Beyond the niche: women in frack-free politics

It might just be the alliteration, of course, but it’s rare these days that I meet anyone east of the Bann who doesn’t say, when I mention where I live, “Fermanagh?  Where they have the fracking?” Well we don’t ‘have the fracking’, not now, though it’s been a close shave, and, to mix my metaphors, we’re not out of the woods yet.  It has, though, been an extraordinary campaign, not least in the almost complete reversal of public opinion.  Three …

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Shale of the century – the future for fracking in Ireland

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” as it has become universally known, is a technique for extracting reserves of oil and gas that would be otherwise impossible or uneconomic to extract. The technique, which involves injecting rock with a mixture of water, chemicals and sand, has become one of most contentious issues in British and Irish politics. Advocates of fracking say that more widespread use of the technique could bring cheaper energy and reduce reliance on (not always friendly) foreign suppliers. Opponents …

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Could fracking actually be environmentally good for us after all?

Could fracking be good for us? –Ben Webster in the Times yesterday (£) with an unexpected output from the IPCC… Shale gas can help the world to avoid dangerous climate change if it replaces coal in power stations, according to a United Nations report. Global emissions need to fall by at least 40 per cent by 2050 and almost to zero by 2100 to have a good chance of limiting the increase in the average temperature to 2C, above which …

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McCann meets…Ross Brown #gpniconf14

Last in my series of interviews from the Green Party conference is the party’s European candidate, Ross Brown. I began by asking him about his ability to raise the £5,000 pounds necessary to run in these elections, but he assured me that the party along with his online drive to raise funds will allow his participation in the upcoming votes. Brown told me that he believes there should be some sort of public funding for political parties in order to …

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McCann meets….Steven Agnew MLA #gpniconf14

So, last week it was Alliance, this week it was the Green party’s chance to strut their stuff on the conference stage as they gathered in East Belfast yesterday. Just before his speech I caught up the party leader Steven Agnew MLA. I began by asking him whether he believed that his European candidate, Ross Brown could do as well as he in 2009; I hope so. When I stood I trebled the Green party’s vote from the previous election, starting …

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Fracking: The problem regulating an unpredictable industry

Fracking, eh… This is just one of the issues we’re likely to see come up at the Fermanagh G8… We plan to do more on the subject, but in the meantime here’s a story from Oklahoma… tks put you off your cornflakes… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: …

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Fracking petition, debate and a cry of ‘liars and thieves’

No Fracking petition outside Parliament Buildings

A delegation of concerned residents – accompanied by the Grim Reaper – travelled to Stormont this morning to present a petition of over 2800 signatures opposed to ‘fracking’ ahead of Green Party MLA Steven Agnew’s motion proposing a moratorium in Northern Ireland on the gas drilling process. Update – Members of the Assembly backed a call for a moratorium on onshore and offshore exploration and the withdrawal of licences by 49 votes to 30, though the BBC notes that “Enterprise …

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What’s all this #fracking nonsense then Arlene?

Mention money and land and someone, almost anyone, in the DUP and some people get very excited. But all that’s happened is that 54 acres of her husband’s farm has been included in the vast area in which permission for gas exploration may be sought: As previously noted by Andy, the area under consideration is potentially huge: “the North West Ireland Carboniferous Basin in counties Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Donegal and Fermanagh.” I’ve looked at what it means before but it’s …

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