from the principle’s core aim of managing risk in the face of scientific uncertainty”. </p>
<p>On April 20 2022 Jacob Rees-Mogg, minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, <a href="https://www.endsreport.com/article/1753852/rees-mogg-mocks-precautionary-principle">scoffed</a> at the stricter application of the precautionary principle, <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/10126/html/">saying</a> that “if we followed the precautionary principle to its logical extent, we would never go into either our kitchens or our bathrooms”.</p>
<h2>Mounting evidence of risks</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02646811.2019.1693114">Fracking</a> continues to pose risks. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00167487.2016.12093986">Particularly so in the UK</a>, where dense rocks make tremors likely during water injection. Up to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/uog/process-unconventional-natural-gas-production">3.5 million gallons</a> can be injected at each well, generating huge amounts of <a href="https://anguil.com/case-studies/frac-water-reuse-technologies-2/">wastewater</a>, which typically contains a highly combustible greenhouse gas called methane and radioactive material. The UK simply <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/ew/c7ew00474e">does not have the capacity</a> to handle the radioactive waste if several fracking wells are operating at once. </p>
<p>Since late 2019, when the UK last conducted its scientific review of fracking, several studies have found an increase in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18226-w">airborne radioactivity</a> within a 20-kilometre radius of fracking sites, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629622000157">direct</a> effect of fracking on infant health, pregnant people and children, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-021-18022-z">pulverising</a> of the Earth’s bedrock which releases uranium. The UK government, while permitting the recent scientific review of fracking, did not mention these developments.</p>
<p>The UK has yet to finalise its post-Brexit interpretation of the precautionary principle, but its decision to soften the fracking moratorium aligns with its draft version of the cost-centric definition. This could pave the way for regulatory decisions which prioritise potential financial benefits over the risks to the environment and public health.</p>
<p>The UK’s shifting stance on fracking is not just a reaction to the energy crisis, but rather, a strong indication of its post-Brexit march towards a riskier society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shashi Kant Yadav receives funding from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at University of Surrey</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosalind Malcolm does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite banning fracking in 2019, the UK government recently decided to review its safety.Shashi Kant Yadav, Doctoral Researcher in Environmental Regulations, University of SurreyRosalind Malcolm, Professor of Law, Director of Environmental Regulatory Research Group (ERRG), University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1779572022-03-02T11:13:09Z2022-03-02T11:13:09ZWhy fracking is not the answer to soaring UK gas prices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449485/original/file-20220302-19-12n0u1c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The public have never been enthusiastic about this industry. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/balcombe-united-kingdom-august-18-woman-150896867">Randi Sokoloff</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, the wholesale price of gas <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/price-cap-increase-ps693-april">had quadrupled</a> over the preceding six months. This was <a href="https://ukerc.ac.uk/news/cost-of-gas-by-default/">largely driven</a> by too much demand chasing too little supply as gas producers struggled to cope with the economic bounce-back from the pandemic lockdowns, plus the tensions between Russia and Europe. This has seen nearly 30 UK energy retailers going bust, with many consumers facing ever-increasing energy bills, sparking a debate about UK natural-gas security that is only likely to intensify in the coming weeks and months. </p>
<p>By chance, the shale gas company Cuadrilla <a href="https://cuadrillaresources.uk/government-orders-plugging-and-abandonment-of-britains-shale-wells-in-midst-of-energy-crisis/">recently announced</a> that it will permanently seal its two shale gas exploration wells in Lancashire in north-west England, following a government order. This has once again led to shale gas being in the headlines in the UK and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-gas-fracking-nuclear-three-energy-sectors-on-europes-rethink-list-as/">abroad</a>. </p>
<p>In a flurry of opinion pieces and letters, MPs and political commentators <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/13/david-frost-joins-tory-mps-in-calls-for-return-of-fracking-in-uk">have called</a> for Boris Johnson to rethink the UK government’s current moratorium on shale exploration, arguing that when gas is at a premium, the UK must maximise its own resources. A group of Tory backbenchers sent a letter to Downing Street pointing out that UK shale was the key to “50 years of cheap gas”. </p>
<p>But these arguments do not hold up. There may be estimates of how much shale gas the UK has as a resource – the amount that may be recoverable – but that’s not the same as proven reserves, which refers to the amount that can be produced commercially at any given time. The size of the proven reserves is unknowable without significant exploratory drilling, and this is unlikely to happen. </p>
<h2>Resources vs reserves</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/media/2782/bgs_decc_bowlandshalegasreport_main_report.pdf">British Geological Survey’s (BGS)</a> estimate of the UK shale resource, published in 2013, was between 822 and 2,281 trillion cubic feet of gas, with a central figure of 1,329 trillion cubic feet. By comparison, the <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/gas/uk-natural-gas/#:%7E:text=Gas%20Consumption%20in%20the%20United%20Kingdom&text=The%20United%20Kingdom%20consumes%202%2C795%2C569,total%20consumption%20of%20132%2C290%2C211%20MMcf.">UK consumes</a> about 2.8 trillion cubic feet of gas per year. </p>
<p>Since that estimate was published, only 11 dedicated shale gas exploration wells have been drilled, and only two have had flow tests carried out to determine their technical and economic viability. Both were carried out by Cuadrilla in Lancashire. By contrast, during the exploration of the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania in the US, around <a href="https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2008/06/the-marcellus-shale">375 wells</a> were drilled. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/02/12/fracking-would-have-saved-britain-energy-crisis/">Statements that</a> the UK has vast shale gas reserves are thus inaccurate.</p>
<p>Cuadrilla’s two wells also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/22/cuadrilla-halts-fracking-after-biggest-tremor-yet-at-lancashire-site-preston-new-road">triggered small tremors</a> that prompted the government to impose a moratorium until <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-ends-support-for-fracking">such time as</a>, “the science shows that it is safe, sustainable and of minimal disturbance to those living and working nearby”. <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/srl/article-abstract/92/1/151/592210/High-Resolution-Imaging-of-the-ML-2-9-August-2019">Our research</a> shows it will be difficult for the industry to meet this requirement. This is because the orientation of <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=fault#:%7E:text=A%20fault%20is%20a%20fracture,another%20parallel%20to%20the%20fracture.&text=A%20reverse%20fault%20with%20a,is%20called%20a%20thrust%20fault%5D(https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=fault#:%7E:text=A%20fault%20is%20a%20fracture,another%20parallel%20to%20the%20fracture.&text=A%20reverse%20fault%20with%20a,is%20called%20a%20thrust%20fault">existing geological faults</a> means they may be more likely to be reactivated during the hydraulic fracturing operations required to extract shale gas from the rocks. </p>
<p>Even if the moratorium on fracking were to be lifted, it would take years of drilling before production could begin – far from the quick fix that some are calling for. By that time, the UK may not even need the gas: to meet the targets of a totally green power system by 2035 and a net zero economy by 2050, the nation’s gas consumption will have to <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/sixth-carbon-budget/">fall dramatically</a>. </p>
<p>Finally, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2019.01.097">geological complexity</a> of the area also now <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/pg/article-abstract/26/2/303/583394/Structural-constraints-on-Lower-Carboniferous?redirectedFrom=fulltext">appears to be</a> greater than many operators originally interpreted. <a href="https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/3063/">Recent research suggests</a> that the BGS’s estimates were overly optimistic, although there is insufficient data to reliably come up with better estimates. At any rate, many interested companies have recognised the reality and <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/energy-firm-in-quest-for-cornish-heat-7076vssz8">moved on</a>. Exploration for shale gas in the UK is effectively over. </p>
<p>The public has largely either been uninterested or against shale gas all along. Given the 2050 net zero target, it is even less likely to support developing a new fossil fuel resource onshore now. In the UK government’s latest <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1040725/BEIS_PAT_Autumn_2021_Energy_Infrastructure_and_Energy_Sources.pdf">public attitudes tracker</a>, 45% opposed shale gas development, 30% neither supported nor opposed, and only 17% supported it. </p>
<p>The UK’s devolved governments all oppose shale gas exploration too, following the <a href="https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-supports-moratorium-fracking-oil-23042881">recent statement</a> from the Northern Ireland assembly – as do the major opposition parties. A coalition of residents and environmental activists successfully slowed shale gas exploration by challenging decisions in the courts and <a href="http://www.ukuh.org/media/sites/researchwebsites/2ukuh/89490%20Unconventional%20Hydrocarbons.pdf">staging protests</a> at potential sites, and would likely do so again. </p>
<p>Equally, the government <a href="https://twitter.com/KwasiKwarteng/status/1498197281144725505">is unlikely</a> to sign off on such work when the north of England is home to the former <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20419058211045127">“red wall” seats</a> that swept Boris Johnson’s Conservatives to victory in 2019. So despite current gas prices, “going all out for shale”, as then Prime Minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/13/shale-gas-fracking-cameron-all-out#:%7E:text=David%20Cameron%20is%20to%20declarethat,of%20pounds%20for%20local%20authorities.">David Cameron once proclaimed</a>, is not going to happen. </p>
<h2>The UK gas outlook</h2>
<p>The inconvenient truth is that there are no easy ways to increase domestic gas supply in the UK. The North Sea <a href="http://www.ukuh.org/media/sites/researchwebsites/2ukuh/89490%20SGUK%20Energy%20Security.pdf">is mature</a>, and the emphasis is on maximising recovery of remaining reserves as production continues to decline. The UK’s dependence on gas imports is set to <a href="https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/production-projections/">keep increasing</a>, reaching 70% by the end of this decade.</p>
<p>The government is currently consulting on a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/designing-a-climate-compatibility-checkpoint-for-future-oil-and-gas-licensing-in-the-uk-continental-shelf">system for</a> awarding new North Sea exploration licences for oil and gas based on a climate compatibility test, but there is concern over whether this <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sustainable/sites/bartlett_sustainable/files/uk_oil_and_gas_in_a_1.5_degree_world_final_0.pdf">can align</a> with the UK’s <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/letter-climate-compatibility-of-new-oil-and-gas-fields/">net zero commitment</a>. Environmental groups and academics also point to the International Energy Agency’s <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050">assertion that</a> no new oil and gas exploration is required, while <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/letter-climate-compatibility-of-new-oil-and-gas-fields/">arguing that</a> allowing new exploration undermines the UK’s credibility as a climate leader. </p>
<p>The message should be clear: the answer is not more gas supply, it’s <a href="http://www.ukuh.org/media/sites/researchwebsites/2ukuh/89490%20Brexit%20Net-Zero%20and%20Future.pdf">less gas demand</a>. While taking the UK’s foot off the gas will take time and cost money, in the long term it will free the country from fossil fuel price volatility and reliance on importing a large share of its energy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177957/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Bradshaw receives funding from NERC-ESRC in relation to its Unconventional Hydrocarbons in the UK Energy System Research Programme and EPSRC in relation to his role as Co-Director for the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Ireland receives funding from NERC-ESRC in relation to its Unconventional Hydrocarbons in the UK Energy System Research Programme and from ReFINE (Researching Fracking)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Brown receives funding from NERC-ESRC in relation to its Unconventional Hydrocarbons in the UK Energy System Research Programme and from ReFINE (Researching Fracking). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Davies receives funding from NERC-ESRC in relation to its Unconventional Hydrocarbons in the UK Energy System Research Programme and from ReFINE (Researching Fracking).</span></em></p>Why recent calls for the UK to resuscitate shale gas exploration are for the birds.Michael Bradshaw, Professor of Global Energy, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickMark Ireland, Lecturer in Energy Geoscience, Newcastle UniversityRachel Brown, Project Manager, Energy Geosciences, Newcastle UniversityRichard Davies, Pro-Vice Chancellor: Global, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1666922021-08-27T15:29:07Z2021-08-27T15:29:07ZFracking and poorer surface water quality link established – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417821/original/file-20210825-19-ye63wr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3072%2C2304&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">During fracking, water is mixed with fluids and injected into the ground.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Process_of_mixing_water_with_fracking_fluids_to_be_injected_into_the_ground.JPG">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fracking – <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/2018/02/20/fracking-has-its-costs-and-benefits-the-trick-is-balancing-them/?sh=73011d4b19b4">hailed</a> by some as the greatest recent advance in energy production, <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/research/fracking-shale-local-impact-net">criticised</a> by others for the threat it poses to local life – continues to divide opinion.</p>
<p>The term <a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-takes-a-toll-on-mental-health-as-drilling-and-truck-traffic-rattle-neighborhoods-146528">fracking</a> refers to the high-pressure injection of water mixed with fluid chemical additives – including friction reducers, gels and acids – and “propping agents” such as sand to create fractures in deep rock formations such as shale, allowing oil or gas to flow out.</p>
