Does the public have a legal international obligation to block Fracking?

I was recently made aware of

World Charter for Nature (1982)

It includes several lines that add up to what I think is a legal obligation to challenge Fracking.

2. The genetic viability on the earth shall not be compromised; the population levels of all life forms, wild and domesticated, must be at least sufficient for their survival, and to this end necessary habitat shall be safeguarded.

 
8. In formulating long-term plans for economic development, population growth and the improvement of standards of living, due account shall be taken of the long-term capacity of natural systems to ensure the subsistence and settlement of the populations concerned, recognizing that this capacity may be enhanced through science and technology.
 
10. Natural resources shall not be wasted, but used with a restraint appropriate to the principles set forth in the present Charter, in accordance with the following rules:

• (a) Living resources shall not be utilized in excess of their natural capacity for regeneration;
• (b) The productivity of soils shall be maintained or enhanced through measures which safeguard their long-term fertility and the process of organic decomposition, and prevent erosion and all other forms of degradation;
• (c) Resources, including water, which are not consumed as they are used shall be reused or recycled;
• (d) Non-renewable resources which are consumed as they are used shall be exploited with restraint, taking into account their abundance, their rational possibilities of converting them for consumption, and the compatibility of their exploitation with the functioning of natural systems.

22. Taking fully into account the sovereignty of States over their natural resources, each State shall give effect to the provisions of the present Charter through its competent organs and in co-operation with other States.

 
23. All persons, in accordance with their national legislation, shall have the opportunity to participate, individually or with others, in the formulation of decisions of direct concern to their environment, and shall have access to means of redress when their environment has suffered damage or degradation.

 

24. Each person has a duty to act in accordance with the provisions of the present Charter, acting individually, in association with others or through participation in the political process, each person shall strive to ensure that the objectives and requirements of the present Charter are met.


If we are obliged to stop Fracking then why are people getting arrested for it?

Please consider www.NoCheapPromises.org

There is no point protesting about Fracking if a crony council decides.

In the UK the decision to Frack has been passed down to local borough councillors, but these roles are rarely filled with unaffiliated local people looking to serve the community transparently.

If you think Fracking will make the problems facing future generations worse and feel morally obliged to face those problems now, the least we can do is request an upfront commitment.

For a UK local councillor, regarding Fracking their options would seem clear.

1. Vote of no fracking.
2. Ward referendum and vote that way.
3. Borough referendum or, if no borough referendum motion succeeds, vote in line with own ward mini referendum,
4. Cllrs choice alone how to vote if the option comes.

If you are a Wokingham resident voting in the May 2014 borough elections then you can find your candidate name and address here. Google them and bat them or their party locally an e-mail.


You can use www.smart-voter.org to make sure they really do commit.

If they don't respond in a manner fit for a typical local resident like yourself, please consider standing as a councillor. The starting 'allowance' is on average £9k if you wish to take it and you can do less than a day / week.

Click here to see a Cost / Benefits analysis of Fracking.

One last thing.

It would appear that you, and those trying to frack have an international obligation to physically block fracking?

http://kazeconomics.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/does-public-have-legal-international.html

Benefits of Fracking / Hydraulic Fracturing VS Costs

What is the problem with Fracking?

The essence of the debate lies in the possibility of climate change, pollution, tremors and weighing up the benefits verses the costs.

The Costs

Climate Change / Global Warming

It is relatively indisputable that there is such a thing as climate change. We've had climate change for millions of years.

If our current changes are completely caused by or accelerated by the release of carbon into the air then we need to decide if a warmer climate will suit us better or worse.

Some believe that an overall 4% in earth average temperature since 1990 levels will effectively trigger a cascading carbon release that takes the matter out of our own hands as carbon is released all over the world in forest fires, ice cap melts released trapped gasses, and a general ecosystem imbalance.

While those of us nearer a hemisphere may think a little warming will be great, is it fair of us to force it upon people already struggling along the equator? Have we calculated what % of carbon release should be spent relocating those people further north or south if they so please?

One thing few can deny is that carbon levels in the air over the last 25 years have gone up significantly. Then again, for all we know, without man made global warming a natural global cooling has been averted?

Tremors

We are well aware  water is  pumped under ground to facilitate Fracking and displace the gas. The good news is that the increased and expanded water level that global warming is expected to cause will be partially reduced by pumping it back under the ground. The problem with this is that the structure that hold everything in place are changed. The question then begs if a combustible gas below the ground is more or less dangerous than water?

In the presence of abundant oxygen perhaps the gas would be. Thankfully there is not an abundance of oxygen in the fractured rocks.

Those of you interested in energy may know this but, other than wind and hydro power, all generation comes from the expansion of water. Coal, gas and nuclear power plants drive a turbine by heating water, which expands with great force. So for me water is clearly the greater risk of tremors.

Then there are tremors associated with Fracking what is the cost. If your hour shakes occasionally what will be the effect on your brickwork. Will it weaken, wall ties that were already corroded may come away, the weakest cement may come out. Just like being pushed down the stairs, you may get up and not go to the hospital but suffer life ling weakness in your back. This is again an unknown amount and un-claimable

Water Pollution

Theoretically the water is being pumped below the water table where wells are dug down to provide drinking water and irrigate crops. But fracking is not a precise science. There is no special seal between each layer of the earth. There will always be a chance that these chemicals enter the consumed water ecosystem. At the same time our children are allowed to watch a diesel bus pull away and eat blue sweet, so are we over reacting. Most of us choose to poison ourselves.

So none of the costs are concrete, they represent likely changes with perhaps increased mortality and disease on a few people, but a very small percentage. Unless of course our climate change triggers a cascade of release warming resulting in New Venus. But people said that about the Large Hadron Collider.

The Benefits

 
Perhaps 20 years more carbon heavy growth.

What is the benefit of this? It keeps unsustainable consumerism afloat. 

I think we all accept that, at this rate, we do not have another two generations of  relatively painless carbon dependent consumerism.
 
A good Fracking analogy would be to use the last bit of water of to clean your feet, without knowing where the next drink is coming from with your children in tow.
 
So not really a benefit at all when you consider the bigger view. Not one we can enjoy morally at any rate. There is a problem to solve and I'm not comfortable leaving it to my kids. Worse problem to leave them a worse situation than if I start now.
 
So to my mind. The benefit of Fracking, in a meaningful way, does not truly exist.

http://www.aip.org/history/climate/co2.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing#Health_effects

In the UK your local council decides if Fracking will be allowed so there is only one way to stop fracking.