The Great Controversy Surrounding Raw Milk

By Theodora Filis

The controversy over whether people have the right to produce, sell, buy, and consume raw milk products is a huge one these days. 


Government regulators in Canada and the US insist they are protecting the public against dangerous effects of raw milk, while those who seek raw milk and other raw foods say their way of eating – is healthy.

Advocates of raw milk point out that pasteurization is not a guarantee milk, and milk products, will be safe. In fact, they claim heating milk (pasteurization) makes the lactic acid and other heat-sensitive antimicrobial substances less effective at fighting bacteria.

Michael Schmidt, Canadian farmer, raw milk activist, and board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) – a non-profit organization, dedicated to "restoring nutrient-dense foods to the North American diet through education, research and activism" – received a sentence of one year probation, and a fine of $9,150, from Ontario Judge, Peter Tetley, during formal sentencing on Wednesday, November 29, for providing cowshare owners with raw milk.

The WAPF has been criticized by medical and health experts for "purveying misleading information" and "failing to update their recommendations in light of contradictory evidence".

Got Raw Milk?

In March 2010, the FDA issued an alert regarding confirmed illnesses, in the US sate of Michigan, associated with Campylobacter in raw milk. There is also evidence that raw milk and raw milk products carry and transmit disease-causing bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Listeria.

While demand for other raw foods including nuts, meat, and honey, is growing, some say the controversy over raw milk is due to the dairy industry's hopes of keeping raw milk off the shelves.

Producing and buying raw milk is not illegal: licensed dairies can legally sell the product in retail outlets in eleven US states. Twenty US states allow consumers to buy unpasteurized milk directly from farms or to participate in programs in which people buy a part ownership of an animal and are entitled to the milk. US interstate sales of raw milk, however, are banned by the FDA.

Consumers should be educated about the pros and cons of these products before they purchase them. Consumers should also investigate the source of any raw milk they plan to buy and the background of the seller.

New York/New Jersey Fracking Updates

From: Environmental NewsNetwork http://www.enn.com/

Delaware River Basin natural gas drilling vote postponed

A key vote to lift a ban on drilling for natural gas in the Delaware River Basin has been postponed, prompting claims of victory from environmentalists concerned about water contamination.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), which regulates water use across the 14,000-square-mile (36,260-square-km), gas-rich basin, suspended a vote scheduled for Monday amid speculation that its five members lacked the three votes needed to allow drilling.

"There are still some open issues that the commissioners have to work through," said DRBC spokesman Clarke Rupert, who had no new date for the vote.

Earlier this month, the DRBC proposed ending the drilling moratorium in the basin that stretches across parts of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware and sits atop the United States' biggest natural gas deposit: the Marcellus Shale.

Under proposed new regulations, the DRBC said it will provide water for no more than 300 natural gas wells over 18 months, at which point they will reassess the rules.

The delay has frustrated drillers and the governor of industry-friendly Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, who is keen to develop the state's slice of the basin.

"Today's delay -- driven more by politics than sound science -- is a decision to put off the creation of much-needed jobs, to put off securing our energy independence, and to infringe upon the property rights of thousands of Pennsylvanians," Corbett said in a statement.

Concerns have arisen over fracking, the drilling technique used in the Marcellus to extract gas from shale by pumping millions of gallons of chemical-laced water into rock underground.

While fracking has led to huge increases in natural gas production in the United States, environmentalists say it contaminates water sources, sparking opposition to drilling in the Delaware Basin, which provides water for millions of homes across four states.

New York's Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is suing the DRBC for not completing an environmental study on fracking before releasing its regulations.

Photo shows the Delaware Water Gap. Credit: Shutterstock, Songquan Deng

Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/18/us-natgas-delaware-drilling-idUSTRE7AH2JJ20111118

Hearing on overturning NY fracking ban draws huge turnout

The final hearings on regulations that would end a ban on drilling for natural gas in New York state got under way on Tuesday in a packed auditorium at Sullivan County Community College.