<p><a href="https://epic.uchicago.edu/events/event/the-fracking-debate-the-pros-cons-and-lessons-learned-from-the-u-s-energy-boom/">Tens of thousands</a> of hydraulic fracturing wells have been drilled across the US, generating <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/30/how-fracking-has-helped-the-us-economy.aspx">huge benefits</a> for its energy industry and economy: yet the practice remains globally controversial. It is <a href="https://sgkplanet.com/en/in-which-countries-is-fracking-prohibited/">not permitted</a> in numerous other countries, such as France, Germany, Ireland and, since 2019, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/fracking-ban-uk-kwasi-kwarteng-climate-change-methane-shale-gas-a9575906.html">the UK</a>.</p>
<p>While some see fracking as the most important change in the energy sector since the introduction of <a href="https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/what-is-nuclear-energy-the-science-of-nuclear-power">nuclear energy</a> more than 50 years ago, others raise <a href="https://epic.uchicago.edu/news/hydraulic-fracturing-decreases-infant-health-study-finds/">health</a> and <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-environmental-issues-are-associated-hydraulic-fracturing?qt-news_science_products=0#">environmental</a> concerns: in particular, the threat fracking could pose to our <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/hfstudy/recordisplay.cfm?deid=332990">water</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fracking diagram" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417822/original/file-20210825-27-eet2bs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417822/original/file-20210825-27-eet2bs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417822/original/file-20210825-27-eet2bs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417822/original/file-20210825-27-eet2bs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417822/original/file-20210825-27-eet2bs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417822/original/file-20210825-27-eet2bs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417822/original/file-20210825-27-eet2bs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fracking works by injecting fluid into cracks in the earth to extract oil or gas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HydroFrac.png">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Starting in 2010, many US states began to <a href="https://environmentamerica.org/sites/environment/files/reports/Fracking%20by%20the%20Numbers%20vUS.pdf">regulate fracking</a>, obliging operators to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/Fracking-Disclosure-IB.pdf">disclose</a> the substances used in their fluid mix. As economists, we were curious to see whether mandatory disclosures of what’s in fracturing fluids made the practice cleaner, or reduced potential water contamination. </p>
<p>To do that, we needed to compare the environmental impact from fracking before and after the new disclosure rules. We assembled a database that put together existing measurements of surface water quality with the location of fracking wells, and analysed changes in surface water quality around new wells over an 11-year period. </p>
<p>We noticed some strong associations, but also discovered that these associations had not been previously documented. Deciding to study the link between new hydraulic fracturing wells and surface water quality, we were able to provide evidence for a relationship between the two. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Equipment used for fracking" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417824/original/file-20210825-25-1qyb5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417824/original/file-20210825-25-1qyb5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417824/original/file-20210825-25-1qyb5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417824/original/file-20210825-25-1qyb5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417824/original/file-20210825-25-1qyb5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417824/original/file-20210825-25-1qyb5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417824/original/file-20210825-25-1qyb5h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A fracking platform designed to extract oil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/fracking-oil-drilling-699657/">Jwigley/Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The link</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210819142722.htm">Our study</a>, published in Science, uses a statistical approach to identify changes in the concentration of certain salts associated with new wells. We discovered a very small but consistent increase in barium, chloride and strontium – for bromide, our results were more mixed and not as robust.</p>
<p>Salt concentrations were most increased at monitoring stations that were located within 15 km and downstream from a well, and in measurements taken within a year of fracking activity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A figure showing the association between salt concentrations and new fracking wells" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417619/original/file-20210824-11516-13olgst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417619/original/file-20210824-11516-13olgst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417619/original/file-20210824-11516-13olgst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417619/original/file-20210824-11516-13olgst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417619/original/file-20210824-11516-13olgst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417619/original/file-20210824-11516-13olgst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417619/original/file-20210824-11516-13olgst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This figure plots the associations between salt concentrations and a new fracking well located within 15km and likely upstream of the water monitor.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The increases in salt we discovered were small and within the bounds of what the US Environmental Protection Agency <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/drinking-water-regulations">considers safe</a> for drinking water. However, since our water measurements were mostly taken from rivers, not all of the public surface water monitors we used are close to wells, or are in locations where they can detect the effects of fracking: for example, they may be located upstream of new wells. That means the salt concentrations in water flowing downstream from new wells could be even higher.</p>
<p>Our study was also limited by the public data available. We were not able to investigate potentially more toxic substances found in the fracturing fluids or in the produced water, such as radium or arsenic. Public databases do not widely include measurements of these other substances, making it hard for researchers to carry out the statistical analysis needed to detect anomalous concentrations related to new wells.</p>
<p>That said, the salts we analysed are not exactly innocuous. High concentrations of <a href="https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2014_Barium.pdf">barium</a> in drinking water may lead to increases in blood pressure, while <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/chloride-salinity-and-dissolved-solids?qt-science_center_objects=0#">chloride</a> can potentially threaten aquatic life. Elevated <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11904356/">strontium</a> levels can even have adverse impacts on human bone development, especially in the young. </p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>It is undeniable that fracking has played a <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/9/12/20857196/kamala-fracking-ban-biden-climate-change">big role</a> in replacing the fossil fuel <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/opinion/global/the-facts-on-fracking.html">coal</a> as a source of energy. Some <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33915394/">studies</a> show that, relative to periods of massive coal-burning, the overall quality of surface water has improved. Fracking has also brought an <a href="https://epic.uchicago.edu/news/study-shows-hydraulic-fracturing-boosts-local-economies-2/">economic boost</a> to underdeveloped areas. Still, the question remains as to whether it is safe for local communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A heavy fracking area, with wells connected by roads" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417823/original/file-20210825-21-aqxvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417823/original/file-20210825-21-aqxvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417823/original/file-20210825-21-aqxvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417823/original/file-20210825-21-aqxvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417823/original/file-20210825-21-aqxvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417823/original/file-20210825-21-aqxvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417823/original/file-20210825-21-aqxvri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where fracking is heavy, roads and pipelines make a web across the landscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfupamr/14601885300">Simon Fraser University/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While our study is an important step towards understanding the environmental impact of fracking, more data are needed to truly answer these safety concerns. The good news is, with new disclosure rules, we have a better awareness of exactly which chemicals are being used. </p>
<p>The next step is for policymakers to make sure that government agencies systematically track these chemical in fracking fluids and produced waters, place monitoring stations in locations where they can better track surface water impacts, and increase the frequency of water quality measurement around the time new wells are drilled. </p>
<p>A more targeted approach could go a long way in enabling research and helping to protect the public health of communities for whom fracking could yet be a blessing or a curse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows how fracking could pose a threat to surface water quality, with consequences for human and environmental health.Giovanna Michelon, Professor of Accounting, University of BristolChristian Leuz, Professor of International Economics, Finance and Accounting, University of ChicagoPietro Bonetti, Assistant Professor of Accounting and Control, IESE Business School (Universidad de Navarra) Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1653922021-08-09T06:45:02Z2021-08-09T06:45:02ZThe Beetaloo drilling program brings potential health and social issues for Aboriginal communities in remote NT<p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been repeatedly harmed by policies and decisions that drive <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Damien-Short/publication/249743478_Reconciliation_Assimilation_and_the_Indigenous_Peoples_of_Australia/links/0c960528344eeb8739000000/Reconciliation-Assimilation-and-the-Indigenous-Peoples-of-Australia.pdf">systematic dispossession, disempowerment</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chris-Cunneen/publication/228215721_Indigenous_Incarceration_The_Violence_of_Colonial_Law_and_Justice/links/00b4952650fca18235000000/Indigenous-Incarceration-The-Violence-of-Colonial-Law-and-Justice.pdf">overincarceration and poverty</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-the-new-closing-the-gap-dashboard-highlight-what-indicators-and-targets-are-on-track-163809">Janine Mohamad</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-enable-healing-theres-a-more-effective-way-to-close-the-gap-in-employment-in-remote-australia-165662">Zoe Staines and colleagues</a> highlighted the breadth of <a href="https://www.lowitja.org.au/content/Image/Defining_Indefinable_report_FINAL_WEB.pdf">cultural determinants of health</a> that were unaddressed in the government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/morrison-government-sets-up-redress-scheme-for-survivors-of-stolen-generation-in-territories-165617">Closing the Gap package</a>. They provided examples of “how government policies continue to create damage that must later be healed”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1423455281208561665"}"></div></p>
<p>Many Traditional Owners of Northern Territory’s Beetaloo region view the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/unlocking-the-beetaloo-the-beetaloo-strategic-basin-plan">Beetaloo cooperative drilling program</a> this way — as <a href="https://nit.com.au/fracking-inquiry-for-beetaloo-basin/">more harm coming to their Country, water and people</a>. </p>
<p>The Beetaloo is first of five major gas basin developments advanced in the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-15/morrison-unveils-plan-for-gas-led-recovery/12665020">prime minister’s A$6 billion plan for a “gas-led recovery”</a> from the economic hit of COVID. The plan, currently under examination by a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/BeetalooBasin">Senate inquiry</a>, would vastly expand unconventional oil and gas production using hydraulic fracturing (fracking), <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Weapons-of-Gas-Destruction-WEB.pdf">adding enormously</a> to Australia’s greenhouse emissions. </p>
<p>As climate change is already causing harm globally, this has been intensely criticised by <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-reasons-why-a-gas-led-economic-recovery-is-a-terrible-na-ve-idea-145009">Australian energy experts</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmdceYeO50g&t=125s">doctors</a> and <a href="https://productiongap.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/PGR2020_FullRprt_web.pdf">international bodies</a>.</p>
<p>The outcome of the Senate inquiry will significantly influence progression of gas mining in basins across Aboriginal Lands, impacting communities and Homelands.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth government can’t seem to wait to “unlock” the Beetaloo – <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/pitt/media-releases/grants-help-speed-beetaloo-drilling-program">pledging A$50 million in fracking grants in the NT</a>, including <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/pitt-slammed-for-21m-handout-to-liberal-party-linked-beetaloo-gas-projects/">A$21 million in taxpayers’ money</a> to Empire Energy, to expedite exploration. </p>
<p>There are many serious health concerns associated with opening up remote parts of Northern Territory to the oil and gas industry, including the largely ignored <a href="http://westerncriminology.org/documents/WCR/v15n1/Ruddell.pdf">links</a> with sexual and physical violence experienced by Indigenous women and children in North America.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remote-indigenous-australias-ecological-economies-give-us-something-to-build-on-123917">Remote Indigenous Australia's ecological economies give us something to build on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The health harms of unconventional gas mining</h2>
<p>For over ten years, the authors here (along with our colleague <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-shearman-1924">David Shearman</a>) have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/chief-scientist-csg-report-leaves-health-concerns-unanswered-32422">translating</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/expanding-gas-mining-threatens-our-climate-water-and-health-113047">research</a> to government decision-makers and community groups.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/208281;">research</a> has been communicated extensively to the NT government in [<a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/?a=424231">multiple written submissions</a>], <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd6kvLLuoSg;%20https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/?a=445251">oral presentations</a>, <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/?a=452121%20;%20https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/?a=484976;%20https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/?a=457141">letters</a>, and to the <a href="https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2018/40/health-and-environment-impacts-of-fracking-not-adequately-considered/">NT chapter of the Royal Australian College of Physicians</a>. </p>
