Monday 15th October 2018 marks the day when fracking returned to the UK for the first time since 2011. Amid protests and blockades, the oil and gas exploration company Cuadrilla, commenced fracking at the test drill site at Preston New Road near to Blackpool.

“The company will first frack the deeper of the two wells drilled at Preston New Road (PNR). The well is at about 2,300m below the surface and the horizontal section runs for about 800m. Cuadrilla will frack 45 stages of the first well, one each day, starting with the one furthest from the pad. Stages are each 15-50m long and each will use up to 765m3 (765,000 litres) of hydraulic fracturing fluid and up to 75 tonnes (75,000 kg) of sand proppant.” (Drill or Drop).

The planning application from Aurora Energy Resources to commence drilling at Great Altcar is expected anytime soon bringing fears of further industrialisation of the countryside, pollution risks, increased traffic, seismic events and extraction of unnecessary fossil fuel.

The scandal of the return of fracking to the UK is that the government as been allowed to force it through in spite of democratic local opposition and at any cost. In addition, the commencement of shale gas extraction comes just days after the Independent Panel on Climate Change reported the urgency to curtail global warming and that fossil fuel use must be cut dramatically. to limit temperature rises to 1.5C.