I have been half expecting someone to start this topic but as nobody else has then i will.

Down here in West Sussex in a little village called Balcombe, very near to the Ardingly resevoir a company called Cuadrilla have been granted licence and permission to do exploratory drilling. The intention is to eventually carry out "Fracking" which is the extraction of Shale gas.

When Balcombe parish council were asked if there was any opposition locally to Cuadrilla doing the test drilling, the parish council were not aware of the implications and the permission slipped through. Now Cuadrilla have started drilling and the residents regret their decision. The Balcombe drilling site has become home to a very large community of protesters who are very concerned about the possible effects on the environment, wildlife, the resevoir etc. The newspapers are full of it. Despite some of the press reports these protesters are ordinairy people very concerned about a largely unproven technology affecting the local area. On the other hand we have the government very keen on Shale gas as the way forward for cheaper energy.

I have my own opinions but have tried to describe whats going on here in an unbiased way. There is also some fracking going on, i believe in Lancashire, and there have been fears of wildlife being driven away, water pollution etc.

If shale gas is found there could be a very large number of wells in the UK perhaps changing the landscape forever. Fracking has already taken place in the USA and Australia (in particular) with disastrous environmental results.

Just wondered what the views were on the forum about Frackin, Cuadrilla and other firms. Who is right the government or the protesters? Maybe they will try Fracking in the Philippines?