<p>This painstaking documentation details rapidly growing evidence of many environmental, climate, health and wellbeing losses associated with gas mining.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/313370">most recent submission</a> to the Beetaloo Senate inquiry described international evidence of serious health harms including: </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735109720375392?via%3Dihub">heart failure</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33581094/">heart attacks</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32879945/">asthma</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935120314080">severe birth defects</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7486049/">psycho-social and mental health loss</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>These unwelcome messages were ignored in the <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/inquiry-reports/final-report">NT fracking inquiry report</a> and the subsequent <a href="https://hydraulicfracturing.nt.gov.au/sreba">Strategic Regional Environmental and Baseline Assessment (SREBA) framework</a>. </p>
<p>As remote Aboriginal Territorians already experience <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/?a=452121">much higher burdens</a> from these conditions, it follows the Beetaloo region would experience even more health loss if exposed to the hazards of gas mining. </p>
<p>These hazards include <a href="https://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/article/doi/10.1525/elementa.398/112753/Air-quality-impacts-from-oil-and-natural-gas">ozone and tiny particles in inhaled air</a> and many chemicals capable of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004896972035765X?via%3Dihub">disrupting people’s endocrine systems</a> in both the air and water.</p>
<p>Besides direct physical health impacts, the industry has an enormous environmental and <a href="https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S2214629618306698?token=55B4BADC0A7C6667F376AF9601D916791CE9D344EE25DADA8C74DA2283863EFC56864C2C3F4FC3927BCA9822F4E21535&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20210802112618">social injustice</a> footprint. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/shale-gas-and-other-sources-natural-gas">expanse and intensity</a> of mature shale gas mining operations, once allowed to proceed, are rarely foreseen. Remote areas are <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/208281">rapidly industrialised</a> with airstrips, roads, wellpads, pipelines, gas processing and water treatment plants and pumping stations. </p>
<p>Many experts question the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629616301037">capacity, cost</a> and commitment to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19460171.2021.1895855;%20https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214790X18300947">procedural justice</a> required to effectively monitor regulatory compliance through decades of mine expansion, production and well decommissioning. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-can-cause-social-stress-in-nearby-areas-new-research-95216">Fracking can cause social stress in nearby areas: new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Risks to vulnerable communities</h2>
<p>There is little research on the impacts of shale gas mining on Indigenous people specifically. As a result, affected Indigenous communities have had to raise their own voices about their experiences and concerns.</p>
<p>In 2015, a coalition of Native American and women’s organisations requested intervention by the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for protection against “<a href="https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/native-american-and-women-s-organizations-request-un-help-on-sexual-violence-_srxHIWjqEmyrmz9OPMmZw">the epidemic of sexual violence brought on by extreme fossil fuel extraction in the Great Lakes and Great Plains region</a>” in North America. </p>
<p>They described vast “man camps” of temporary labour becoming “lawless hubs of violence and human trafficking”.</p>
<p>In 2019, the Canadian <a href="https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2019/06/Final_%20Report_Vol%201a-1.pdf">National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls</a> quoted Melina Laboucan Massimo of the Lubicon Cree First Nation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The industrial system of resource extraction in Canada is predicated on systems of power and domination. This system is based on the raping and pillaging of Mother Earth as well as violence against women. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>A recurrent theme in the <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/commsen/f65607f3-7c1c-4e72-838b-0392c620d71d/toc_pdf/Environment%20and%20Communications%20References%20Committee_2021_07_28_8971.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22committees/commsen/f65607f3-7c1c-4e72-838b-0392c620d71d/0000%22">current Beetaloo inquiry</a> has been whether potential health risks experienced elsewhere would be likely occur here if the project in the Beetaloo Basin proceeds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Gamil Means No Melbourne National Day of Action" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414938/original/file-20210806-17-15jgps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414938/original/file-20210806-17-15jgps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414938/original/file-20210806-17-15jgps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414938/original/file-20210806-17-15jgps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414938/original/file-20210806-17-15jgps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414938/original/file-20210806-17-15jgps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414938/original/file-20210806-17-15jgps3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People across the country continue to protest against fracking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.commons.wikimedia.org">Matt Hrkac/ Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In response, we highlight the combination of circumstances accompanying oil and gas developments that heighten the vulnerability of any community. We also urge recognition of the specific, compounding factors faced by the people who live in the Beetaloo. These include: </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2019/06/Final_%20Report_Vol%201a-1.pdf">historical genocide, violence and transgenerational trauma</a></li>
<li>the <a href="https://resourcingtheterritory.nt.gov.au/oil-and-gas">geographical vastness of gas mining potential</a> across <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-17/remote-aboriginal-residents-police-governments-tussle-funding/9334278">remote and under-serviced areas</a></li>
<li>the <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-resource-boom's-underbelly%3A-Criminological-of-Carrington-Hogg/29d0c6c687c4eb3ddaa169b5716a5d7407ae03b4">characteristics of this work and enormous influx of workers</a></li>
<li>the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3651545/pdf/RIOG006001_0e22.pdf">socioeconomic disparities and lack of voice</a> among First Nations peoples</li>
<li>police protection and duty of care to Aboriginal people as victims of crime</li>
<li>and the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-14/police-officer-threats-aboriginal-boys-alice-springs-watch-house/12969644;%20https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/systemic-abuse-don-dale-youth-detention/13475214">criminal justice system itself</a> </li>
</ul>
<p>Construction and drilling workers — most being male fly-in, fly-out contractors — will build and service these facilities. <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Between-a-Rock-and-a-Hard-Place%3A-Exploring-Ways-to-Gilbert/7af33c058f653d7480d2b2f0df5e4b21515ebfd1">Research</a> shows these workers are separated from their families and have well-paid but stressful, sometimes dangerous jobs. </p>
<p>Recent reports of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/nine-reported-sexual-assaults-in-18-months-on-wa-mine-sites-20210702-p586h2.html">alleged sexual violence</a> against female mine workers in Western Australia causes concern for the well being of women and children in remote areas. </p>
<p>We see no assurance to date that concerns raised here are being taken seriously, and hope this Senate committee is listening to all the incredible Aboriginal people from remote Beetaloo communities that are standing up and speaking out.</p>
<p>We need to respect their calls to protect their communities and Country, and address the potential damage that awaits unless we take action. As we know from history, as important as they are, reparations do not heal deep wounds, especially those easily foreseen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165392/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melissa Haswell is affiliated with Doctors for the Environment Australia, Climate and Health Alliance and the Public Health Association Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Williams receives funding from the Medical Research Futures Fund, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Indigenous Australians Agency, Australian Government Department of Health and NSW Aboriginal Land Council. She is affiliated with Croakey Health Media and Deadly Connections.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francis Nona does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fracking the Beetaloo Basin has potential environmental and social harms that affect the Traditional owners in the Northern Territory.Melissa Haswell, Professor of Practice in Environmental Wellbeing, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services), University of SydneyFrancis Nona, Lecturer, The University of QueenslandMegan Williams, Associate Professor, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1537752021-02-16T13:28:22Z2021-02-16T13:28:22Z‘Indian Country’ is excited about the first Native American secretary of the interior – and the promise she has for addressing issues of importance to all Americans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383834/original/file-20210211-17-1j0wf8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C5%2C3945%2C2970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland speaks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Oct. 1, 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/native-american-candidate-deb-haaland-who-is-running-for-news-photo/1044568812?adppopup=true">Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Biden’s nomination of <a href="https://haaland.house.gov/about">U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico</a> to lead the <a href="https://www.doi.gov/">Department of the Interior</a> is historic on many levels. Haaland, an enrolled member of the <a href="https://www.lagunapueblo-nsn.gov/">Pueblo of Laguna</a>, was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, along with U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas. And if confirmed, she will be the first Native American to head the agency that administers the nation’s <a href="https://www.bia.gov/frequently-asked-questions">trust responsibility</a> to American Indians and Alaska Natives. </p>
<p>Indian Country has a significant history with the Interior Department that has <a href="https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska-paperback/9780803287129/">more often been bad than good</a>. But <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/debra_haaland/412800">Haaland’s record</a> shows that she is committed to making progress on larger challenges that affect all Americans. She has been especially vocal on climate, environmental protection, public lands and natural resource management.</p>
<p>As the executive director of <a href="https://aipi.asu.edu/">one of the only Indigenous policy institutes in the nation</a>, a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Bc-RS6QAAAAJ&hl=en">scholar of Indigenous studies</a> and a citizen of the <a href="https://www.chickasaw.tv/series/profiles-of-a-nation?ref=durl">Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma</a>, I’ve been acutely aware of Haaland’s work since she was elected to Congress in 2018. I’ve tracked her leadership on issues such as <a href="https://haaland.house.gov/media/press-releases/haaland-khanna-aim-achieve-broadband-all">broadband access</a> and infrastructure for Native nations.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3xkHbh5xKh8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Accepting President Biden’s nomination as secretary of the interior, U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland observed, “This moment is profound when we consider the fact that a former secretary of the interior once proclaimed his goal to ‘civilize or exterminate’” Native Americans.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To Indian Country, Haaland is viewed as everybody’s “auntie.” Having her in leadership gives Native America a seat at the policymaking table. For New Mexico she has been a <a href="https://debforcongress.com/meet-deb/accomplishments/">productive member of Congress</a>, reelected in 2020 with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-new-mexico-house-district-1.html">over 58% of the vote</a>. And while a few Western senators have called her views “<a href="https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2021/02/08/senator-steve-daines-threatens-block-haaland-interior-secretary-confirmation/4439722001/">radical</a>,” I believe that Native issues are American issues. If Haaland is confirmed as interior secretary, many observers expect her to <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/12/17/biden-to-pick-rep-haaland-as-interior-secretary">provide bold leadership</a> for an agency that oversees what is arguably the heart of America: its land.</p>
<h2>A big portfolio</h2>
<p>Haaland grew up in a military family, raised a daughter as a single parent and worked in tribal administration before entering politics. A self-described “proud progressive,” she <a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/1505620/proud-progressive-haaland-seeks-2nd-term.html">supports policies including</a> a ban on hydraulic fracking, the Green New Deal, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and a national single-payer health care system. </p>
<p>Haaland’s knowledge of Native and Western issues are important credentials for heading the Interior Department. <a href="https://www.doi.gov/whoweare/history">Created in 1849</a>, the agency manages U.S. cultural and natural resources. It has nine technical bureaus, eight offices and 70,000 employees, including many scientists and natural resource management experts. </p>
<p>The department’s portfolio includes national parks and wildlife refuges, multiuse public lands, ocean energy development, regulation of surface mining and mine cleanups and research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. It oversees the use of <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45480.pdf">more than 480 million acres of public lands</a>, mainly in Western states, 700 million acres of subsurface minerals and 1.7 billion acres of the outer continental shelf along U.S. coastlines.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of public lands managed by the Interior Department." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383851/original/file-20210211-21-1pe8y93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Interior Department oversees more than 480 million acres of public lands, mostly in the Western U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/printable-map-department-interior-lands">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One key departmental mission is fulfilling the <a href="https://www.bia.gov/frequently-asked-questions">trust responsibility</a> – a legal obligation that the U.S. has to uphold promises made to tribal nations in exchange for their lands. This political relationship is derived from 370 treaties between the federal government and Native nations.</p>
