Fracking & Drilling

In climate change terms alone, the European Union has let everyone down - and not just in Ireland. UnitedPeople supports attempts to stop the government issuing any more oil and gas exploration licenses off the Irish coast. As it turns out, our-fifths of already discovered fossil fuel reserves will have to remain untouched if we are to avoid runaway climate change.

UnitedPeople supports the efforts of scientists and others into wind research for power production. We are aware that there are times which wind turbines are on their own, not creating enough energy to even cover the costs in daily running such a turbine. This is a matter of profit self-stainability that needs to be more examined and resolved. Never ending, mass subsidising of wind turbines in the long term is not a viable option for the state or indeed, the taxpayer who at the end of every day, is paying for them to run at a possible loss.

Electrification of the heating systems within homes with heat pumps would also go towards addressing our far too much over reliance on the resources of Saudi Arabia and other oil drilling/supplying countries. In reducing such a demand we have to regular ask from them, we are also helping to reclaim more of our own ability to be self-sustainable as a nation. Something very important also in the event of any world crises and we might have to close our border tighter for one crazy reason or another - say, like there was a dangerous virus break out? Any National Development Plan created would have to incorporate the addressing of homes (and others) heating methods.

At the end of the day, year, decade or centaury - there are a number of reasons why drilling is not the long terms solution to an energy crises and any environmental crises. Here are a few of them.

ONE: We simply cannot drill our way out of an energy crises. Sooner or later, the oil runs out. Let's be honest. Then we are back again to a problem that exists now. What do we then use instead. We suggest that the state increases it's efforts towards finding workable, viable, self sustaining alternatives. No, the matter won't be east to resolve - but we can only 'kick the can' down a timeline road for so long. We will catch up with it sooner or later and still then meet the same problems. Lets try tackling them now. Not when it's even further too late.

TWO: Offshore drilling could have an “insignificant” effect on long-term prices. In short, the likes of OPEC and others set international prices for the outcome of any overall drilling. Individual wellhead costs in this light would not be taken into greater appreciation and running costs of each could dramatically vary - maybe even at a nation loss just to keep running (like some wind turbines).

THREE: As it turns apparently out, there isn’t enough drilling equipment at times across the world. Due to the price of oil which in cost sometimes rickets up and down (no real stability long term?), existing drill ships or even rig setups are could be found (and have been) booked solid for the next five to even ten years.  Demand for deepwater rigs has driven up the price of such setups and subsequent further equipment - including personnel to staff it all.

FOUR: The building of more refineries by companies is now considered a short/long term waste of time, further finance and additional resources. For example; America refineries are already so stretched that the United States had at one stage alone, to import almost 150 million barrels of gasoline.

FIVE: Drilling is simply not the direction for the future in seeking alternative energy. At best now, it's a stop-gap till the oil does indeed run out. Alternative methods or ideas - such as tax incentives shifted from oil companies to efficiency and clean energy technologies, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles - must be more created. Easy? No. Necessary? Absolutely. No question any longer. Tick-tock...

SIX: From a safety perspective alone, the drilling of sea and land also bring with it environmental dangers.Core truth, drilling is indeed dangerous. A single oil spill alone, besides other industry related accidents, could devastate Ireland coastal communities, kill millions of marine creatures including our precious fish stocks and leave Western coastlines with a layer of deadly crude that would take years and billions of Euros to find for an additional clean up - if it could be cleaned up at all!

Any resolving of our current or future energy crisis - and to any world climate crisis - is not in drilling more. It is in further innovation, more efficiency like in the areas of bio-fuels (such as cellulosic ethanol) and in other ability ways found to move forward. Offshore (or even 'onshore' should that question even arise) drilling around or in Ireland areas are a bad idea. For a nations long-term energy plan, it is very short-sighted.