Pete Dixon

By Pete Dixon petedixon

Hydraulic fracturing — fracking to you and me — good or bad? Climate and environmental issues aside, it’s clear that most people, when push comes to shove, couldn’t care less and would rather consume than conserve.

Let’s consider it from the angle that most concerns British consumers and our current government in particular: money! Money we can save, and money they can make.

The average citizen is working more for less, and facing increasing bills. So much so that millions of us are now defined as living in fuel poverty. The energy companies are raking in obscene levels of profit yet our bills are rising mercilessly.

Wholesale prices have dropped by 40% and still we pay more. What is our government doing about it? Their reaction is pitiful, reducing tariff types and insisting on bills that make it clearer to understand how much more we are having to pay. Hot air! That’ll address increased elderly mortality and fuel poverty!

Remember when our energy suppliers were privatised? I do. Supply and service would become more efficient, and competition we were promised, would lower prices as companies fought for our custom. That’s not how things have worked out and neither cheaper prices nor energy self-sufficiency will come as a result of fracking.

Why? Firstly, because the estimated reserves of gas are already being questioned and found wanting, just as has transpired in America. BP, British Gas, Shell and others who supply our fossil fuel based energy now, are right now lining up to start fracking in our backyards.

To assist their cause, our government is actively working on their behalf to ensure our reliance on fossil fuels deepens. Mr Cameron and his ministers are currently working to remove legislation which prevents companies drilling under our homes without permission.

Owen Patterson, the Environment Secretary, alongside the Chancellor, is adamant that the UK will be at the forefront of fracking exploration. Mr Osborne has already promised 50% tax breaks to those willing to drill.

Have no doubt, we are not on the verge of achieving fuel freedom or freedom from unjust increases. We are guaranteeing corporate wealth for profit hungry shareholders, including our own county council, who have pension investments worth £1.9 million in Total, a company who are investing £20 million to frack in Lincolnshire.

At the same time, renewable energy sources are subjected to disinformation, ridiculed or completely ignored by mainstream media. Subsidies provided to the renewables sector have been slashed and attacked without a mention of the billions handed out to fossil fuel companies annually.

Surely energy independence would be better achieved through utilizing a variety of resources. Wind, solar, coal, gas and nuclear. As investment grows and technology advances, we reduce our use of fossil fuels and produce genuinely cheaper clean energy for all.

Why haven’t we got solar panels on every suitable rooftop? Imagine the jobs that would have been created. All those new wage earners, helping us get through the recession. Imagine how much cheaper our fuel bills would be now if each property under which solar panels were fitted was paying less and earning a return on energy fed back into the grid.

That is why the push for fracking is on and renewable energy is being suffocated at every turn. Clean, renewable, cheap energy means a genuinely alternative source for us and less tax avoiding profit for the corporate and political elite, their friends and the devious lobbyists in Westminster.

Pete Dixon is a town councillor for Moor ward in North Hykeham, a member of the Green Party and Chair of the local branch. He works for the NHS at Lincoln County Hospital. Father of a young daughter, he's also a keen biker and enjoys watching Moto GP or a glass of Islay malt.

By Pete Dixon petedixon

We have reached our credit limit. We can bury our heads and ignore the facts no longer. It’s clear our political leaders have no intention of dealing with climate change whatsoever. More to the point, our own government is actively encouraging further exploitation of our planet’s resources that will positively accelerate the damage that is being done as a direct result of human activity.

In Cameron’s “Greenest government ever”, Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, has already made his position clear, saying: “The fact is I would like to see shale gas exploited all over rural parts of the UK.” To encourage this insane activity, our government offers the fracking companies huge tax breaks to get cracking ASAP! Locally, communities where fracking will take place are in line for sweeteners of upto £100k, and a percentage of resulting revenue.

In response to rising fuel poverty, rather than reigning in profit hungry energy companies, Chancellor George Osborne removes the green energy tariff. His fossil fuel-loving masters keep their profits, and any funding for clean energy goes out of the window.

The recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report makes for some very sober reading and unfortunately confirms what some have known for years. Aggressive economic-related human activity is causing such severe damage to the Earth’s eco-systems that they can no longer sustain us.

Yes, it all sounds very melodramatic; another doom merchant talking rubbish. Well, let me ask three questions:

What possible reward would 70 scientists reap from “making up” or exaggerating evidence in such a report? What could they possibly gain from telling us that eco-systems will be lost and species made extinct? That growing food will become more difficult and expensive, with famine, drought and floods becoming more frequent. Who’s going to profit from such a damning report? Which of them is going home to a fat cat bonus with a smile on their face?

In the interest of balance, I should point out that one scientist, Richard Tol, who is in fact a Professor of Economics at Sussex University with a track record for working with pro business climate deniers, did actually withdraw his name from the report, calling it “dramatic”.

Two, given that two thirds of the problem can be laid at the doorsteps of just 90 companies worldwide and that across the globe an estimated $1bn is spent actively denying climate science evidence, who would lose out if we demanded action? In response to the IPCC report, corporate media has reacted quickly, again with the assistance of our own BBC, to stifle the strength and urgency of the report’s findings.

Finally, since we are now being told that in fact we are such clever creatures that we can simply adapt to the effects of climate change, who do you think is going to pay for these changes?

Trust me on one thing: the cost of living with climate change will be far far higher than the cost of acting to prevent it.

Remember, government money is actually our money, not theirs, and they constantly remind us that we have to live within our means. If we have to constantly keep picking up the tab, where else will cuts be made? How much more public money will be diverted from public services, and how many more of us will be vulnerable?

There’s but one way to make the politicians take notice and act in our best interests: stand up, ask questions, and use your vote.

Pete Dixon is a town councillor for Moor ward in North Hykeham, a member of the Green Party and Chair of the local branch. He works for the NHS at Lincoln County Hospital. Father of a young daughter, he's also a keen biker and enjoys watching Moto GP or a glass of Islay malt.