<p>Tribal nations are part of the family of governments in the U.S., along with the federal and state governments. There are <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/30/2020-01707/indian-entities-recognized-by-and-eligible-to-receive-services-from-the-united-states-bureau-of">574 federally recognized sovereign tribal nations</a> that have a nation-to-nation relationship with the U.S. government via the trust relationship. They are located in 35 states on 334 reservations. Tribal lands total 100 million acres.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.ncai.org/tribalnations/introduction/Indian_Country_101_Updated_February_2019.pdf">National Congress of American Indians</a>, the trust responsibility covers two significant interrelated areas: </p>
<p>– Protecting tribal property and assets that the U.S. government holds in trust for the benefit of tribal nations. </p>
<p>– Guaranteeing tribal lands and resources as a base for distinct tribal cultures, including water for irrigation, access to fish and game and income from natural resource development.</p>
<p>The term “Indian Country” is a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-677-indian-country-defined">legal designation of tribal lands</a>. It is also a philosophical definition of where we as Indigenous people are from. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1343293404642471936"}"></div></p>
<h2>Native nations and the Interior Department</h2>
<p>Indian Country and the Interior Department have had a history fraught with controversy that makes this nomination particularly powerful. </p>
<p>One of the most significant issues has been the agency’s <a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/jmd/legacy/2014/05/08/houserept-102-499-1992.pdf">long-standing mismanagement</a> of Indian lands on behalf of hundreds of thousands of individual Native Americans since the late 1880s. In 2009, the Obama administration negotiated a US$3.4 billion settlement in a <a href="https://www.voanews.com/archive/us-settles-historic-native-american-lawsuit">long-running class-action lawsuit</a> against the Interior Department. Elise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, brought the suit on behalf of more than 250,000 plaintiffs. </p>
<p>A current issue is the struggle over <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/02/04/first-oak-flat-court-hearing-follows-2-day-prayer-vigil/6653392002/">Oak Flat</a>, a sacred Apache location in southern Arizona that is about to be mined for copper. The site is both culturally and archaeologically significant. Several different groups are suing to prevent mining there, and members of Congress have <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairman-grijalva-sen-sanders-introduce-bills-to-prevent-mining-activities-on-sacred-apache-tribal-land-given-away-in-2015-defense-bill">introduced legislation</a> to block the federal government from transferring title to the land to mining companies.</p>
<p>Another example is the struggle over the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/21/dakota-access-pipeline-joe-biden-indigenous-environment">Dakota Access Pipeline</a>, which members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and other water protectors argue <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/dapl-dakota-sitting-rock-sioux/499178/">threatens Native burial sites and water supplies</a>. Still another controversy is the Trump administration’s decision to shrink the <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/533374-native-americans-push-biden-to-restore-us">Bears Ears National Monument</a> in Utah, which protects sites that are <a href="https://bearsearscoalition.org/ancestral-and-modern-day-land-users/">sacred to more than 20 tribes and pueblos</a>. President Biden is <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2021/01/25/president-joe-bidens/">reviewing the Bears Ears decision</a>, and tribes and environmental advocates are urging him to <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/biden-holds-key-to-dakota-access-pipelines-fate-after-ruling">shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CKh0N8yn_xq","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Beyond these high-profile cases, Interior Department actions affect many other facets of tribal governance. For example, the <a href="https://www.bia.gov/">Bureau of Indian Affairs</a> oversees tribal gaming compacts and right-of-way infrastructure decisions for projects that cross Native lands. </p>
<p>Many of the agency’s resource stewardship activities also affect tribes. The department recently approved a <a href="https://usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=66103">drought contingency plan</a> for the Colorado River that will impose water conservation requirements on multiple states, counties and tribes. And resource development proposals often affect <a href="https://news.azpm.org/p/news-topical-nature/2021/1/22/187818-controversial-oak-flat-mine-project-moves-closer-to-reality/">lands that are important to Native Americans</a> even if they are not officially part of a reservation, but are traditional homelands or sacred spaces. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Since the trust relationship includes a relationship between governments, all federal agencies must fulfill it. President Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/26/memorandum-on-tribal-consultation-and-strengthening-nation-to-nation-relationships/">issued a Memorandum</a> on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening the Nation-to-Nation Relationships on Jan. 26. This policy statement, which builds on and expands similar declarations from Presidents Clinton and Obama, has been <a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/biden-reaffirms-tribal-sovereignty">well received in Indian Country</a>. </p>
<p>If Haaland is confirmed, Biden’s memo will require her to submit a detailed implementation plan and progress reports to the Office of Management and Budget. Tribal consultations are already <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-announces-series-tribal-consultations-recognition-importance-nation-nation">planned</a>. Policy experts expect that overall, Haaland will work to restore tribal lands, address climate change – which is significantly affecting Indigenous people – and safeguard natural and cultural resources. The <a href="https://joebiden.com/tribalnations/">Biden-Harris Plan for Tribal Nations</a> outlines this agenda.</p>
<h2>Indigenous issues are American issues</h2>
<p>I believe that as secretary of the interior, Haaland will focus on issues that are important to all Americans, not just Indigenous people. Recent surveys show that a majority of Americans think the federal government should do more to <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/06/23/two-thirds-of-americans-think-government-should-do-more-on-climate/">combat climate change and protect the environment</a>. “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/27/deb-haaland-interview-interior-secretary-native-americans#">I’ll be fierce for all of us, for our planet, and all of our protected land</a>,” Haaland said when her nomination was announced.</p>
<p>For Native Americans, seeing people who look like us and are from where we come from in some of the highest elected and appointed offices in the U.S. demonstrates inclusion. Indian Country finally has a seat at the table. The gravity of this position is not lost on Haaland, and I expect that she will make a difference for all Americans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153775/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Traci Morris (Chickasaw Nation) is an individual Indian member of the National Congress of the American Indian. She is President of the Phoenix Indian Center Board of Directors and a member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society's Board of Directors.</span></em></p>If confirmed, US Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico would be the first Native American to run the agency that interacts with tribal nations. But her agenda extends far beyond Indian Country.Traci Morris, Executive Director, American Indian Policy Institute, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1551372021-02-15T18:51:28Z2021-02-15T18:51:28ZBlind shrimps, translucent snails: the 11 mysterious new species we found in potential fracking sites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383938/original/file-20210212-19-1y4jq3k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C12%2C2087%2C1534&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An ostracod, a small crustacean with more than 70,000 identified species.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna33/Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There aren’t many parts of the world where you can discover a completely new assemblage of living creatures. But after sampling underground water in a remote, arid region of northern Australia, we discovered at least 11, and probably more, new species of stygofauna. </p>
<p>Stygofauna are invertebrates that have evolved exclusively in underground water. A life in complete darkness means these animals are often blind, beautifully translucent and often extremely localised – rarely living anywhere else but the patch they’re found in. </p>
<p>The species we discovered live in a region earmarked for fracking by the Northern Territory and federal government. As with any mining activity, it’s important future gas extraction doesn’t harm groundwater habitats or the water that sustains them.</p>
<p>Our findings, <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GISERA-Project18-Stygofauna_final-report-20201208.pdf">published today</a>, show the importance of conducting comprehensive environmental assessments before extraction projects begin. These assessments are especially critical in Australia’s north, where many plants and animals living in surface and groundwater have not yet been documented.</p>
<h2>When the going gets tough, go underground</h2>
<p>Stygofauna were first discovered in Western Australia in 1991. Since then, these underground, aquatic organisms have been recorded across the continent. Today, more than 400 Australian species have been formally recognised by scientists.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384203/original/file-20210215-23-d83h18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The subterranean fauna we collected from NT aquifers, including a range of species unknown to science. A–C: Atyid shrimps, including <em>Parisia unguis</em>; D-F: Amphipods in Melitidae family; G: The syncarid species <em>Brevisomabathynella sp</em>.; H-J: members of the Candonidae family of ostracods; K: the harpacticoid species <em>Nitokra lacustris</em>; L: a new species of snail in the Caenogastropoda: M-N: Members of the Cyclopidae family of copepods; O: The worm species <em>Aeolosoma sp.</em></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GISERA</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Stygofauna are the ultimate climate change refugees. They would have inhabited surface water when inland Australia was much wetter. But as the continent started drying around 14 million years ago, they moved underground to the relatively stable environmental conditions of subterranean aquifers.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-depths-why-groundwater-is-our-most-important-water-source-91484">Hidden depths: why groundwater is our most important water source</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Today, stygofauna help maintain the integrity of groundwater food webs. They mostly graze on fungal and microbial films created by organic material leaching from the surface. </p>
<p>In 2018, the final report of an <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/">independent inquiry</a> called for a critical knowledge gap regarding groundwater to be filled, to ensure fracking could be done safely in the Northern Territory. We wanted to determine where stygofauna and microbial assemblages occurred, and in what numbers. </p>
<p>Our project started in 2019, when we carried out a pilot survey of groundwater wells (bores) in the Beetaloo Sub-basin and Roper River region. The Beetaloo Sub-basin is potentially one of the most <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-15/beetaloo-basin-at-the-heart-of-the-nt-fracking-gas-debate/9652390">important areas</a> for shale gas in Australia.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>The stygofauna we found range in size from centimetres to millimetres and include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>two new species of ostracod: small crustaceans enclosed within mussel-like shells </p></li>
<li><p>a new species of amphipod: this crustacean acts as a natural vacuum cleaner, feeding on decomposing material </p></li>
<li><p>multiple new species of copepods: tiny crustaceans which form a major component of the zooplankton in marine and freshwater systems </p></li>
<li><p>a new syncarid: another crustacean entirely restricted to groundwater habitats</p></li>
<li><p>a new snail and a new worm.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383936/original/file-20210212-15-k8466y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A thriving stygofauna ecosystem lies beneath the surface of northern Australia’s arid outback. We sampled water through bores to measure their presence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jenny Davis</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These species were living in groundwater 400 to 900 kilometres south of Darwin. We found them mostly in limestone karst habitats, which contain many channels and underground caverns.</p>
<p>Perhaps most exciting, we also found a relatively large, colourless, blind shrimp (<em>Parisia unguis</em>) previously known only from the Cutta Cutta caves near Katherine. This shrimp is an “apex” predator, feeding on other stygofauna — a rare find for these kinds of ecosystems. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383934/original/file-20210212-23-zzbqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A microscopic image of <em>Parisia unguis</em>, a freshwater shrimp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stefanie Oberprieler</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Protecting groundwater and the animals that live there</h2>
<p>The Beetaloo Sub-basin in located beneath a major freshwater resource, the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer. It supplies water for domestic use, cattle stations and horticulture.</p>
<p>Surface water in this dry region is scarce, and it’s important natural gas development does not harm groundwater.</p>
<p>The stygofauna we found are not the first to potentially be affected by a resource project. Stygofauna have also been found at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-worth-wiping-out-a-species-for-the-yeelirrie-uranium-mine-116059">Yeelirrie uranium mine</a> in Western Australia, approved by the federal government in 2019. More research will be required to understand risks to the stygofauna we found at the NT site. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-worth-wiping-out-a-species-for-the-yeelirrie-uranium-mine-116059">It's not worth wiping out a species for the Yeelirrie uranium mine</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The discovery of these new NT species has implications for all extractive industries affecting groundwater. It shows the importance of thorough assessment and monitoring before work begins, to ensure damage to groundwater and associated ecosystems is detected and mitigated.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Gas infrastructure at Beetaloo Basin" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384150/original/file-20210215-19-yinoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384150/original/file-20210215-19-yinoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384150/original/file-20210215-19-yinoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384150/original/file-20210215-19-yinoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384150/original/file-20210215-19-yinoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384150/original/file-20210215-19-yinoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384150/original/file-20210215-19-yinoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Beetaloo Basin is part of the federal government’s gas expansion strategy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where to from here</h2>