Advocates of fracking, which involves blasting chemical-laced water and sand into shale rock to release gas, told a rowdy, polarized audience that drilling would create jobs and boost New York's ailing economy.In a last chance for communities to voice their views for and against a controversial drilling technique called fracking, about 300 people turned up, many of whom were left in the rain as the house spilled above capacity.

Those against blamed it for contaminating water wells and threatening the safety of local communities.

Outside, signs read "Don't frack with our water" and "Jail the frackers".

Others disagreed. "We fight wars and import oil to get resources that we have at home," said Edward Allees, 88, from Jeffersonville, New York. "What is so special about New York that we can't drill here?"

New York sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation, the largest U.S. deposit of natural gas, which also stretches across parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.

Governor Andrew Cuomo hopes to put an end to the drilling moratorium by next year as the New York Department of Environmental Conservation finalizes new regulations for the state.

Cuomo aims to replicate the energy boom that Pennsylvania has seen in recent years thanks to drilling in the Marcellus.

But the move has spurred opposition from environmentalists who say fracking could taint fresh water for millions of residents, including those in New York City.

"We have long argued that new gas development using the risky fracking technology should not be permitted in New York unless and until it has been demonstrated that it can be done safely. We're simply not there yet," said Kate Sinding, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a blog.

Industry maintains that fracking, which could release enough natural gas for a century of U.S. needs, is safe.

"With more than 1 million wells safely hydraulically fractured in the United States, the nation's oil and natural gas industry has a stellar record of safety," said Brad Gill, executive director of the Oil and Gas Association of New York, which represents gas drillers in the state.

Photo credit: Balazs Justin, Shutterstock

Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/29/us-fracking-newyork-idUSTRE7AS2QL20111129

Transport of Nuclear Waste Protested By German Activists Calling For Change

By Theodora Filis

About 20 million consignments of radioactive material, which may be either a single package or a number of packages sent from one location to another at the same time, take place around the world each year. Radioactive material is not unique to the nuclear fuel cycle and only about 5% of the consignments are fuel cycle related. Radioactive materials are used extensively in medicine, agriculture, research, manufacturing, non-destructive testing and minerals' exploration.

(Above Photo: From Spiegel Online: The annual shipment took 109 hours to reach Dannenberg, making it the longest journey since the controversial transports began in 1995. Here a police officer removes an anti-nuclear demonstrator who had chained himself to the tracks.)

Nuclear energy has been unpopular in Germany since the fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine drifted over the country. The annual shipment from France has been a traditional focal point for protesters. Traders told Reuters in April, that Germany temporarily shut down seven nuclear reactors in response to Fukushima.

Both Germany and the US have experienced large and effective anti-nuclear power movements. In the late 1970s German activists regularly traveled to places like Seabrook, New Hampshire, to learn non-violent action strategies. During the 1980s and early 1990s, however, both movements de-emphasized demonstrations for legal and political work. Both nations have chosen geological storage as their preferred high-level waste storage approach, but neither nation has been able to implement this option.

In Germany, the chosen site is a salt dome near the small farming community of Gorleben. As is the case everywhere a high-level waste dump has been proposed, this site has caused large-scale public opposition in the region, known as Wendland. In addition, the owner of much of the land above the dome is a leader of the opposition, and has refused to sell his land to the government. For these reasons, and due to scientific concerns about the adequacy of the site, the Gorleben project is about as far behind schedule as Yucca Mountain is in the US, and faces the same type of uncertain future.

The major difference between the nuclear programs in Germany, and the US, is that Germany has attempted to begin an "interim" storage program, with disastrous results – so far.

For days thousands of demonstrators camped out to slow the transport of nuclear waste from La Hague, France to Germany.

This is the first shipment since Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to speed up shutting down all of Germany's nuclear plants, with the last one scheduled to go offline by 2022, following safety questions raised after the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan. However, Germany, as most other nations using atomic power, has not yet decided where nuclear waste, which remains radioactive for thousands of years, should be stored permanently.

Nuclear fuel cycle facilities are located in various parts of the world and materials of many kinds need to be transported between them. Many of these are similar to materials used in other industrial activities. However, the nuclear industry's fuel and waste materials are radioactive, and it is nuclear materials which cause the most concern to the public.

