In a landmark legal victory that centered on fracking, a middle-class north Texas ranching family won nearly $3 million from a big natural gas company whose drilling, they contend, caused years of sickness, killed pets and livestock, and forced them out of their home for months. latimes/nation/la-na-fracking-lawsuit-20140424,0,508199.story#ixzz2zuJ4OctC This is obviously further justification for an outright ban on the process of UGEE. The health implications are known, and with this first case, the floodgates will be opened for claims against the oil companies concerned. My feeling here is that with this knowledge in your hands, to move ahead in any way with this process will mean doing so in full knowledge of the implications. Accountability is a key point to consider when moving ahead. Can you, the elected officials, be sued, for example, for giving your permission (voting in favour of, or not signing anything in disfavour of, or avoiding any form of vote) for a dangerous process to take place in your country, where the evidence is present PRIOR to the process being rolled out, and thus, for not acting in the best interests of the people you are here to serve and to protect? In terms of accountability, then, could you be held individually accountable for supporting an industrial process that knowingly harms your electorate and the environment? Perhaps then, we need to publicise those individuals who are in a position of protection and service and who are giving their backing to the UGEE process at this stage or not voicing their dissent, so that they can be brought to account further down the line when this process is rolled out in Ireland? I think that as a voter, this list would also be important for the electorate, as we vote based on key issues such as this, and with the evidence staring us in the face, with the landmark legal victory in the States, combined with the recent legal suit against France by an oil company being overturned by their highest court so that the ban on UGEE has been upheld, for us to move ahead with UGEE runs contrary to the evidence. Thus, accountability will be called for as we start to witness the effects on our health and environment. Can we get a list of all the MLAs who are in favour of UGEE and those who have not been clear about which side of the fracking/UGEE fence they stand on? I think this is a fair request considering the nature of the beast at hand. I will ensure that this list is made publically available, as the open and honest nature of democracy calls for that at a minimum.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 16:49:31 +0000
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