<p>Groundwater is vital to inland Australia. Underground ecosystems must be protected – and not considered “out of sight, out of mind”.</p>
<p><a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/20-00341_GISERA_FACTSHEET_SGW-NTStygofauna_WEB_210210.pdf">Our study</a> provides the direction to reduce risks to stygofauna, ensuring their ecosystems and groundwater quality is maintained.</p>
<p>Comprehensive environmental surveys are needed to properly document the distribution of these underground assemblages. The new stygofauna we found must also be formally recognised as a new species in science, and their DNA sequence established to support monitoring programs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383937/original/file-20210212-19-uxshb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Different species of copepods from various parts of the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrei Savitsky/Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many new tools and approaches are available to support environmental assessment, monitoring and management of resource extraction projects. These include remote sensing and molecular analyses.</p>
<p>Deploying the necessary tools and methods will help ensure development in northern Australia is sustainable. It will also inform efforts to protect groundwater habitats and stygofauna across the continent. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victoria-quietly-lifted-its-gas-exploration-pause-but-banned-fracking-for-good-its-bad-news-for-the-climate-133923">Victoria quietly lifted its gas exploration pause but banned fracking for good. It’s bad news for the climate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155137/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Davis receives funding from CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) and the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment for baseline environmental surveys in the Beetaloo Sub basin and the Roper River region.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daryl Nielsen receives funding from GISERA</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Rees receives funding from GISERA</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefanie Oberprieler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We discovered 11 (and probably more) new species of stygofauna living in water underground. These animals are usually blind, beautifully translucent and long-limbed.Jenny Davis, Professor, Research Institute for Environment & Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Charles Darwin UniversityDaryl Nielsen, Principal Research Scientist, CSIROGavin Rees, Principal Research Scientist, CSIROStefanie Oberprieler, Research associate, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1488912020-11-09T19:23:51Z2020-11-09T19:23:51ZBiden’s stance against fossil fuels didn’t turn away voters in Pennsylvania and other key states<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368364/original/file-20201109-14-xd8ui3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C209%2C4929%2C2588&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People wave to presidential candidate Joe Biden's bus as it passes through Latrobe, Pa. Biden received only 35 per cent of the votes in Westmoreland County.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United States’ election results have been a nail-biter that many polls did not predict. After days of uncertainty, the votes have tipped in favour of Joe Biden, and the U.S. president-elect has since <a href="https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/">kicked off his transition team to tackle, among other things, climate change</a>.</p>
<p>During campaigning, Pennsylvania received a lot of attention from both presidential candidates. The state sits atop the Marcellus shale, a major source of natural gas; it is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S., after Texas. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/business/energy-environment/pennsylvania-shale-gas-fracking.html">industry employs about 32,000 people in Pennsylvania</a>, but <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2020/08/20/report-clean-energy-jobs-among-fastest-growing-in-state-from-2017-2019/">clean energy is among the fastest growing sectors in the state</a>.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-10-23/bidens-aggressive-climate-policy-backlash">speculated</a> that Biden’s stance on fossil fuel divestment, especially his comments during the final presidential debate on moving away from fossil fuels, might have turned away voters worried about their job security in these key states. Yet, the election results have shown the opposite. </p>
<h2>Biden’s climate platform is not radical</h2>
<p>During the final presidential debate, Biden argued that he would “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/23/debate-transcript-trump-biden-final-presidential-debate-nashville/3740152001/">transition [away] from the oil industry … because it has to be replaced by renewable energy over time</a>.” The principal policy he proposed was to stop federal subsidies to the oil and gas industry. After the debate, Biden’s team clarified that his proposal means a <a href="https://www.newschannel5.com/news/biden-clarifies-debate-answer-on-fossil-fuels">gradual phase-out</a> of fossil fuels and he would not impose bans on the oil and gas industry.</p>
<p>In short, Biden has been strategically ambiguous about the timeline of decarbonizing the U.S. economy. He supports the idea of achieving net-zero emissions in the U.S. by 2050, yet serious questions remain whether his budget-saving and market-oriented approach to fighting climate change would effectively discourage a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/heed-lessons-of-2008-crisis-experts-warn-global-leaders">carbon rebound</a> after the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=207%2C138%2C4034%2C2789&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a shale gas drilling site in St. Mary's, Pa." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=207%2C138%2C4034%2C2789&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368360/original/file-20201109-15-1705sdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Donald Trump intensified attacks on Joe Biden over fracking, hoping to drive a wedge between the former vice-president and the white, working-class voters tied to the state’s booming natural gas industry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In June, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, issued a stern warning that “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/18/world-has-six-months-to-avert-climate-crisis-says-energy-expert">the world only has six months to avert climate crisis</a>” — a post-lockdown rebound in global greenhouse gas emissions would substantially derail the global targets set by the Paris climate agreement signed in 2016. (The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/climate/paris-agreement-us-election.html">U.S. officially left the agreement</a> on Nov. 5, but has Biden promised that <a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-says-the-us-will-rejoin-the-paris-climate-agreement-in-77-days-then-australia-will-really-feel-the-heat-149533">it will rejoin</a>.) In light of such policy recommendations, Biden’s reliance on market mechanisms to slowly phase-out fossil fuels presents, at best, a moderate approach to decarbonization. </p>
<p>Biden’s stance on fracking further reveals his hesitance to take radical measures on the U.S. fossil fuel addiction. During the final presidential debate, Biden repeatedly emphasized that he did not oppose fracking and would prefer to explore technical solutions to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. </p>
<p>There are few readily available solutions for reducing the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ese3.35">methane pollution associated with the fracking process</a>. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas — <a href="https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-other-important-greenhouse-gas">84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the first two decades after its release</a>. Averting a looming climate catastrophe demands an immediate ban on fracking. </p>
<h2>Fossil fuel divestment and voter preferences</h2>
<p>Biden is by no means an environmental radical, but the GOP’s portrayal of his support for fossil fuel divestment had the potential to damage his election performance in Texas and Pennsylvania. </p>
<p>Previous research has addressed the <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780190498986.001.0001/acref-9780190498986-e-566?rskey=7AcDzE&result=1">pros and cons</a> of fossil fuel divestment as a climate action tactic, the strong support it receives within <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2016.1256382">higher education</a> and its implications for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.06.014">climate justice</a>. But there is no in-depth information available on undecided and conservative voters’ perceptions on fossil fuel divestment. </p>
<p>Prior to this election, climate change was a peripheral concern during presidential campaigns and debates. <em>Scientific American</em> highlighted that <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-receives-unexpected-attention-at-first-presidential-debate/">climate change received more attention during the first Trump versus Biden debate than in any other presidential debate in history</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368483/original/file-20201110-18-1qjr9zq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368483/original/file-20201110-18-1qjr9zq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368483/original/file-20201110-18-1qjr9zq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368483/original/file-20201110-18-1qjr9zq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368483/original/file-20201110-18-1qjr9zq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368483/original/file-20201110-18-1qjr9zq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368483/original/file-20201110-18-1qjr9zq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Comparing this year’s election results with the final polling average and previous election results, two divergent trends emerge. In Colorado, which produces the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/maps/">most shale oil and gas</a> in the U.S., voters remain supportive of Biden. Despite being defeated in Texas, the Democratic share of popular votes there increased to 46.4 per cent this year from 43.2 per cent in 2016. The results suggest one of two things: Either Biden’s talk of fossil fuel divestment did not substantially change voters’ minds, or it led to larger voter turnouts of progressive young voters.</p>
<p>The results in Ohio and Pennsylvania followed the same trend. Although Biden’s performance in both states has been worse than the national polling average numbers, he gained a larger share of votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016. </p>
<p>In Pennsylvania, Biden has managed to win 49.8 per cent of the votes, which is a solid performance considering Trump’s strong <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/02/energy-202-trump-mounts-last-minute-pro-fracking-push-pennsylvania/">pro-fracking push</a> in Pennsylvania days before the election. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368342/original/file-20201109-15-wik5rp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Active oil and gas fracking wells in Pennsylvania.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.depgis.state.pa.us/PaOilAndGasMapping/OilGasWellsStrayGasMap.html">(Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the county level, <a href="https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2020/11/05/elections-compare-pennsylvania-2016-polls-2020-donald-trump-joe-biden/6181124002/">the dynamics become more complicated</a>. In the southwest and northeast corners of the state where fracking activities concentrate, Trump held a decisive lead. In Bradford County, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-15919248">one of the most fracked places on the planet</a>, Trump received over 70 per cent of the votes.</p>
<p>Although election results suggest that fossil fuel divestment did not negatively impact Biden’s overall election performance, it remains a pivotal and polarizing topic for many states, and could be a challenge for future progressive contenders.</p>
<p>Does such a political dilemma mean little political actions against the fracking industry and its lobbyists in the near future? We have to patiently wait for the next administration’s climate policies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sibo Chen receives funding from Ryerson University and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Some speculated that voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado and Texas would vote against Joe Biden because of his plans to phase out fossil fuels.Sibo Chen, Assistant Professor, School of Professional Communication, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1489662020-10-27T18:40:31Z2020-10-27T18:40:31ZFact check US: Would Joe Biden’s energy plan really cause the loss of 10.3 million jobs in the oil and gas industry?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365858/original/file-20201027-19-1o7gpi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C1024%2C671&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fishermen on the shore by decommissioned oil rigs in Port Aransas, Texas (March 11, 2019).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Loren Elliott/AFP</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On August 31, the <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/media/yes-joe-biden-will-eliminate-fracking-jobs/">Trump campaign blog claimed</a> that Joe Biden’s <a href="https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/">clean-energy plan</a> would cause the loss of 10.3 million jobs related to the oil and gas industry – that is, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_01102020.htm">6.5% of US jobs</a> in 2019. <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2018/02/12/petrole-de-schiste-comment-la-production-a-ete-decuplee-en-dix-ans-aux-etats-unis_5255531_4355770.html">While fracking</a> has helped the United States become the world’s <a href="https://www.latribune.fr/opinions/tribunes/petrole-americain-ce-que-l-on-nous-fait-croire-837645.html">leading crude-oil producer last year</a>, that figure is still exceedingly high. </p>
<p>To put it in perspective, for 10.3 million jobs to disappear, the <em>entire</em> oil and gas sector, along with all associated activity, would have to shut down. Such claims reflect the hyperbole of the 2020 presidential campaign.</p>
<h2>Where did this number come from?</h2>
<p>That figure is based on a <a href="https://www.api.org/%7E/media/Files/Policy/Jobs/Oil-and-Gas-2015-Economic-Impacts-Final-Cover-07-17-2017.pdf">2017 study</a> produced by the American Petroleum Institute (API), a <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Petroleum_Institute">trade and lobbying association</a>. Going beyond promoting the oil and gas industry, the API has distinguished itself in recent years by funding groups and initiatives that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/02/oil-industry-fighting-climate-policy-states/606640/">fight efforts to address climate change</a>. In January 2021, the French energy group Total chose to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d18e0129-c42a-4698-aa22-8ee70fd49130">leave the API</a>, citing its opposition to US membership in the Paris climate agreement and its support for officials and groups that minimize or deny climate change.</p>
