I am writing to ask you to vote against the Government’s changes to the Infrastructure Bill on fracking that remove any guarantee that drinking water sources will be protected from fracking, and to call for an immediate fracking moratorium.
The changes made in the House of Lords weaken several of the 13 conditions accepted by Government in the House of Commons, including vital provisions to protect drinking water from fracking.
Please vote to ensure fracking is banned in all ground water source protection zones 1 – 3.
Although these protections would make fracking safer, they cannot make it safe because fracking is inherently risky, and would exacerbate climate change.
I am therefore asking that you call for an immediate fracking moratorium in the House of Commons. While the UK Government attempts to weaken the few protections we have, the rest of Britain is taking measures to protect the health of communities and the climate.
I urge you call on Government to follow the lead of Wales and Scotland by bringing forward an immediate fracking moratorium so that the risks to health and climate change can be fully investigated.
The sooner we follow in the footsteps of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, New York State, Denton (Texas) – and the rest of Britain – by stopping fracking, the better for our communities, the climate and our local environment.
I’ve blogged before about Peterborough and the attitude to cyclists held by the Leader of the Council and the centre of the city has just experienced “aggressive pavement cyclists” targeted by police. (I deplore the use of a word like “aggressive” to stereotype a wide community which cycles on pavements.)
But here we go again, this time with a word which suggests one superior tribe (maybe driving Chelsea tractors?) looking down on another primitive and uncivilised group (maybe all these things because they can’t afford a Chelsea tractor?).
Given that bicycles can’t really eat one another, I assume the police peep believes that the cyclists are stealing each others’ bicycles? I’m really not sure how such a useless assertion will help the police catch thieves. What I can tell the police is that this use of language is calculated to annoy cyclists with even the smallest bit of linguistic and political sensitivity. Like me.
I wonder when Peterborough’s leading political and police peeps will make it into the twentieth century and or cycling enlightenment?
I am convinced that the design of wind turbines is still in its infancy. Having said that, I don’t really understand why people are sometimes quite rabidly opposed to the air fix propellor on a stick model, which is doing such a great job all over Europe. Yes they are very engineer-y. Yes they are so clearly using technology used in the aircraft industry. Yes, they are very very masculine and depending on where they are put they can be a little domineering. But how could it be otherwise? These are the soldiers: the vanguard of the wind generation revolution: these massive rotators fight to get the tiniest bit of political support, they are the machines which have to demonstrate massive power potential in locations remote from their own consumers. They have not picked their territory: they are nobly fighting to secure a place in the same antiquated network model as the fossil and nuclear power generators we need to replace: not necessarily the ideal battle field for wind. When you look at one of the larger structures you cannot fail to recognise the language of aeroplanes including their use in warfare: even if your awareness is purely instinctive or unconscious. Perhaps that is part of the negativity they sometimes attract. Here they are in cheerful, colourful mode doing their bit to explain and defend the work of the wind energy industry (and attracting the usual derisory moans and grizzles).
But while this massive battle rages, delicate vertical axis models have been available for ages (look up VAWT ). They have been quietly dancing, spinning curvaceously, unobtrusively, like wine glasses or a flimsy dress picking up the tiniest, the slightest breath of wind. The delicacy of what they can do doesn’t always get as far as Youtube, where up-loaders succumb to the prevailing pressure to post videos showing how fast, rather than how slow they can go. Here is one going pretty fast and working flat out for a Welsh school:
A decade ago I felt that the VAWTs might be the future, with their much more feminine profiles, greater potential to blend in and work quietly, more decoratively and much less obtrusively. Unhampered by lurking military resonances. Would they last longer, situated as they can be in much less exposed settings? Would they prove more resilient? They look good near trees and buildings and they work hard in community settings, right alongside the consumer of the power they generate, wasting much less in the grid. I have wondered: would these smaller sideways turners be the future? They certainly don’t seem to generate the same vituperative anti wind spin. If they haven’t already caught your attention look up “vertical axis wind turbine” on Youtube. You will find a huge international ideas festival of designs and the international community of people: engineers, technicians, artists… working on them, in their gardens, in their schools, in their workshops and factories.
Then there are the millions of people fascinated by the decorative potential of wind.
This isn’t a wind turbine: it is a moving sculpture and it talks maths, jellyfish and snowflakes. It appeals to wind chime enthusiasts, garden designers. But can you imagine something like it gently turning on The Green Backyard and providing power? Or in one of Peterborough’s parks? Couldn’t something a little simpler go on your chimney? Couldn’t wind power look stunning?
Considering its location, the unitary authority area of Peterborough has astonishingly low levels of wind generated power. Personally I assume this has to do with its politics. It can’t be to do with its engineering skill base. But did you know that Peterborough does have a well hidden history of wind turbine investigation, if not early adoption? But it is so well hidden that you could be driven to wonder whether it might actually have been concealed. You have to be in the know to have even found out that there is something to look for. I know that someone tried and where it happened: but I only know a tiny bit about it, but it doesn’t make sense: there isn’t a narrative which tells the story. I am sure there must be more to it than I have been able to discover. I also don’t know why this early attempt at wind power generation fell so early and failed to progress. Who or what stopped it in its tracks? Was it really just lack of money? Could that have been what scuppered it? I for one don’t know what happened. I am inviting you to share what you know with me privately using this form or publicly in the comments section:
This is a set of recordings of Full Council. This list was made to help follow these recordings of the event, which are a bit fiddly to follow on Youtube.
The crackle and static are not coming from the recording: they are coming from the council’s own sound system. I am particularly interested in what readers think of this system, which I am given to believe was installed by Serco.
Hats off to Chris York, championing transparency and political accountability. I think it is a tribute to Peterborough’s politicians and politicians elsewhere too, not just the elected councillors that making recordings of debates like this has become possible. As far as I am aware it was always legal, but people have been being slung out of public galleries over the past couple of years for recording events.
Faced with so many challenges, eventually Westminster was forced to make a ruling and councils now have no choice but to give permission. This is the first council meeting I have attended where there was no prohibition notice on the seats in the “Spectators Gallery”.
This shows how some of the best interactions happen behind the scenes and outside the chamber. And some require the sort of skills and technical know how which might not be present in the chamber itself. Well done Chris York.
Dear Stewart Jackson,
Part 1