"I think the sit-in is the most nonviolent form of blockades, and yes, I think it is going to be a success, definitely," protester Nico Nordlohne, 32, told reporters. Police estimated 800 people took part in the protest, while activists said about 1,000 had gathered.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later – House Judiciary Committee Decides The Fate Of Online Piracy

By Theodora Filis

The US House Judiciary Committee is now discussing an anti-online piracy bill that will allow independent parties to cut off websites accused of posting copyrighted material. Called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the bill is designed to get around the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Committee Chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

Currently, under the DMCA, a copyright holder can request a website remove material he or she owns. If the website refuses, the matter can go to court.

Under SOPA, which will go before the House Judiciary Committee on November 16, 2011:

      o Search engines can be required to block accused websites from results.

      o Internet service providers can be required to block accused websites from their customers.

      o Payment companies don't need a request from a copyright holder to block a website. Instead, they can do so on their own if they suspect a website may be posting copyrighted work without permission.

SOPA allows the third party to go directly to advertisers, credit card companies, and ISPs to effectively shut down a website's lifeline when it's suspected of posting copyrighted material – and are not required to go to court.

Under SOPA, a copyright holder can go directly to Google and ask them to block all Google ads from a website that is suspected of carrying copyrighted works. If it's a commercial site, credit card companies and services like PayPal have the right to block all payments.

The bill defines terms like, “Domestic Internet Protocol Address” and “Foreign Internet Site” essentially, allowing a site in France to register a .com domain name with a US registrar and be considered “domestic”. The bill doesn't differentiate between an IP address in the US or somewhere else in the world – it simply relies on the location of the registrar or Internet provider to make its determinations.

If SOPA passes – and many believe it will – will it take the chaotic, unfiltered, border-less Internet of the 1990s, and replace it with an Internet of order, filtered connections, and national borders?

What's that saying? If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

How does one strike a balance after fifteen years of “bad” behavior?

Is it possible the US Government risks imposing so much "order" on the internet that creativity, privacy, and free speech will be affected?

Read entire H.R. 3261, STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT, Introduced October 26, 2011:
http://judiciary.house.gov/issues/Rouge%20Websites/Stop%20Online%20Piracy%20Summary.pdf

Newt Gingrich Wants To Abolish The EPA & Any Gov. Regulations That Get In His Way

By Theodora Filis

Newt Gingrich said the EPA should be abolished – the Republican party quickly agreed and is making sure it happens.

In June 2011, House Republicans passed the Agriculture Appropriations bill cutting $87 million from the FDA and $35 million from the USDA food inspection program. Republican Congressman Jack Kingston defended the legislation saying, “Do we believe that McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken…aren’t concerned about food safety? The food supply in America is very safe because the private sector self-polices.”

I wonder what Congressman Kingston would say about the effectiveness of self-policing with the recent outbreaks of e-coil throughout the US in the past few months? Let's not mention last year’s salmonella outbreak in eggs and spinach.

Every year in the US, one out of every six people get sick from food contamination, and 3,000 people eventually die from a food-borne illness. Not the best example for an industry that GOP is convinced can police itself.

In September, following weeks of intense debates in Washington, DC over ways to jump start the economy, US Senator Susan Collins said, “America needs a time out from the regulations that discourage job creation and hurt our economy – Republicans insist that government “over-regulation” is the biggest factor standing in the way of job growth. Collins claimed that federal agencies are drawing up more than 4,200 new rules, 845 of which affect small businesses, and cited proposed EPA rule on boiler emissions.

Last December, the EPA came out with a statement saying greenhouse gasses put the environment and the health of the public at risk, moving the agency toward regulating those gasses as part of an effort to battle climate change.

From 2001 through June 2011, the fracking industry gave $20.5 million to current members of Congress and spent $726 million on lobbying. Republicans immediately responded to the news with statements opposing the decision.

"It's unsurprising and disappointing that the EPA has decided to push though the Endangerment finding based purely on political calculations and not based on science," said House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa. "Earlier this year, EPA set up internal barriers to stifle dissent and is now ignoring serious accusations to the science upon which the endangerment finding is based."

