Letters - March 9, 2017

ENERGYHelp us find out the facts on frackingWe recently had two '˜Meet The...' events in the Fylde '“ the regulators came to Wrea Green and the British Geological Survey(BGS) came to Treales. Shale gas is a new industry to the UK, however information from these roadshows was not reassuring.
Protesters at the Preston New Road rallyProtesters at the Preston New Road rally
Protesters at the Preston New Road rally

For example: A friend tells me that when Public Heath England (PHE) were asked directly “ s this industry dangerous to public health ?” the answer was “Yes”.

So comprehensive environmental monitoring is clearly very important.

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At Wrea Green, the Environment Agency displayed a large map showing several air quality monitoring sites – rather misleading because they do not currently exist.

Another key aspect is ground water and the BGS are carrying out limited monitoring. The BGS’s work in Lancashire was set up on their own initiative, and, to date, self-funded. So all their monitoring has been restricted due to the costs involved.

And the government and regulators are not obliged to pay any heed to them.

They also told me Cuadrilla appear reluctant to share any of their own monitoring data with the BGS. Why so?

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Last week, I called for a public debate between two experts: Mr Egan of Cuadrilla and local resident and chartered engineer Mike Hill.

Bearing in mind recent guidelines from UKOOG: “The public needs to gain a clear understanding of the challenges, risks and benefits associated with the development.”

How about it Mr Egan – are you willing to answer our questions ?

T Froud

Lytham

ANIMALS

Please adopt a pet from a sanctuary

With all our local sanctuaries full with animals waiting patiently for a new loving home, may I please ask readers who are thinking of adopting a new pet to make these havens their first port of call.

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If it is a cat or kitten you want, there are plenty to choose from at Cat Rescue, Cats Paws and Furry Tails. Easterleigh and the RSPCA home have everything from hamsters to horses.

By adopting from a sanctuary you are helping not one but two animals, as re-homing one means there is space for another unfortunate creature to come and have the chance of finding a new home.

Please understand these animals have lost their home through no fault of their own. Their owner could have died or become too ill to look after them or were made homeless and their new home does not allow pets. Sadly, they could have been cruelly abandoned.

All rescue pets settle in to a new home if they are loved, and will reward you with unconditional love for the rest of their life.

Josephine Harwood

Moor Park Avenue

Bispham

HEALTH

We’re on the march to save the NHS

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Last Saturday, along with hundreds of thousands of people, I proudly marched in London as part of the Save Our NHS demonstration.

We marched to protest about the increasing privatisation and under-funding of our NHS. As the American philosopher Noam Chomsky says, “the standard technique of privatisations is defund, make sure things don’t work, people get angry, and hand it over to private capital”.

This is what is starting to happen to our NHS.

Private companies are bidding for and getting huge NHS contracts, and hide behind the NHS logo so the vast majority of us don’t know they are increasingly running sectors of our NHS.

NHS England is promoting Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs), which they claim brings decision making within the NHS under local control, but the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), in November 2016, said: “STPs are the mechanism to deliver the NHS five-year forward view, particularly the required savings of £22bn”. No wonder my fellow NHS marchers refer to STPs as Slash Trash and Plunder.

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The most moving speech I heard on Saturday was made by Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis, who simply read from the leaflet which was delivered to every household in the UK when the NHS was founded in 1948, and explained to our parents, grandparents and, in my case, great grandparents, that “it will provide you with all medical, dental and nursing care. Everyone – rich or poor, man, woman or child –can use it or any part of it. There are no charges, except for a few special items...”

JD

address supplied

EUROPE

The referendum was not advisory

I voted for Brexit.

I did not hear one politician say during the campaign that the referendum result would be for advisory purposes only.

The unelected bureaucrats of the EU are upset because we are net contributors to the EU budget and they are concerned as to where the shortfall will come from to continue a lavish life at our expense.

Why not have a referendum in the remaining 27 countries? It may turn out to be an eye-opener. The original concept of a trading market place was fine, but now it is out of hand.

T Wright

via email

EUROPE

Tired of all the ins and outs of Brexit

Amid all these writings of ‘hard’ and ‘soft, of ‘in’ and ‘out’ on the Gazette letters pages, is anyone else suffering from Brexit fatigue?

P Laurence

via email