said
listened with half an ear to President Zuma’s State of the Nation Address. I still don’t understand why I devoted so much time listening to such comprehensive rubbish filled with hollow promises, embedded with momentous lies and eliciting hope from the masses by offering inflated statistics that suggest economic improvement and positive social upliftment.
Political speak is a bit like violence on TV. The constant barrage of violence has a numbing effect on our senses and each time we view this violence, we are able to handle a bit more of it. We become hardened. Well, I have become hardened to the rhetoric that is so common in today’s ‘smoke and mirrors’ political arena and that is the reason I listen with only half an ear.
Getting back to the State of the Nation Address, I let most of the mumbo-jumbo about investment constraints on economic development, improvement of past infrastructural failures, radical socio-economic change, increasing domestic production and the reduction of serious crime, go right over my head, but there was one remark in Zuma’s speech that peaked my interest, thrown into the mix so unobtrusively, almost at a whisper, that got me to sit up and listen. This is what politicians are so good at – boring you into a comatose-like state with monotone monotony and then throwing in something they hope you’ll miss. Well, I didn’t miss it. These are our President’s words.
“This situation calls for a radical transformation of the energy sector, to develop a sustainable energy mix that comprises coal, solar, wind, hydro, gas and nuclear energy. We will also need to identify innovative approaches to fast-track procurement and delivery by government in the energy sector.”
“Work needs to be done at a technical level on all forms of energy, especially nuclear energy and shale gas with regards to funding, safety, exploitation and the local manufacture of components.”
“Nuclear has the possibility of generating well over 9000 megawatts, while shale gas is recognised as a game changer for our economy. We will pursue the shale gas option within the framework of our good environmental laws.”
Boom! “We will pursue the shale gas option.”
With so many environmental impact studies clearly indicating that shale gas exploration or hydraulic fracturing (fracking) continues to pollute underground water resources and that the negative long-term environmental impact of fracking far outweighs the costs of this exploration … it was in total disbelief that I heard our President utter those words.
Tristan Taylor, co-ordinator for Earthlife Africa, said, “What we are discovering from shale gas fields in the United States is that the decline rate is very high. We would like to see a greater vision and mission on renewable energy.”
Taylor goes on to say that there will be long-term environmental consequences with water pollution. The facts are there. Simply – fracking is bad business.
What is hydraulic fracturing/fracking? Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at high pressure in order to fracture the shale rock below to release the natural gas. That all sounds environmentally okay until you take a look at the tons of chemicals that get pumped into these deep-drilled holes.
Each fracking well requires an average of 400 tanker trucks to carry water and supplies to and from the site. The water brought in is mixed with sand and chemicals to create fracking fluid. Approximately 150 000 litres of chemicals are used per fracturing. These chemicals include lead, uranium, mercury, ethylene glycol, radium, methanol, hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde, among many others. The fracking fluid is then injected into the ground through a drilled pipeline, under pressure.
I lost hope in all forms of politics years ago and this hope dwindled to an all-time low after the State of the Nation Address.
Fracking is summed up most succinctly in a quote by Bill McKibben: "There is an urgent need to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, dramatically reduce wasted energy, and significantly shift our power supplies from oil, coal, and natural gas to wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources."
Stuart Reichardt
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www.treasurethekaroo.co.za Jonathan Deal
www.fractual.co.za Ian Perrin