(Image: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty)
It is a relief to see that the pseudoscientific gobbledygook deployed against fracking has not prevailed. I say that despite the rejection of two high-profile attempts by energy firm Cuadrilla to win consent to explore for shale gas in Lancashire, UK.
The reasons given for rejecting the planning applications are the classic ones deployed against any development: worries about traffic on rural roads, noise and visual impact.
It’s not so surprising, though. As an engineering geoscientist who has worked as a hydrogeologist and assessed planning applications to ensure they were compatible with protection of groundwater, I know there are relatively limited and well-defined…
