Thursday
Sep122013
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill A new front
Sep 12, 2013 Energy: gas Energy company iGas is about to start exploratory drilling for shale gas on a site on the outskirts of Manchester. Amusingly, the site is right up against the side of the M62 motorway, so any protest camp will not be quite the rural idyll that was enjoyed by the Balcombe protestors. This may be some rather canny thinking by iGas.
It will be interesting to see if protestors try to block or disrupt the motorway in the same way they did London Road in Balcombe. I'm not sure that the law enforcement agencies would see the funny side.
Reader Comments (37)
There should soon be hundreds of exploratory wells being drilled which should also make life a little difficult for the green pests.
And also near a railway, several farms, and an aerodrome. But protestors will claim that a small temporary drilling operation is more dangerous to humanity than any of them, and large sections of the population will agree, "like" , and "share". Absolute nutters.
Heheh! That should be fun!
Bishop, I suspect you may be half right. If they interfere with the running of the motorway they'll be in deep trouble.
But if you take a look at the site on Google maps Street view, the field has a complete line of sight from the motorway. The green shirts will absolutely love that, as it will allow their theatre an audience.
But, if that has any knock-on effect for traffic speeds on the motorway and sure pressure will be brought to bear.
Surely the best way to avoid protesting in any disruptive capacity is to embark on 20 or 30 explorations at once. There can only be so many bongo drums and woolly hats in the country to cover all bases.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=53.472333,-2.401339
I have to agree with stuck record that small bridge with railings looks ideal for high jinx and other misdemeanours.
lol
They also have another site somewhere near the pristine Ellesmere Port
Fracking there - oh no. Think of the Herbs....
http://www.chatmossherbs.co.uk/index.html
Let them camp on the central reservation. Many greens suggested that the central reservation of motorways was an ideal location for wind turbines (no, don't laugh, they were really serious).
Philip Bratby (Sep 12, 2013 at 3:16 PM):
I suspect that many Greens (and so many others in the world) think that all is required for a turbine is to stick a pole in the ground, and put a fan at the top. I doubt many of them are aware of the hundreds of tonnes of cement that is required for the foundation, or the destruction of the soil that goes with it, or the concurrent eradication of habitat.
BTW, Stuck-Record, Google Earth streetview shows an embankment between the motorway and the site, so most of it should not be in sight.
Should've called themselves eGas just to wind them up.
The motorways have probably done more over the last half-century than all the environmental organisations put together to provide wildlife sanctuaries where a sizeable range of species can live out their lives in relative peace and quiet (from being disturbed by humanity, at least). And without any cost burden.
It should come as no surprise that eco-fanatics are totally unaware of this or if they are aware they probably don't believe it and think that we are all just rationalising to square our consciences as we tear up (and down) the countryside.
Wind turbines near major motorways - a very bad and dangerous idea!
How could motorists possibly drive safely through the rain of blood and guts from dead birds and bats sliced to bits by the turbine blades? Just imagine the gory vision obscuring mess on the windscreens and the loss of traction on slippery road surfaces! The mind boggles.
On the other hand, those worried about overpopulation of the globe by man may treat this risk to human life as a bonus!
The central reservation idea was for little turbines to get a breeze from passing vehicles. Not entirely without merit, but one would want to see the numbers.
As an afterthought, maybe iGas should explore a couple of miles to the north alongside the East Lancs road. There's so many lumps and bumps in that road through coal mining subsidence that a few more be welcomed as it may smooth out the road a little bit.
I live about a mile away from there. Should be fun if the great unwashed turn up. :)
Forgot to mention, although it's right next to the motorway there isn't a junction nearby so it would be difficult for them to cause too much mayhem. It's also quite nice in that area so it probably would be comfy (if a bit noisy).
@Radical Rodent. Yep, greenies do seem to think that a wind turbine is just a few blades on a pole. I had an exchange with one who thinks that they are easier to dismantle and remove than a drilling rig.
@Nick, I'm in the area too. Maybe we should set up a protest camp FOR fracking. Unfortunately I'm afraid of the violence from the anti-fracking campaigners.