Indiana's Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, suggested – again - the EPA was going to "kill jobs." The natural gas industry’s fight against regulation has gotten important help at the state level from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).  As documented in an August 2011 Common Cause report, ALEC generates and lobbies for hundreds of model bills every year despite its status as a tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) organization. Prominent financial backers of ALEC’s activities include the American Petroleum Institute, ExxonMobil, and Koch Industries, owner of the largest network of natural gastransmitting pipelines in the country. 

"This is nothing more than an attempt by the administration to build international support for a binding political agreement in Copenhagen," he said. "It seems liberal Democrats will stop at nothing to overcome the strong objections of the American people to a cap and tax system."

EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, held a news conference in December discussing and defending the EPA's decision.

"The overwhelming amount of scientific studies show that the threat is real, as does the evidence before our very eyes, polar ice caps crumbling into the oceans, changing migratory patterns of animals and broader ranges for deadly diseases, historic droughts, more powerful storms and disappearing coastlines," she said.

Jackson added that "this administration will not ignore science or the law any longer."

Shell Oil Company has claimed responsibility for oil spills dating back to 2008. However, in keeping with oil company policies, they grossly under reported the amount – 275 times more than they had previously reported. Although the US has had its own oil spills – all grossly under reported – without EPA regulations, the US would look like Nigeria and other countries, at least, to a certain extent. So, unless you want the US to look like Nigeria, Ecuador and other such places – stand behind the EPA.

Could the Republican's haste to abolish government regulatory agencies come from the love of all the money they make ensuring GMOs, pesticides, and frankenfoods make it in to the hands of farmers and consumers worldwide? Could it come from pressure by their buddies in the oil and gas industries who fill their pockets and fund their elections?

When the EPA announced in 2000 that it was designing a study to investigate the potential for groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing, the United States Department of Energy warned that regulations could hinder economic growth in the industry.
I sincerely doubt it comes from their love of the American people and the heart-felt hope that all American's are gainfully employed, healthy and safe.When released in 2004, the EPA study concluded that the process is environmentally harmless, and then-Vice President Dick Cheney and his former employer Halliburton used this finding to insert language into the 2005 Energy Policy Act to exempt fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Current members of Congress who voted for this bill have received an average of $73,433 from industry, while current members who voted against the bill have received an average of $10,894.  


James Browning and Howard Kaplan of Common Cause, Holding Power Accountable, Nov. 10, 2011 http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7Bfb3c17e2-cdd1-4df6-92be-bd4429893665%7D/DEEP%20DRILLING%20DEEP%20POCKETS%20NOV%202011.PDF

US Governor Helps Oil Companies By Allocating $$ To Sue EPA If It Tries To Regulate Fracking

By Theodora Filis

On Monday, November 7, 2011, North Dakota Governor, Jack Dalrymple, unveiled a $569 million plan to provide disaster aid to flood-stricken areas and to help western North Dakota towns struggling to cope with oil development.

Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its study on the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing. The study was designed to assess the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources and to identify the driving factors that affect the severity and frequency of any impacts, and outlines several basic questions with the promise that a dedicated team of scientists will begin providing answers to in 2012.

It was immediately denounced by six oil and gas industry associations:

“The EPA has moved forward with data collection for the Study, ignoring both its commitment to and a Congressional direction to ensure transparency and stakeholder input," this was part of a letter written by: Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA); the American Petroleum Institute (API); the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC); the US Oil & Gas Association; America's Natural Gas Alliance (anga) and the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association (PESA) to Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator.

Speaking to a joint session of the North Dakota House and Senate at the start of a special legislative session on Nov. 7, Dalrymple, called flood relief “the most important, significant task before you.” While it is known as the “disaster bill,” the legislation goes beyond offering aid to North Dakota -- stricken by widespread flooding.

Neatly tucked away, beneath “disaster” bill jargon, is money allocated to hire four new highway patrolmen for western North Dakota, where the region’s booming oil industry has resulted in an exponential increase in truck traffic. Also included is $30 million in grants for “oil impact” spending on public works in western North Dakota, where there is great demand for aid from local governments to help cope with the effects of oil development.

