Fracking

People bemoan fossil fuels. At the same time the very same people bemoan "energy poverty", with many on low incomes paying a substantial proportion of their income towards their bills. So far the cheapest energy we have is fossil fuels. Its cheaper than wind, solar, nuclear and a number of other such alternatives and can also scale and meet our demands. We all take energy for granted. Our dishwashers, cars, TVs, computers; heat and light with a flick of the switch. Many of our fellow human beings would marvel at such convenience. From what I can see fracking is a technique that could help meet our energy needs and help alleviate energy bills for people on low incomes. Instead many want to ban it, just like we should all drive electric cars (despite how unworkable it would be in the short/medium term) or the naive belief that wind and solar can meet all our energy needs. Think again. We would all love an unlimited, clean and effortless power source but we constantly battle with the laws of thermodynamics. Its hard to generate energy. It took us a long time to perfect the techniques we have today. 

The last thing we need is destruction of human creativity. Horizontal Fracking is human creativity to meet a consumer demand for more energy with prices diverting economic resources to solve such problems for society. If companies cause grievous damage then the law should take care of them. Of course I'm all for free speech, if people wish to protest and represent an alternative viewpoint then they should be free to do so but not by infringing private property and other peoples rights. I and many others have the freedom to get lower energy bills. Blanket banning fracking would violate such rights, just like a blanket ban on smoking or driving a car would violate individual rights. Energy nurtures progress and makes all our lives more enjoyable. Lets not stifle it.