<p>The API’s study asserts that nearly 2.8 million jobs were directly linked to fossil fuels, including the many freelance workers employed in extraction. The rest are indirect and induced jobs – 5.3 million in sectors sustained by the spending of oil and gas companies (indirect) or that of their workers (induced), as well as 2.2 million generated by the capital investments of companies profiting from these activities.</p>
<p>Some states are certainly highly dependent on the oil and gas industry. In Texas, for example, almost 2 million jobs are in some way related to oil and gas (12.2% of overall employment across the state); in Oklahoma, 16.6% of all jobs are related. According to the API’s study, each job in the petrol and gas industry generates 2.7 jobs in other branches of the economy. This ratio is in line with <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/updated-employment-multipliers-for-the-u-s-economy/">results</a> published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), estimating the number of additional jobs for each job in the extraction industry at 3.9 in 2019.</p>
<h2>Many jobs would remain</h2>
<p>When all was said and done, not only did Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, but the Democrats also won control of <a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-job-gets-easier-after-senate-wins-in-georgia-but-dont-expect-a-progressive-revolution-152176">both the House and the Senate</a>. So does this mean that 10.3 million jobs in the US oil and gas industry will be eliminated if Biden’s energy plan becomes law? Absolutely not and for at least two reasons.</p>
<p>The API’s figures assumes the elimination of jobs that will continue to exist no matter what the US energy sector looks like in the future. Out of the 2.8 million direct jobs, more than 1 million are linked to the distribution of gas and petrol; others are linked to the manufacture of lubricants, or paving mix and asphalt blocks for roads. </p>
<p>Of course, switching to cleaner energy sources would not mark the end of roads or fuel stations; they would simply adapt to consumers’ needs – for example, offering battery-charging facilities or hydrogen fuel. Looking at the associated activities, only 6 million out of the 10.3 million jobs are specifically contingent on oil and gas production. That leaves 4.3 million jobs that will continue untouched.</p>
<h2>A net-zero emissions economy by 2050</h2>
<p>Biden’s plan does not call for a stop to the extraction of fossil fuels, nor a ban on fracking. Instead, it suggests progressively replacing them with renewable energies that will <a href="https://qz.com/1918202/the-meaning-behind-joe-bidens-job-creating-climate-plan/">generate new jobs</a>. His <a href="https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/">program</a> for a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 provides for $2,000 billion in spending, with the aim of reorienting the automobile industry’s technological strategy, increasing electricity production from clean energy, and repair ecosystems that have been damaged by resource extraction – mainly by abandoned, unplugged gas and oil wells. According to the plan, ecosystem rehabilitation alone would generate <a href="https://thebipartisanpost.com/all-articles/analyzing-joe-bidens-build-back-better-plan">250,000 direct jobs</a>.</p>
<p>Employment losses in the fossil-fuel sector must be weighed against the new jobs that would be created by the swiftly growing renewable-energy sector. The claim that 10.3 million jobs would be lost – even that 6 million would be – is thus very far off the mark. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Fact check US is supported by <a href="https://craignewmarkphilanthropies.org/">Craig Newmark Philanthropies</a>, an American foundation fighting against disinformation.</em></p>
<p><em>This article was translated from the French by Alice Heathwood for <a href="http://www.fastforword.fr/en">Fast ForWord</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148966/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Republicans claim that Biden’s clean-energy program would mean massive job losses in the oil-and-gas sector. The figures cited are not supported by the facts.Thérèse Rebière, Maître de conférences en économie, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM)Isabelle Lebon, Professeur des Universités, directrice adjointe du Centre de recherche en économie et management, Université de Caen NormandieLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1465282020-10-22T12:24:54Z2020-10-22T12:24:54ZFracking takes a toll on mental health as drilling and truck traffic rattle neighborhoods<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364850/original/file-20201021-17-16hi0zt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=142%2C33%2C4590%2C2808&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Noise, pollution and other stressors from trucks and drilling can harm residents' health. In Colorado, an upcoming vote on new setback rules is expected to widen the buffer zone.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/homes-and-natural-gas-drill-rig-frederick-colorado-royalty-free-image/181097775">Milehightraveler/iistock via Getty</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hydraulic fracturing has boomed in the U.S. over the past decade, but unless you live near it, you may not realize just how close fracking wells can be to homes and schools. In Colorado, the wellbore – the hole drilled to extract oil or gas – can be 500 feet from someone’s house under current state rules. In some states, like <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421513007507">Texas</a>, drilling can be even closer.</p>
<p>For people living in these areas, that means <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/noise-pollution-from-fracking-may-harm-human-health/">noise</a>, pollution and other stressors that can harm physical and mental health.</p>
<p>People with homes near fracking operations describe vibrations that can make sleep difficult and disturb their pets. <a href="https://www.fractracker.org/2014/09/truck-counts/">Truck traffic</a> around wellpads adds to the noise, dust and other airborne pollutants, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31136715/">creating another layer of industrial disruption</a>.</p>
<p>One woman I spoke with had a 30-foot-high sound wall put up around her property, but the parade of semitrucks at all hours still rattled her home, and the sound wall couldn’t keep out the noise. When she opened her bedroom curtains, all she saw was a brown wall where she used to have mountain views. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9cA_KYAAAAAJ&hl=en">social scientist</a> who studies extractive industries and their environmental justice and health impacts, I have spent years in communities with unconventional oil and gas activity, visiting homes and well sites.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101720">My research shows</a> that living near fracking sites can lead to chronic stress and self-reported depression. These effects often relate to systemic problems associated with the industry.</p>
<h2>Consequences of the fracking boom</h2>
<p>The boom in hydraulic fracturing started around 2010 and made the U.S. the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36292">No. 1 producer of hydrocarbons</a> globally. In Colorado, fracking has since helped quadruple oil production and increased natural gas production.</p>
<p>But that growth has come with consequences. By 2017, researchers estimated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1535">4.7 million people</a> lived within 1 mile of an unconventional oil or gas well in the U.S.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration of how fracking operates." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364848/original/file-20201021-15-ewk7p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364848/original/file-20201021-15-ewk7p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364848/original/file-20201021-15-ewk7p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364848/original/file-20201021-15-ewk7p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364848/original/file-20201021-15-ewk7p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364848/original/file-20201021-15-ewk7p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364848/original/file-20201021-15-ewk7p4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hydraulic fracturing uses water, sand and chemicals to fracture rock deep underground and release oil and gas inside.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/hydraulic-fracturing-flat-schematic-vector-royalty-free-illustration/948054748">Vectormine via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Health studies have found <a href="https://www.ceh.org/latest/press-releases/fracking-chemicals-linked-to-respiratory-health-risks/">respiratory difficulties</a> like coughing and wheezing in people living and working near fracking sites. Other studies have found <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/fracking/pdfs/Colborn_2011_Natural_Gas_from_a_public_health_perspective.pdf">increases in endocrine-disrupting chemicals</a> that can affect <a href="https://www.cpr.org/2019/07/19/cu-anschutz-study-suggests-link-between-oil-and-gas-developments-and-child-heart-defects/">pregnant women and children</a>, including raising the risks of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306722">birth defects</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170423">childhood cancers</a>.</p>
<p>Emissions of <a href="https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/16/3033/2019/">methane</a>, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, have also spiked around <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/fracking-boom-tied-to-methane-spike-in-earths-atmosphere/">oil and gas activity</a>.</p>
<p>Less well understood have been the effects on mental health.</p>
<p>In a new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101720">study on the mental health effects</a>, I examined multiple communities across northern Colorado, surveyed hundreds of households and visited people’s homes, schools and wellpads.</p>
<p>Two drivers of stress and mental health harm stood out:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>First, people report chronic stress and depression related to their uncertainty about environmental and public health risks – and inadequate access to useful information about it. </p></li>
<li><p>Second, stress and depression relate to people’s experiences of political powerlessness – particularly their inability to control the activity, where it occurs, and how it is regulated. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Previous studies have suggested links to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29747-2">depression</a> and lower <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2017.10.009">quality of life</a>, as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041186">social psychological</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12204">impacts</a>, such as increased tensions within communities, but these studies typically used surveys or government data. This new research looked closer at people’s experiences.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<h2>Fearing the unknown</h2>
<p>Imagine you <a href="https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2016/11/02/fractured-triple-creek-extraction-oil-and-gas/">live in northern Colorado</a>. A company notifies you that it will start drilling in the open space in your subdivision that you can see from your backyard or deck. You try to find information about the health or environmental risks, but that information is locked behind a publisher’s paywall or it is buried in hundreds of pages full of technical language.</p>
<p>One of the people I interviewed, a 45-year-old teacher who has lived in his community his entire life, talked about stress from the uncertainties of living near fracking: “What’s stressful is the unknowns and how this industry is operating behind a curtain all the time. … When you <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2016/01/06/toxins-found-fracking-fluids-and-wastewater-study-shows">don’t know the chemicals</a> they’re pumping down. You don’t know <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aar5982">where they’re getting the water</a>. You don’t know how much these tanks are leaking. … To me, that is stressful, the not knowing.”</p>
<p>Other people reported feeling stress over uncertainties about long-term impacts. A retired former city worker said: “We’re lab rats right now. They’re learning about it as they’re going. … We don’t know what the impacts are going to be 20 years down the line.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A drilling rig goes up near a bank building in Fort Worth, Texas." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364831/original/file-20201021-15-1fc513y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364831/original/file-20201021-15-1fc513y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364831/original/file-20201021-15-1fc513y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364831/original/file-20201021-15-1fc513y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364831/original/file-20201021-15-1fc513y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364831/original/file-20201021-15-1fc513y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364831/original/file-20201021-15-1fc513y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urban business areas have also had drilling next door.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/62459458@N08/7603258544">Jeremy Buckingham</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people feel powerless to do anything about it. In Colorado, people typically have only three minutes to talk during public meetings, while the companies have more time to present their cases.</p>
<p>A middle-aged woman living with a wellpad about 1,000 feet from her deck explained why public meetings felt so exclusive: “This was a public hearing … and they turned it over to [an oil company] to give their slideshow. … [The oil company] proceeded to do about a two-hour presentation, so there was no time for public input. So four or five people out of a hundred people who wanted to protest got a chance to talk. It’s very hard to be heard.”</p>
<p>These patterns emerged across my data. </p>
<p>About 90% of the people I interviewed reported increased, chronic stress related to nearby fracking operations, and 75% reported feeling long-term depression – particularly because of the uncertainty about the impacts and feeling powerless to stop it.</p>
<h2>What can be done about it?</h2>
<p>Governments could help address some of these systemic problems fairly quickly.</p>
<p>The first step is to provide easy-to-understand, accurate information about the environmental and public health risks, as well as the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12198">economic risks and benefits</a>. </p>
<p>Governments can also give people more meaningful opportunities to participate in zoning and other decisions about how, when and where hydraulic fracturing takes place. </p>
<p>Fixing the health and environment risks that underlie the stress is more challenging. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is expected in early November to finalize new drilling rules that include a <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/09/24/2000-foot-oil-and-gas-setback-colorado/">2,000-foot setback from homes</a>, the widest statewide rule in the country, but wells could still be built closer. </p>