 (Oil Spill Cover Up in North Dakota)

The disaster legislation also includes $1 million for a potential state lawsuit against the EPA, should it decide to regulate hydraulic fracturing, an oil production technique that is crucial to western North Dakota’s oil boom.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg Businessweek, reported “Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is a member of the commission. He says if the state gets involved in legal action, he'll coordinate with other states to keep legal expenses down.” States now handle individual regulation of fracking – North Dakota officials fear EPA regulation will greatly restrict the state's oil production -- one oil producers' group is already suing the EPA over fracking regulation.

North Dakota has the fastest income growth of any state over the past five years – almost all the gains are due to the boom sparked by drilling into the Bakken shale.

In 2010, the state ranked 19th nationwide in terms of median income, up from 40th in 2000 and 38th in 1990. No other state has seen such a dramatic improvement (or fall) in its ranking over the last 10 or 20 years. The huge rise in median incomes between 2007 and 2010 leaves little doubt that the increase in oil drilling has been primarily responsible for its dramatic prosperity.

So... how does a state, that is flourishing during such difficult times, fight those who are responsible for keeping their heads above toxic water?

Environmentalists and community members are concerned for their health and safety, and fear that fracking will contaminate scarce water resources and land. Unfortunately, inconsistencies in fracking regulations have now endangered the health of the environment and those living near drill sites. 

Today, communities infiltrated by gas companies struggle with one question:

Do economic profits of extracting natural gas outweigh the environmental costs?

Additional information provided by a member of Bakken Watch:

"Today, communities infiltrated by gas companies struggle with one question: Do economic profits of extracting natural gas outweigh the environmental costs?"

In North Dakota, unlike most other states, fracking is done for retrieval of oil, not natural gas. Our leaders haven't created the infrastructure -- or alloted the necessary time to create the infrastructure -- to capture much of the natural gas that is released. Natural gas is generally considered a by-product of oil drilling and is often burned off on-site.

One other quick point, which is certainly open to debate:

While there's no question that the oil industry -- and taxation of the oil industry -- has created large revenues in ND, I believe our state bank deserves credit as a stabilizing force in our economy, as opposed to other states' economies. Many other states allow rampant oil/gas development, but few other states are economically solvent. Because we are the only state with a state bank, we are the only state that holds its assets locally, which protects us from the risks of speculation that has crashed other economies.

I hope you'll consider these points...

Eight Months Later Fukushima Dai-ichi Sparks Another Nuclear Crisis

By Theodora Filis

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda

New concerns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility came as a reactor in southern Japan was restarted and brought back online, marking a first since the March 11 disaster created an outcry over the safety of Japan's nuclear power sites.

Alert Unit 3 at Fukushima TEPCO Using Boric Acid To Prevent Recriticality

Radioactive particles associated with nuclear fission have been detected at Japan's tsunami-damaged atomic power plant, officials said this Wednesday, suggesting one of its reactors could have a new problem.

Utility officials said gas from inside the Fukushima plant's No. 2 reactor indicated the presence of radioactive xenon, which could be the byproduct of unexpected nuclear fission. Boric acid was injected through a cooling pipe as a precaution because it can counteract nuclear reactions.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said there was no rise in the reactor's temperature or pressure. The company said the radioactive materials had not reached the point when nuclear reactions are self-sustaining and the detection of the xenon would have no major impact on workers' efforts to keep the reactor cool and stable.

During a press conference, Mr Sonoda, an MP and parliamentary spokesman for the Japanese cabinet office, in an effort to increase confidence in the efficiency of decontamination procedures, drank a glass of water scooped up from pools inside the plant. One reporter said, “Mr. Sonoda was looking nervous, hands trembling, as he drank a glass of water.”

Reporters at the press conference say Mr. Sonoda was looking nervous, hands trembling, as he drank a glass of water scooped up from pools inside the plant.

Water collected from beneath two reactor buildings is decontaminated then used for tasks such as watering plants, which has been the subject of safety concerns in the media. Speaking at the offices of TEPCO, the operator of the plant, Mr Sonoda said: "Just drinking decontaminated water doesn't mean safety has been confirmed, I know that. Presenting data to the public is the best way."

