Saw this on twitter and had to share…
When fracking goes wrong the environmental impacts aren’t as severe as when coal mining goes right.
— Francois Fourie (@FrancoisFourie) March 5, 2012
This after an Econometrix report suggested that if estimates of the amount of shale gas under the Karoo were confirmed:
…it could provide the equivalent of 400 years’ worth of energy consumption in South Africa.
Economist Tony Twine described it thus:
This is a big chicken; she is a big puppy.
And he doesn’t chuck his animal comparisons around lightly.
The decision on fracking in the Karoo isn’t going to be made any time soon, but while the (poorly put and misleading) environmental argument has been stated for some time now, the economic benefits of South Africa’s shale gas resources could literally turn the fortunes of this country around.
Much like the UK, I’m not sure that we – or the Government – can ignore that for very much longer.