<p>People I’ve interviewed have reported feeling a sense of empowerment by organizing with others to fight for more local control. But solutions aren’t only the responsibility of governments or the public; companies must be accountable, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146528/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Malin receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Colorado Water Center, the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (a branch of NIH), the Rural Sociological Society, and CSU School of Global Environmental Sustainability.</span></em></p>Living near oil and gas production can affect mental health, driving stress and feelings of depression.Stephanie Malin, Associate Professor of Sociology; Co-Founder and Steering Committee Member, Center for Environmental Justice at CSU, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1450092020-08-25T05:55:35Z2020-08-25T05:55:35Z4 reasons why a gas-led economic recovery is a terrible, naïve idea<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354526/original/file-20200825-24-1p2iz24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C15%2C3430%2C2281&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s leading scientists today <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australia-s-chief-scientist-is-wrong-on-gas-say-leading-experts-20200824-p55oty.html">sent an open letter</a> to Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, speaking out against his support for natural gas. </p>
<p>Finkel has <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/news-and-media/national-press-club-address-orderly-transition-electric-planet">said</a> natural gas plays a critical role in Australia’s transition to clean energy. But, as the scientists write:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>that approach is not consistent with a safe climate nor, more specifically, with the Paris Agreement. There is no role for an expansion of the gas industry.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And yet, momentum in the support for gas investment is building. Leaked draft <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/21/leaked-covid-19-commission-report-calls-for-australian-taxpayers-to-underwrite-gas-industry-expansion">recommendations</a> from the government’s top business advisers support a gas-led economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They call for a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-24/gas-led-coronavirus-economic-recovery-national-covid19-comission/12587770">A$6 billion</a> investment in gas development in Australia.</p>
<p>This is a terrible idea. Spending billions on gas infrastructure and development under the guise of a COVID-19 economic recovery strategy — with no attempt to address pricing or anti-competitive behaviour — is ill-considered and injudicious. </p>
<p>It will not herald Australia’s economic recovery. Rather, it’s likely to hinder it. </p>
<h2>The proposals ignore obvious concerns</h2>
<p>The draft recommendations — from the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission — include lifting the moratorium on fracking and coal seam gas in New South Wales and remaining restrictions <a href="https://theconversation.com/victoria-quietly-lifted-its-gas-exploration-pause-but-banned-fracking-for-good-its-bad-news-for-the-climate-133923">in Victoria</a>, and reducing red and “green tape”.</p>
<p>It also recommends providing low-cost capital to existing small and medium market participants, underwriting costs at priority supply hubs, and investing in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-21/nccc-manufacturing-taskforce-draft-report-powerpoints/12270286?nw=0">strategic pipeline development</a>. </p>
<p>But the proposals have failed to address a range of fundamental concerns.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>gas is an <a href="https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2020/03/narrabri-gas-project/correspondence/edo/sackett-narrabri-gas-project-ipc-advice-revised_final.pdf">emissions-intensive</a> fuel</p></li>
<li><p>demand for fossil fuels are in terminal decline across the world and investing in new infrastructure today is likely to generate <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/fossil-fuel-demand-in-terminal-decline-report-20200603-p54z35">stranded assets</a> in the not-too-distant future</p></li>
<li><p>renewable technology and storage capacity have rapidly accelerated, so gas is no longer a <a href="https://ieefa.org/ieefa-australia-gas-is-not-a-transition-fuel-prime-minister/">necessary transition resource</a>, contrary to <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/news-and-media/national-press-club-address-orderly-transition-electric-planet">Finkel’s claims</a></p></li>
<li><p>domestic gas pricing in the east coast market is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">unregulated</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Let’s explore each point. </p>
<h2>The effect on climate change</h2>
<p>Accelerating gas production will increase greenhouse gas emissions. <a href="https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2020/03/narrabri-gas-project/correspondence/edo/sackett-narrabri-gas-project-ipc-advice-revised_final.pdf">Approximately half</a> of Australian gas reserves need to remain in the ground if global warming is to stay under 2°C by 2030. </p>
<p>Natural gas primarily consists of methane, and the role of methane in global warming <a href="http://climatecollege.unimelb.edu.au/review-current-and-future-methane-emissions-australian-unconventional-oil-and-gas-production">cannot be overstated</a>. It’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials">estimated</a> that over 20 years, methane traps 86 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-contentious-nsw-gas-project-is-weeks-away-from-approval-here-are-3-reasons-it-should-be-rejected-144201">A contentious NSW gas project is weeks away from approval. Here are 3 reasons it should be rejected</a>
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<p>And fast-tracking controversial projects, such as the <a href="https://narrabrigasproject.com.au/">Narrabri Gas Project</a> in northern NSW, will add <a href="https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2020/03/narrabri-gas-project/correspondence/edo/sackett-narrabri-gas-project-ipc-advice-revised_final.pdf">an estimated</a> 500 million tonnes of additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. </p>
<p>Accelerating such unconventional gas projects also <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/overview_of_environmental_impacts_of_shale_gas_and_oil_398na1_en.pdf">threatens to</a> exacerbate damage to forests, wildlife habitat, water quality and water levels because of land clearing, chemical contamination and fracking.</p>
<p>These potential threats are enormous concerns for our agricultural sector. Insurance Australia Group, one of the largest insurance companies in Australia, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-10/coal-seam-gas-farmers-queensland-insurance-pull-out-iag/12337156">has indicated</a> it will no longer provide public liability insurance for farmers if coal seam gas equipment is on their land.</p>
<h2>Fossil fuels in decline</h2>
<p>Investing in gas makes absolutely no sense when renewable energy and storage solutions are expanding at such a rapid pace. </p>
<p>It will only result in stranded assets. Stranded assets are investments that don’t generate a viable economic return. The financial risks associated with stranded fossil fuel assets are prompting many large institutions to join the growing <a href="http://carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-2-Web-Version.pdf">divestment movement</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-doesnt-make-economic-sense-to-ignore-climate-change-in-our-recovery-from-the-pandemic-137282">Why it doesn't make economic sense to ignore climate change in our recovery from the pandemic</a>
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<p>Solar, wind and hydropower are rolling out at <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2019">unprecedented speed</a>. Globally, renewable power capacity is set to expand by 50% between 2019 and 2024, led by solar PV. </p>
<p>Solar PV alone accounts for almost 60% of the expected growth, with onshore wind representing one-quarter. This is followed by offshore wind capacity, which is forecast to triple by 2024.</p>
<h2>Domestic pricing is far too expensive</h2>
<p>Domestic gas in Australia’s east coast market is ridiculously expensive. The east coast gas market in Australia is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">like a cartel</a>, and consumers and industry have experienced enormous price hikes over the last decade. This means there is not even a cost incentive for investing in gas. </p>
<p>Indeed, the price shock from rising gas prices has forced major manufacturing and chemical plants <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">to close</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">domestic price</a> of gas has trebled over the last decade, even though the international price of gas has plummeted by up to 40% during the pandemic. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-plenty-of-gas-but-the-price-is-extreme-the-market-is-broken-125130">Australia has plenty of gas, but the price is extreme. The market is broken</a>
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<p>As Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Simms declared in the interim gas <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">report</a> released last week, these price issues are “extremely concerning” and raise “serious questions about the level of competition among producers”.</p>
<p>To date, the federal government has done <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/gas-reservation-is-not-a-bogyman-20200520-p54un3">very little</a> in response, despite the implementation of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism in 2017. </p>
<p>This mechanism gives the minister the power to restrict LNG exports when there’s insufficient domestic supply. The idea is that shoring up supply would stabilise domestic pricing. </p>
<p>But the minister <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-01/review-of-the-australian-domestic-gas-security-mechanism-2019.pdf">has never</a> exercised the power. The draft proposals put forward by the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission do not address these concerns.</p>
<h2>A gas-led disaster</h2>
<p>There is no doubt gas producers are suffering. COVID-19 has resulted in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chevron-outlook/chevron-expects-10-billion-11-billion-charge-in-fourth-quarter-plans-asset-sales-idUSKBN1YE2MK">US$11 billion</a> of Chevron gas and LNG assets being put up for sale.</p>
<p>And the reduction in energy demand caused by COVID-19 has produced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/30/covid-19-crisis-demand-fossil-fuels-iea-renewable-electricity">record low oil prices</a>. Low oil prices can stifle investment in new sources of supply, reducing the ability and incentive of producers to explore for and develop gas.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victoria-quietly-lifted-its-gas-exploration-pause-but-banned-fracking-for-good-its-bad-news-for-the-climate-133923">Victoria quietly lifted its gas exploration pause but banned fracking for good. It’s bad news for the climate</a>
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<p>It’s clear the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission’s recommendations are oriented towards helping gas producers. But investing in gas production and development won’t help Australia as a whole recover from the pandemic. </p>
<p>The age of peak fossil fuel is over. Accelerating renewable energy production, which coheres with climate targets and a decarbonising global economy, is the only way forward. </p>
<p>A COVID-19 economic strategy that fails to appreciate this not only naïve, it’s contrary to the interests of broader Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Hepburn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Investment in gas will not herald Australia’s economic recovery. It’s likely to hinder it.Samantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1369882020-04-23T10:30:55Z2020-04-23T10:30:55ZWill American shale oil go bust?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329799/original/file-20200422-47826-9rv4c9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What goes up... </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/us-oil-industry-price-crash-due-1709506078">Aku Alip</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>US oil is suffering unprecedented distress, as demonstrated by the benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude price crashing into negative territory. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/21/the-oil-industry-shakeout-is-just-beginning-with-more-production-cuts-and-bankruptcies-ahead.html">This is</a> a “triple <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blackswan.asp">black swan</a>” of an oversupply of oil driven by <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/opec-plus-zero-sum-oil-game">Opec and Russia</a>, COVID-19 demand destruction, and having nowhere to store it. </p>
<p>Oil traders reacted on April 20, the day that May forward contracts for WTI crude were due to settle. Many <a href="https://theconversation.com/oil-crash-explained-how-are-negative-oil-prices-even-possible-136829">offloaded</a> their contracts at any price to avoid taking delivery of oil they couldn’t store, and the May WTI price <a href="http://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/4/20/wti-crude-price-goes-negative-for-the-first-time-in-history">plunged to</a> US$-37.53 (£-30.36). Now attention has turned to the June price, which is <a href="https://www.barchart.com/futures/quotes/CLM20">just under US$15</a>, still the lowest <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart">in decades</a>. </p>
<p>Though prices will rebound, the bigger question concerns long-term viability. US oil companies have feasted on a decade-long diet of rampant liquidity thanks to very low short-term interest rates and quantitative easing. With many able to finance and refinance drilling with a breakeven price <a href="https://www.dallasfed.org/-/media/Documents/research/energy/energycharts.pdf?la=en">of US$40</a> and above per barrel?, this brought into play lots of shale oil, whose fracking requirements are far costlier than basic onshore oil. </p>
<p>This tripled US oil production in the past decade to become world number one, overtaking Russia and Saudi Arabia. Around two-thirds <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=847&t=6">is shale</a>, which is now in big trouble. Of the 16% of US companies that are “zombies”, meaning cash flow doesn’t cover their debts, a good proportion will be in oil. Oil companies’ loans will be based on assumptions about prices that definitely won’t include the current levels. Companies also finance themselves by issuing corporate bonds at the lowest investment grade. These are vulnerable to being downgraded to junk, causing borrowing costs to rise sharply. </p>
<p><strong>US crude oil production in barrels per day</strong></p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329730/original/file-20200422-47794-1v5glmm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hbr.org/2020/04/10-questions-to-guide-boards-through-the-pandemic">Macrotrends</a></span>
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<p>Even “normal” onshore drilling looks challenging today, with over two-thirds of Texas wells <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-20/texas-like-opec-can-t-turn-back-time-to-protect-oil-producers">uneconomic</a> at prices below US$25 by some estimates. Rigs <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-21/world-s-biggest-oil-storage-firm-says-almost-all-space-is-sold">are shut down</a> as <a href="https://oilprice-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/A-Massive-Wave-Of-Shut-Ins-Fails-To-Halt-Oil-Price-Crash.amp.html">there is</a> nowhere for oil to go, globally. </p>
<p>The value of US energy companies in the S&P 500 <a href="https://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500-energy-sector">has halved</a> in 2020 to US$633 billion, less than half that of Microsoft. Research firm Rystad Energy <a href="https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Market-Crash-Could-Lead-To-Mass-Bankruptcies.html">predicts</a> up to 533 bankruptcies by the end of 2021 if WTI prices average US$20, a massive increase from 2019. So where do things go from here?</p>
