Friends of the Earth call for no effing in Birmingham.
Birmingham Friends of the Earth on Saturday called on Birmingham City Council and other councils in the area to swear that it would not allow fracking operations in Birmingham. Local residents joined campaigners to demand that the council declare itself frack-free ahead of a possible new round of licensing that could pave the way for much of the country to be fracked.
As part of the Global Frackdown day of action against fracking, the Friends of the Earth group set up a swear box at Temple Row in the city centre, to make it clear that they believe that ‘fracking’ is a dirty f-word that is not welcome in Birmingham, or anywhere in the surrounding area. The group spoke to concerned passers-by through the course of the day, who were invited to sign postcards addressed to the Leader of the council to say ‘no’ to fracking, and send a message to the Government that fracking is a dirty word.
Julien Pritchard of Birmingham Friends of the Earth said: “Almost everybody we spoke to today said that they don’t want to see fracking – the dirty f-word – in Birmingham or the surrounding area.
“Fracking produces more dirty fossil fuels that will cause more climate change and even the Government and the frackers admit is unlikely to lower our bills. We want Birmingham and other local councils to oppose fracking and we want the Government to get behind renewables and energy saving instead.”
Next year the Government’s dash for gas could quicken as it hopes to open vast swathes of the country to possible fracking with a new round of licensing. This could bring the threat of fracking to thousands more people’s doorsteps, although Birmingham and other councils as the local planning authority have the power to prevent this.
The Government’s plans to punch thousands of holes across the country is at odds with public opinion. Recent polling shows that 52% of people would support wind turbines being built within 10 miles of their house compared to just 18% who would support shale wells.
