A letter from France where fracking is banned

Please write to your MP and express your outrage that CSG mining is being approved in NSW when it is reported to be harmful to the environment. The following is a letter from France to Clover Moore.

Dear Clover,

I understand that the NSW Government has given approval for Dart Energy to explore for CSG at a property in Putty and that this could entail the use of hydraulic fracturing. My information is second hand, as I am currently overseas. If it is true, though, then it is news that appals me.

It is clear beyond any doubt that the use of fracking in the US and in Queensland has had devastating consequences: not only scarring of the landscape but contamination of water supplies, death of livestock, and harm to the health of people living nearby. Even the shareholders in the companies involved - eg Exxon Mobil, Chevron - are demanding greater disclosure of the risks.

In the UK, recent earthquakes in the Lancashire area are apparently the result of the use of fractionation nearby. Earthquakes have also been attributed to fracking in Arkansas. In both places, mining has been suspended pending an inquiry.

In France, where I am based until November, fractionation has been banned completely because of the known dangers and the unknown potential for long-term damage to water tables, land stability, human and animal health. Some US States, such as New York, have also banned its use.

I urge you to use all your powers to highlight the shortsightedness of allowing such mining to go ahead anywhere in NSW. That the beautiful Putty valley, so close to Sydney and the Hunter Valley, should be scarred in this way is truly frightening.

Thank you in advance for your help in stopping this environmental vandalism.

Best regards

Martin Bayliss

Pyrmont