His decision to drink water is not the first time a politician has performed such a duty to calm public health concerns. Japan's former prime minister, Naoto Kan, and his chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, both ate food from Fukushima following the nuclear crisis. Their actions echo the decision of John Gummer, the former Tory MP and British agriculture minister, to eat hamburgers with his four-year-old daughter in front of the media in 1990 at the height of the mad cow disease scare. In that instance, Mr Gummer's actions backfired as a surge in BSE cases followed, leading to a collapse in confidence in beef safety and a public inquiry into his handling of the crisis.

TEPCO remains optimistic that it will achieve cold shutdown, when the reactors are stabilized, and the water is no longer at boiling point, by the end of the year. The government also announced that journalists would be able to visit the plant for the first time on November 12.

Because the half-life of the isotopes detected is short, the xenon was likely created recently. But officials said the level was so low that further tests would be required to confirm the measurements were not an error. The Japanese government has decided to drastically expand the scope of areas where preparations will be made for residents to evacuate or stay indoors in the event of a nuclear power plant accident.

 Fukushima Japan still spewing radiation worldwide update 10/9/11

The Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission, which is studying a revision of the guidelines on disaster precautions and responses, has decided to expand the size of these areas from the current eight kilometers to 10 kilometers around a nuclear plant, up to 30 kilometers. These extended zones include prefectural capitals, densely populated areas and industrial complexes.

In addition, an emergency evacuation preparation zone, where some residents were told to stay indoors, was later set for areas between the 20-kilometer and 30-kilometer evacuation zones. The designation remained in place for months, which caused difficulty in securing food supplies and posed many other inconveniences for people in the zone.

“We have confirmed that the reactor is stable and we don't believe this will have any impact on our future work,” said TEPCO spokesman Osamu Yokokura. He said no “radiation leaks outside the plant were detected”. Hiroyuki Imari, a spokesman with the Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency said, the detection of the gas was not believed to indicate a major problem, but its cause was being investigated.

The plant is the site of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. A 12-mile (20-kilometer) exclusion zone has been in effect since the earthquake and tsunami crippled the facility northeast of Tokyo, sending three of its reactors into meltdowns, setting off fires and triggering several explosions.

TEPCO reported significant progress toward stabilizing the facility saying, it has essentially reached a “cold shutdown.” Even so, a Japanese government panel says it will take at least 30 years to safely decommission the TEPCO facility.

Local Towns In Wales, UK Keep Fracking Off The Agenda – For Now

By Michaela, Rob & Dinky of Transition Cowbridge


Thursday, 20 October 2011, was a landmark day in the Vale of Glamorgan and one that should have a powerful effect around the country, and hopefully beyond. It was a day where community power helped to bring about a unanimous decision by the local county council to deny Coastal Oil & Gas the right to test for shale gas at an industrial estate on the outskirts of the village of Llandow.

A few months prior to this, in February 2011, all that stood between the multi-billion dollar highly environmentally damaging hydralic fracturing industry (fracking), and a test drill being carried out in the Vale, was one individual -- Louise Evans who runs a nearby caravan park. When Louise found out what was being planned she started researching the fracking process and started raising awareness. Louise set up a web site http://thevalesaysno.com/ and the 'Vale Says No' campaign was born.

Frack Off!' 500 ft high Banner Drop Off Blackpool Tower

The local Transition towns, Transition Cowbridge and Transition Llantwit, have been active for the past three years. From the work already done we knew that there was a part of the community that did not need any convincing -- that something that had the potential to cause significant environmental damage, as well as keeping the focus on an unsustainable finite energy source -- must be halted.

The Vale Says No has had several public meetings to bring the issue of fracking and its consequences to the public's attention. Both Transition groups used their existing networks to rally as many supporters as possible, not only helping to generate a significant number of letters of objection, it was at one of these meetings that Coastal Oil & Gas was made aware they had failed to consider a house -- only 200m away from the possible drilling site -- in their application. This resulted in the gas compnay withdrawing their application. This have given the campaign the much needed time to carry out vital research into and gather further evidence.

