What real opportunity to reduce fuel costs? Even Cameron has stopped claiming that is the case.

Any gas extracted here can be easily exported so it will end up on the open market and so attract the same price as gas produced elsewhere in Europe or the UK. In the US it is not exported. That is good news for the companies who will profit from its extraction but the consumer will end up seeing little or no difference in the retail price as we will be buying it back form the market.

Your beloved market force in action there.

The only way we would see a significant price drop is if we used the gas produced directly and paid for it at or near cost. You might need a nationalised state run extraction company and Gas industry for that though.

Extraction costs here are also going to be higher than in the US and the British Geological Survey who identified the existance of the deposits in the first place have raised doubts about how much can actually be extracted.

Cameron seems to be basing his "dash for shale gas" on the basis of one biased report produced by the Institute of Directors sponsored by one of the fracking companies.

Interestingly the leader of East Cheshire council, a Tory council, has said there won't be any fracking in East Cheshire. I bet Osborne is pleased.

I think it would be great if we had another source of cheap energy but it's not going to be cheap and there are alot of risks associated with its extraction. Cameron is risking entrenching opposition to it by being to pushy IMO. Apparantly the UK and several other EU contries got proposed regulations relating to its safe extraction thrown out. Hardly going to convince people its own government is looking after their interests.

So no link to said article.

Two genuine questions. What do you do for a living and how much do you think a life is worth?

No. I'm intolerant of stupidity.

And when you claim that there are no problems, ignoring evidence to the contrary even when it's been posted in this thread, then that's stupidity.

Find some factual basis to counter the evidence presented, by all means, but don't just try and prentend it doesn't exist, even when it's been put under your nose. That's stupidity.

Good job I haven't done that then. Maybe try and actually read what is written.

You've pretended that the scale of what is already known is minor.

That, given the evidence, is patently stupid.

Are you going to answer Sheldon's questions?

There is plenty of evidence which counters the scaremongering. You probably know this but as it doesn't support your entrenched opinion you are being obtuse.

I have to go to work now. Unfortunately I cannot spend the whole day 'debating' with you.

So you'll be able to post links to it, then, as well as answering Sheldon's questions?

What's that? You're running away instead?

This person is going to work leave them be ...
I have visions of them driving to work with their brains scrambled by big, bad cyber bullies, not concentrating and before you know it ..... tragedy!
Can you fracking antis live with that?

Thought so ......
lol

Can anyone suggest any possible reasons why HM Gov is so keen on fracking? beats the hell out of me

I think Cameron mistakenly sees it as a get out of jail free card. In the US as the gas is not put on the open market and has resulted in much cheaper retail prices it has had a pretty big effect on the economy. I think Cameron is hoping for a similar effect here which would after all absolve him and his government from actually directly stimulating the economy in sensible ways. He can just sit back and let it all happen.

Or to put it simply I think Cameron is blinded by that I.O.D report and thinks we are on for another North Sea Oil bonanza. Which if true shows he is a bit thick!