<h2>The road to Black April</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/">Opec</a>, led by the Saudis, controls substantial portions of global oil. It tries to set oil prices by raising or cutting production. For the past three years, Opec has been making these decisions in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/business/russia-opec-saudi-arabia-cut-oil-output.html">formal alliance</a> with Russia and other nations that is known as Opec Plus. </p>
<p>Two events caused the current crisis. Saudi Arabia flooded the market with oil in March after Russia refused to sanction any further Opec action to raise the price. This caused a price war just when COVID-19 was crushing world oil demand. Prices fell hard. </p>
<p><strong>West Texas Intermediate crude price in US$</strong></p>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil">BBC</a></span>
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<p>To some, the Russians and Saudis were playing a “good cop, bad cop” routine to drive US shale out of business, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2020/03/saudi-arabia-oil-price-war-russia-200315114308947.html">with the</a> Saudis playing protector of global prices and the Russians, wounded by US economic sanctions, refusing to play ball. Either way, both <a href="https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/the-new-deal-for-oil-markets-implications-for-russias-short-term-tactics-and-long-term-strategy/?v=79cba1185463">have much to gain</a> by knocking out pricier US shale. Meanwhile, China has been buying up Saudi and Russian oil on the uber cheap, while <a href="https://www-rigzone-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.rigzone.com/news/wire/trump_urged_to_pressure_china_on_us_oil_promise-21-apr-2020-161836-article/?amp">delaying on promises</a> to buy US oil. </p>
<p>Some say the Saudi-Russia price warriors miscalculated America’s response. President Trump <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daneberhart/2020/04/15/an-oil-cut-deal-if-you-can-keep-it/#207794d44f66">used threats</a> like <a href="https://www.insider.com/trump-threatens-saudi-arabia-russia-oil-tariffs-2020-4">hefty oil tariffs</a> to secure a <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/opec-plus-zero-sum-oil-game">new Opec Plus deal</a> to cut production by 10% on April 12. This was <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/150df67b-839f-455a-9546-6edf72a08df0">bolstered by</a> production cuts from other G20 countries. Yet prices <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil">kept falling</a>: arguably the deal was more about allowing Americans to save face rather than seriously committing to production cuts, and therefore higher prices and stability. </p>
<p>With a sniper’s precision, some believe, Saudi oil tankers <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-oil-stranded-in-supertankers-as-backlog-piles-up-11587478831">are timed</a> to reach New Orleans in May to unload a 50 million barrel “<a href="https://oilprice-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Incoming-50-Million-Barrel-Saudi-Oil-Bomb-Could-Send-Prices-Even-Lower.amp.html">oil bomb</a>” into Saudi-owned US refineries. There is precious little space for existing American crude, much less Saudi imports, hence the April 20 historic price drop. </p>
<h2>Uncle Sam to the rescue?</h2>
<p>Trump has said the US <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/21/oil-prices-fall-below-zero-coronavirus-barrels-crude">is devising</a> a rescue plan to save its oil industry. <a href="https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/cares-act-key-takeaways-for-energy-companies">As part of</a> its US$2 trillion <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-anatomy-of-the-2-trillion-covid-19-stimulus-bill/">stimulus package</a>, rescue moves <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-regulators-decline-to-force-oil-cuts-but-companies-are-cutting-anyway-11587486457">could even include</a> buying stakes in firms, though negotiating with congressional Democrats looks difficult. </p>
<p>An alternative is to “virtually” buy more US oil and await better days, paying production companies to keep it in the ground – possibly by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-16/trump-spr-plan-would-pay-frackers-for-virtual-oil">designating this</a> part of the US strategic petroleum reserve. This would help contain <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2020/04/18/one-chart-shows-coronavirus-stunning-job-losses/#50c8341a7fb0">jobs devastation</a> and help Trump in <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/13/economic-meltdown-democrats-hope-texas-184613">vote-rich Texas</a> and other key areas, while pleasing contributors to his campaign war chest. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-20/trump-eyes-saudi-oil-import-ban-spr-fill-as-prices-go-negative">Another option</a> is retaliatory tariffs on Saudi oil refined in America, or even a full ban. </p>
<p>Oil companies are restructuring hastily – assessing the value of reserves, and asking creditors for debt waivers. The US government has helped <a href="https://home.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/us/pdf/2020/03/tnf-cares-act-signed-mar30-2020.pdf">by extending</a> companies’ ability to offset losses against future tax liabilities, which can make them more attractive to buyers. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, some companies sitting on the priciest oil will get liquidated. In other cases, big creditor banks could take over businesses, or demand mergers and acquisitions, including consolidations. </p>
<p>The biggest uncertainty is how long until the oil price rebounds? With <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/what-happens-if-country-reopens-on-may-1#1">the economy</a> only likely to reopen gradually, demand will stay low for some time while supply remains too high. <a href="https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/crude-oil/light-sweet-crude.html">The futures markets</a> expect WTI to bounce back to the high US$20s by the end of the year, but don’t foresee a return to even US$40 oil until December 2024. </p>
<p>How much US shale oil is worth saving in these straitened circumstances is key. <a href="https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/3/27/experts-see-a-future-for-shale-rocks-don-t-go-bankrupt">Some estimate</a> as many as 70% of firms will go out of business overall, with some never coming back until oil stabilises above US$50. Others may be taken over by companies prepared to wait for higher prices. As oil historian <a href="https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/3/27/experts-see-a-future-for-shale-rocks-don-t-go-bankrupt">Daniel Yergin says</a>, “Rocks don’t go bankrupt”. US shale is in a sort of death pageant, and will probably remain that way for the foreseeable future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jorge Guira does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Oil prices are going through what some have termed Black April, but the bigger question is what happens longer term to US oil.Jorge Guira, Associate Professor of Law and Finance, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1339232020-03-18T18:49:21Z2020-03-18T18:49:21ZVictoria quietly lifted its gas exploration pause but banned fracking for good. It’s bad news for the climate<p>Amid coronavirus chaos, the Victorian government announced its <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-17/victoria-lifts-ban-on-onshore-gas-exploration-but-bans-fracking/12063196">decision</a> earlier this week to lift the ban on onshore gas exploration, but also to make the temporary state-wide ban on fracking permanent. </p>
<p>This decision was made three years after an <a href="https://earthresources.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/524483/VGP_PR04-120320-Hi-Res.pdf">investigation</a> found gas reserves in the state could be extracted without any environmental impacts, and new laws will be introduced to parliament for drilling to start in July next year. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-policies-are-wildly-inconsistent-across-australia-from-gung-ho-development-to-total-bans-108039">Fracking policies are wildly inconsistent across Australia, from gung-ho development to total bans</a>
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<p>The state government first introduced <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/num_act/rlaba20178o2017448/s1.html">the moratorium</a> (temporary ban) on onshore conventional and unconventional gas production in 2017, enshrined in the <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/mrda1990432/">Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990</a>. It effectively made it an offence to either conduct coal seam gas exploration or hydraulic fracturing (fracking) until June 2020. </p>
<p>The ban was originally imposed amid strong concerns about the environmental, climate and social impacts of onshore gas expansion. But lifting the ban to allow conventional gas exploration while banning fracking and unconventional gas (coal seam gas), doesn’t remove these concerns.</p>
<h2>The fracking ban isn’t so permanent</h2>
<p>The new laws seek to do two things: lift the ban on conventional onshore gas production, and to entrench a ban on fracking and coal seam gas exploration into the state constitution. </p>
<p>The government has stated it wants to make it difficult for future governments to remove the fracking ban. But this is highly unlikely to be legally effective. Unlike the federal constitution, the Victorian constitution is an ordinary act, and so it can be amended by another legal act.</p>
<p>The only way entrenching an amendment in the state constitution so that it is permanent and unchangeable is if it relates to the operation and procedure of parliament. And fracking does not do this. </p>
<p>This raises the spectre of a future government removing the fracking ban in line with an accelerating onshore gas framework.</p>
<h2>Conventional vs unconventional gas</h2>
<p>The main difference between conventional gas and unconventional gas (coal seam gas) lies in their geology. </p>
<p>Conventional gas can generally be extracted without the need to frack, as gas can move to the surface through gas wells. To release unconventional gas, particularly shale gas, fracking is always required. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-energy-security-and-how-has-it-changed-102476">Explainer: what is energy security, and how has it changed?</a>
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<p>Fracking technologies risk water quality from ground disturbances, spills, the release of chemicals and other fluids, and the underground migration of gases and chemicals. </p>
<p>So lifting the conventional onshore gas ban while keeping the fracking ban will mean less risk to the environment. But extracting conventional gas is still risky. </p>
<h2>Greenhouse gas leaks</h2>
<p>Extracting conventional gas risks fugitive emissions. This refers to greenhouse gases, such as methane, that can escape into the atmosphere during mining fossil fuels, such as from equipment leaks, deliberate or accidental venting, or from gas flaring. </p>
<p>Precise measurements of the fugitive emissions from onshore conventional gas production are difficult to predict, but their effect on climate change is alarming.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/factsheet/fugitive-methane-emissions-factsheet/">latest estimates</a> indicate fugitive emissions account for approximately 6% of Australia’s national greenhouse gas emissions. Fugitive emissions also have about 27 times the greenhouse harming potential of carbon dioxide. </p>
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<p>In 2017, the Australian Gas Industry argued well managed sites <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/9df52cf7-6de2-46ae-9072-006d83e1cfa4/files/fugitive-emissions-2017.pdf">produce little</a> fugitive emissions, and poorly managed sites were responsible for 75% of fugitive emissions. </p>
<p>This means any expansion of onshore conventional gas must be accompanied by strict management and regulation. But there’s no industry-wide code of practice in Victoria <a href="https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/20150819-Unconventional-gas.pdf">focused on</a> reducing this emissions risk. </p>
<h2>Increasing annual emissions</h2>
<p>Even in the unlikely scenario of zero or limited fugitive emissions, expanding conventional gas exploration will still add to Victoria’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>The proposed laws follow the conclusions of a <a href="https://earthresources.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/524483/VGP_PR04-120320-Hi-Res.pdf">three-year study</a> that reviewed the climate, environmental, economic and social impacts of gas exploration in Victoria. </p>
<p>The report suggested a slight increase in absolute annualised greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, Victoria’s annual greenhouse gas emissions would be proportionately increased by lifting the ban. </p>
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<p>It also suggested expanding gas development would contribute between only 0.1% and 0.2% of Victoria’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, and that this wouldn’t affect Victoria’s 2050 net-zero target. </p>
<p>But 0.1% to 0.2% still amounts to releasing an additional 122,000 to 329,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent into the atmosphere. </p>
<p>What’s more, this assessment <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/victoria-slammed-for-using-misleading-data-to-justify-lifting-of-gas-moratorium-88628/">completely ignores</a> emissions released through increased gas usage within the community. Globally, CO₂ emissions from natural gas use rose almost 200 million metric tons in 2019 and were <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0659-6">responsible for</a> two-thirds of the global emissions increase.</p>
<h2>What it means for the community</h2>
<p>The report predicts 242 jobs, A$312 million in gross regional product and A$43 million in royalties for Victoria. But overall, gas prices in the east coast market won’t change. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-plenty-of-gas-but-the-price-is-extreme-the-market-is-broken-125130">Australia has plenty of gas, but the price is extreme. The market is broken</a>
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<p>The additional 128-830 petajoules (a joule is a measure of thermal energy and a petajoule is a million billion joules) that is potentially capable of being produced by lifting the moratorium will not be enough to address the forecast shortfall. </p>
<p>For the communities around the gas exploration sites, the report indicates the social impact of lifting the moratorium would be manageable. </p>
<p>The report indicates that 80% of the south-west and Gippsland communities – from more than 800 engagements with industry, farmers, local school students, and environmental community groups – either supported or tolerated onshore conventional gas development if noise or disturbances were appropriately addressed through regulation. But industry wide codes of behaviour are yet to be implemented.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-climate-change-australias-mining-giants-are-an-accessory-to-the-crime-124077">When it comes to climate change, Australia's mining giants are an accessory to the crime</a>
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<h2>At what cost?</h2>
<p>Lifting the ban on onshore conventional gas in Victoria comes at a time when the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is profoundly important. </p>
<p>Climate change is accelerating. While gas may be an important resource as we transition to renewable energy, accelerating its production, particularly in the absence of stringent regulatory controls, comes at a very high price.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133923/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Hepburn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The government says it’ll make a fracking ban ‘permanent’, but it can still be overturned by another government in future.Samantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.