However, once Coastal Oil & Gas re-applied for planning everyone was quick off the mark and Transition Cowbridge hosted a public meeting to a full house in the Town Hall. Word about the re-application spread via the website and the local press. Local councillors, Welsh Assembly members and community organisations received hand delivered invitations. Alarm bells rang as many of the people in attendence had not heard of fracking. This resulted in greater general awareness, and encouraged key community members to directly support the campaign.

A viewing of the feature length documentary Gasland, which highlighted the significant impacts that could result if fracking was allowed to take place, was hosted by Transition Llantwit.

Pressure was maintained by Transition and the campaign called for a 'peaceful protest' to take place outside Cowbridge Town Hall on the day that the Council were holding a roadshow inside. Students from a local College piled in with banners and well rehearsed chanting. The protest headed up the High Street on a day when the town was full of Saturday shoppers. A Dogs Trust charity shop was in the middle of a celebrity opening. John Barrowan is a patron and three hundred people had turned up. They all got the benefit of the marching protesters. More awareness raised!

The week of the planning decision arrived, and due to the significant awareness raised, the council felt it important to hold a scrutiny meeting. This gave both sides a chance to offer their reasoning’s for and against and resulted in some crucial questions being raised that defiantly helped to added weight to the councils final decision.

The day of the planning decision arrived and following a site visit by the councillors and a screening of Gaslands, the Planning Committee sat. They had been met on their way into the building by another lively but peaceful protest. BBC and ITV were filming and interviews were given to BBC radio, national and local.

 UK HALTS "FRACKING" AFTER SMALL EARTHQUAKE HITS BLACKPOOL

Decision Time

Despite the electric atmosphere in the room there was a definite sense that the there was nothing else that could be done. With great relief one by one the councillors made their cases for overturning the application and in most cases a focused and passionate speech was given as to why neither test drilling or fracking should be allowed to go ahead. The decision was rubberstamped by the councils concerns over a letter sent by Welsh Water which had been voiced at the earlier Scrutiny meeting. If groundwater became polluted by drilling fluid they could not guarantee that the situation could be 'remediated'. “Once polluted, we would be stuck with it”.

The Positive Impact of the Transition Movement

By supporting the Vale Says No campaign, Transiton not only helped to quickly spread the issue to a much wider audience but also broaden the argument to one that incorporated the bigger picture of long term community happiness and resilience. And it was this level-headed approach that gave the campaign a real sense of credibility and one that helped convince the local planning committee to vote unanimously against the application.

Community Supported Campaign

So from a starting point of just one person it had very quickly become a community supported campaign that has succeeded in putting a very big spoke in the works for an industry blindly focused on finite energy extraction at any cost.

So where do we go from here?

Fracking is definitely not an issue just reserved for the Vale and as has been show in Blackpool this processes can happen all too fast and undetected if communities are not alert. And this is where Transition Towns all around the globe can play there part in not just being vigilant to fracking but continuing to do the great work they do at providing communities with a positive vision of life without the need for such unconscious acts.

Fracking technique proposed for South Wales was 'probable' cause of Blackpool earthquake, report finds...
Read More: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/11/02/fracking-technique-proposed-for-south-wales-was-probable-cause-of-blackpool-earthquake-report-finds-91466-29706165/#ixzz1caUWykIwhttp://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/11/02/fracking-technique-proposed-for-south-wales-was-probable-cause-of-blackpool-

Links to invaluable info about fracking:

http://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/how-was-the-llandow-test-drilling-application-overturned/

http://nofrackinguk.com/ , http://thevalesaysno.com/, http://www.transitioncowbridge.org/108-2/, http://transitionllantwit.wordpress.com/anti-fracking-campaign/

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14271

http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/sites/default/files/coop_shale_gas_report_final_200111.pdf

http://www.theecologist.org/tv_and_radio/ecologist_film_unit/1074609/fracking_hell_the_environmental_costs_of_the_new_us_gas_drilling_boom.html

http://www.co-operative.coop/Toxicfuels/shale-gas

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14271

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-15399052