Anyone fancy going down there to start a "supporter's" camp?
The Greens will claim that the site is dangerous because tracking will cause earthquakes to hit the motorway!
Wind turbines near motorways? Anyone driven along the M74 lately?
Balcombe rent-a-mob..........................................they're gonna protest about iGas - improving the landscape - Frack on!
Irlam residents know that the real risks with gas are in their own kitchen, not 10.000 feet underground-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11671916
The green liars from "Frack Off" would not dare to come "Up North" to demonstrate.
1. It is far too far from Brighton.
2. It is "Up North"
3. It is not in their back yard. (Nimby)
4. They cannot afford the carbon footprint of the bus journey.
Anyway. If they decide they are going to go there to protest against, I will be there protesting (silently with placard) for the economic benefits of fracking.
We're moving into autumn now and its wet and cold. That's even more important than the location. I expect the protestors have already hung up their sandals and are enjoying their well-earned three season break. Why Cuadrilla thought drilling near Brighton during the best summer we've had for years was a good idea, goodness only knows.
Cuadrilla did not realise that in the Church of Global Warming, their name alone is synonymous with the green Antichrist.
OT, but the BBC hopelessly confuses wave and tidal power.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24070071
On the subject (raised above) of wind turbines near motorways, I have often wondered if there are any statisitics for accidents where a wind turbine is next to a motorway (e.g. the one near the Hemel Hempstead junction on the M25). I know that I am distracted by the bloody thing when I pass..
(Probably not today - probably stationary. Wind producing 0.27GW. Dave, Nick, Ed and Alec Salmond take note... 'Ah, yes, but...')
Me too, but mainly because I'm trying to count the total and how many are turning/stationary.
Scepticism about wind turbines is a driving hazard! Ban it now!
At first I thought igas was a slogan for the tofu-munching protestors.
Now I appreciate igas as a brilliant name for a drilling company.
Anything with an i in front just sounds friendly and kinder and gentler.
I expect loads of eco-conscious urbanauts will be asking for this new product at the local Apple store.
Josh could have a lot of fun with this!
:-)
The RSPB will presumably go ballistic....
Or, as they have now become, the Royal Society for Everything Furry and Cute In Nature But Not Birds Because We Don't Care That They Are Chopped Up By Wind Turbines Which We Love Because We Have Them On Our Property...
.... And They Make Us Lots Of Money But Fracking is Eeeeevil Because It Does Not Earn Us Lots Of Money Even Though It Does Not Kill Birds Either But We Say It Might Because Otherwise We Would Look A Bit Silly ....... er wait a minute ....
Oh, Mike Jackson - you really are a Bad Person...
A back-of-the-envelope kalkerlation would conclude that equally many vehicles pass in both directions, so the resulting breeze would be 0,
Not even VAWTs could do much with it, given the turbulence.
But easy for ecofascist "local residents" from across the country to get to.
sherlock1-
I know. I had to spend a whole 15 minutes banging my head on the floor to punish myself.But it was worth it.
I gave up on the RSPB decades ago. During the 70s/early 80s in our area there was a marked (and I mean marked) decline in the number of sparrows and chaffinches which coincided with an equally marked increase in the number of magpies. The mantra was "Household cats kill many more songbirds than magpies. Household cats are eeevil; magpies are luvverly" OK, I made that last bit up. They just about stopped short of "little birdies don't kill other little birdies" and I just about stopped short of being sick!
SadButMadLad (odd name, odd avatar) (Sep 12, 2013 at 6:34 PM):
I see what you mean. I tried to post a minor defence of you, but the site is “under maintenance”. I wonder why?
Here is my attempt: “you are fighting a losing battle, here. The brainwashing has been completed; there is no return for them, without sacrificing all that they hold most dear: the moon is made of green cheese, and everything Greenpeace says has to be true, because Greenpeace says it is. That the information you have given them is widely available on the internet can be ignored, as it will be on sites blocked on their laptops, as they are not Greenpeace sites.”
The colours of the RS
PDB are really on the mast, when they decry fracking, yet have hosted it on one of their sites in Notts for a couple of decades. I wonder how much they have got from that?