A boom in exploiting underground gas is facing mounting opposition from communities and environmentalists worried about the contamination of water supplies and climate pollution.
An investigation by the Sunday Herald has discovered there are 10 sites across the central belt and in the south-west being explored and developed for methane, with the prospect of many more to come. The flammable gas can be extracted by drilling, draining and pumping, sometimes using the controversial "fracking" technique, whereby high-pressure water is used to fracture deep-lying rocks to the extract gas.
But critics warn that, whether or not fracking is used, the risks that groundwater will be polluted and public health put at risk are "unacceptably high". They also fear that exploiting the gas will make it impossible for Scotland to meet its target to cut carbon emissions.
A major Australian company, Dart Energy, is behind most of the plans in Scotland to extract coal-bed methane, which it believes is a potentially huge resource.
Herald Scotland
No comments:
Post a Comment