Drakensberg region under fracking threat

It is true that online petitions may not always go far, but it is still a public voice which we can use, and at least lets people vent. The two things we have on our side are sheer numbers and the social media. We can spread a lot of awareness and public pressure this way. No matter how bleak it may appear we have to fight these issues through. I've been encouraged lately by various organisations and individuals taking a stand against various issues...there are success stories. We will see how best to support the TKAG in fighting this. In the mean time about those Shell petrol stations....

New article on fracking in The Witness. It highlights everything we've been saying.

Why should people in KwaZulu- Natal care about what’s happening in the Karoo?

Elstob says because the Karoo is all South Africans’ heritage. “The issue of exploratory fracking is very serious. They don’t know what’s under there. The Karoo is 250 million years old. It’s an ancient sea bed. The Karoo harbours shale gas, but in the area around the Drakensberg, there could be coal-seam gas, which is found at a much shallower depth, and therefore a greater chance of pollution. Shale gas is found four to six kilometres down.” What Elstob and others are trying to sensitise people about, is that if the go-ahead is given to frack the Karoo, it will only be a matter of time before the Drakensberg, a world heritage site, and other parts of the country are also plundered.

I've very glad the issue made it onto Avaaz. Everyone is encouraged to sign it there. If you are not a member already it is easy to get registered.

For those that are not familiar with Avaaz, they are an international petition community that bears a lot of weight. I've been a member there for a while and have seen many petitions against some pretty high-profile issues across the globe. They also deliver the petitions to the people concerned and they often have the numbers to make an impact. In this case the petition will be delivered to the government officials concerned, so get involved!

The following info can be forwarded to friends via email or on Facebook:

Here's the petition for forwarding to your friends:

Stop fracking in South Africa

Our Karoo is under threat – current applications for horizontal fracking, a water intensive and environmentally destructive extractive process, cover more than half the Karoo in South Africa, 230,000 sq km, an international recognized biodiversity hotspot.
Many people in South Africa are very concerned about the potential negative impacts that the extensive process of shale gas mining can cause, as recorded in the USA, international research reports and articles.
These effects include: health impacts, external costs and damaged roads, truck traffic on a never before scale, severe air pollution, potential groundwater contamination, ecological damage, farming and tourism impacts, and radioactive, hazardous, toxic waste. (www.scribd.com/doc/97449702/100-Fracking-Victims)
The Minister of Mineral Resources will address Cabinet at the end of July, and will make her decision known as to whether she will give the go ahead to allow fracking in the Karoo or not, despite the lack of wide public consultation and participation.
This urgent petition to the Minister BEFORE she presents her decision to the Cabinet will give all South Africans, affected landowners and communities and interest groups the opportunity to request the Minister to extend the moratorium indefinitely to allow for more research before making a decision.
The controversial extraction method of unconventional fracking (High-Volume Slick-water Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing) is under ban or moratorium in more than a 140 places around the world.
Recently, Prof. Van Tonder from the University of the Free State said, that due to the unique geology of the Karoo, groundwater contamination will be inevitable. dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-06-15-confessions-of-a-fracking-defector.
Before any decision can be made, the moratorium on fracking must be extended and fracking should be prohibited in South Africa until thorough scientific research is done to prove that shale gas mining can be done safely according to South African conditions. We currently don’t know where water would be sourced, how safe the drilling would be and how toxic and radioactive waste water would be disposed of. We do not know what the external costs in terms of enforcement, community health impacts and road repairs etc. would be.
The science surrounding the technology and its impacts (both positive and negative) is largely unsettled.
Some research suggests that the extraction process and fugitive methane emissions could make shale gas as bad as coal for the climate.
Shale gas drilling and extraction has lead to groundwater contamination (like in Pennsylvania - www.peherald.com/news/article/2974 ), habitat loss and fragmentation and wildlife population decline in some animal species in Wyoming for example.

We, as the public of South Africa, are entitled to our constitutional rights to a clean environment that is not harmful to our health.
Read more : www.treasurethekaroo.co.za

www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_fracking_in_South_Africa/?toqGmbb

Please also see the link I posted on the Drakensberg Facebook page which can easily be re-posted on your profile to help spread an awareness.

This posting may be a bit late, but maybe some members here can still attend:

Francois du Toit, CEO of African Conservation Trust, a founder member of the Sustainable Alternatives to Fracking and Exploration (SAFE) Alliance, invites you to participate in an information session and a discussion on the extent and impli
cations of Hydraulic Fracturing (or fracking) in KZN, from 12h30 on 24th August 2012, at the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife QEP Auditorium.

Whilst much media attention has focussed on the Karoo fracking motions and apparent potential to create jobs and fulfil our nations’ energy requirements , few KZN residents realise the implications for fracking exploration and full scale exploitation, to land, water and quality of life in this province.

Our programme will start with a few short movie clips on fracking.

Jonathan Deal, founder and Chairperson of Treasure the Karoo Action Group, will then deliver an insightful presentation on the issue of fracking and what it means to South Africans. Thereafter he will lead a panel of local environmental leaders in an open forum.

You are cordially invited to attend as our guest, and we trust that this forum will serve to answer some of your questions.

If you would like to join in, please would you RSVP to Liz before 23 August on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 033 342 2844.

12h30 to 13h00 - Registration
13h00 to 13h10 - Welcome and Introduction - Lewis Pugh (to be confirmed)

13h10 to 13h30 - View movie “The Sky is Pink”
13h30 to 14h00 - View movie “Ongoni Land”
14h00 to 14h30 - Tea
14h35 to 16h15 - Presentation - Jonathan Deal (Founder & Chairperson of Treasure the Karoo Action Group)
Panel Discussion, Questions & Answers

16h15 to 16h30 - Closing - Francois du Toit

Look forward to seeing you there.

More articles:

South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) says it will move to consider the shale-gas exploration licence applications for the Karoo basin, but indicated on Tuesday that only “normal” exploration “excluding actual hydraulic fracturing”, or fracking, will be allowed until the country’s mining regulations had been “augmented” to take account of the unique issues posed by the process.

Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu clarified normal exploration to include “drilling”, as well as geophysical and geochemical mapping. But exploratory fracking would not be allowed during the 6 to 12 months it would take to formulate “appropriate regulations, controls and coordination systems”.

www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/shale-licencing-to-proceed-but-exploratory-fracking-prohibited-for-now-2012-09-11

Disappointing indicators are things such as only 4198 signatures collected so far on the Avaaz petition . We need way more of a public outcry.