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Stop Fracking with our Karoo!!
Confessions of a fracking defector
by
Julienne du Toit
Julienne du Toit is a writer, living with her husband photojournalist Chris Marais, in the Karoo. Julienne is not a geohydrologist or a hydrogeologist.
To go to the original article:
http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-06-15-confessions-of-a-fracking-defector
by
Julienne du Toit
Julienne du Toit is a writer, living with her husband photojournalist Chris Marais, in the Karoo. Julienne is not a geohydrologist or a hydrogeologist.
To go to the original article:
http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-06-15-confessions-of-a-fracking-defector
Horizontal hydraulic fracturing is a drilling and stimulation technique used to mine shale gas. It involves pumping vast volumes of water, sand and chemicals into horizontally drilled wells under great pressure to create cracks in the rock layer to release trapped gas
52% of the Karoo. More than 20% of SA. France has banned it. Many US cities don't want it. IS Fracking the answer for SA?
http://www.treasurethekaroo.co.za/
52% of the Karoo. More than 20% of SA. France has banned it. Many US cities don't want it. IS Fracking the answer for SA?
http://www.treasurethekaroo.co.za/
FRACKING IS UNSUSTAINABLE • WATER THIRSTY • DAMAGES THE ENVIRONMENT
Do also visit http://www.fractual.co.za
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Press Release
Anti-fracking lobby announces new legal campaign to fight government over shale gas mining
The Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) has refocused its legal strategy in preparation for an all out confrontation with the South African Government to prevent fracking in the Karoo.
In addition the group has concluded agreements with like-minded opposition groups to form a broad alliance in opposition to fracking and will be making an announcement on this during the week.
"We have engaged the well established firm of Cullinan & Associates who will bring fresh thinking and decades of experience to our approach at this critical time in our campaign", said Jonathan Deal, Chairman of the Treasure Karoo Action Group.
Last year South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) imposed a moratorium on fracking with the aim of implementing a study into the environmental impact of the controversial form of shale gas extraction, which has been banned, or is under moratorium or restriction in at least 150 jurisdictions around the world.
It is anticipated that DMR technical report will be presented to the Cabinet early in August 2012 after which cabinet will make its decision on whether or not to lift the moratorium and allow exploratory drilling.
Companies that have applied to use the environmentally damaging process, include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. and Bundu Oil & Gas (Pty) Ltd.
Fear that the licenses would be granted were raised when Energy Minister Peters noted during a recent departmental meeting that: "It would be wrong for us to not use the resources that God left us with. This is a blessing http://www.mailfire.co.za that God gives us, and we need to exploit for the benefit of the people" before noting that the people of the Karoo were "going hungry."
"We have been preparing for the moratorium to be lifted for a long time," said Deal.
"Now in the run up to the decision by government we are refocusing our efforts to present a high powered, well prepared legal campaign which we believe will halt the minister in her tracks.
"For this we have selected the best legal minds that we can get to assist us to take this matter to the constitutional court if needs be."
"And we believe we have the support of right thinking South Africans as we move forward."
"We are not deterred by the fact that a number of people may have been influenced by Shell's relentless pro fracking propaganda regarding the size of the gas deposit to the number of jobs that could be created." said Deal. "We also know that Shell has been less than open with the truth about the irreversible damage to the environment that fracking causes and the figures surrounding jobs."
"The Government's dramatic reversal over e-tolling in Gauteng after massive public outcry earlier this year has shown that ordinary people are sick and tired of government riding rough-shod over the will of the people whose lives are most impacted upon by their often ill-considered decisions."
Our message to government is; "if you rule in favour of fracking, under the current circumstances, prepare for a long and costly legal battle as the people who will be most affected fight back ".
ends
Issued by TREASURE KAROO ACTION GROUP
Jonathan Deal natcoordinator@treasurethekaroo.co.za
076-838-5150 or 023-358-9902
Press Release
Anti-fracking lobby announces new legal campaign to fight government over shale gas mining
The Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) has refocused its legal strategy in preparation for an all out confrontation with the South African Government to prevent fracking in the Karoo.
In addition the group has concluded agreements with like-minded opposition groups to form a broad alliance in opposition to fracking and will be making an announcement on this during the week.
"We have engaged the well established firm of Cullinan & Associates who will bring fresh thinking and decades of experience to our approach at this critical time in our campaign", said Jonathan Deal, Chairman of the Treasure Karoo Action Group.
Last year South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) imposed a moratorium on fracking with the aim of implementing a study into the environmental impact of the controversial form of shale gas extraction, which has been banned, or is under moratorium or restriction in at least 150 jurisdictions around the world.
It is anticipated that DMR technical report will be presented to the Cabinet early in August 2012 after which cabinet will make its decision on whether or not to lift the moratorium and allow exploratory drilling.
Companies that have applied to use the environmentally damaging process, include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. and Bundu Oil & Gas (Pty) Ltd.
Fear that the licenses would be granted were raised when Energy Minister Peters noted during a recent departmental meeting that: "It would be wrong for us to not use the resources that God left us with. This is a blessing http://www.mailfire.co.za that God gives us, and we need to exploit for the benefit of the people" before noting that the people of the Karoo were "going hungry."
"We have been preparing for the moratorium to be lifted for a long time," said Deal.
"Now in the run up to the decision by government we are refocusing our efforts to present a high powered, well prepared legal campaign which we believe will halt the minister in her tracks.
"For this we have selected the best legal minds that we can get to assist us to take this matter to the constitutional court if needs be."
"And we believe we have the support of right thinking South Africans as we move forward."
"We are not deterred by the fact that a number of people may have been influenced by Shell's relentless pro fracking propaganda regarding the size of the gas deposit to the number of jobs that could be created." said Deal. "We also know that Shell has been less than open with the truth about the irreversible damage to the environment that fracking causes and the figures surrounding jobs."
"The Government's dramatic reversal over e-tolling in Gauteng after massive public outcry earlier this year has shown that ordinary people are sick and tired of government riding rough-shod over the will of the people whose lives are most impacted upon by their often ill-considered decisions."
Our message to government is; "if you rule in favour of fracking, under the current circumstances, prepare for a long and costly legal battle as the people who will be most affected fight back ".
ends
Issued by TREASURE KAROO ACTION GROUP
Jonathan Deal natcoordinator@treasurethekaroo.co.za
076-838-5150 or 023-358-9902
Government has been making approving noises about fracking recently, possibly in preparation for the lifting of the existing moratorium. Enter Professor Gerrit van Tonder of the University of the Free State. Until two months ago, he was saying fracking would not contaminate the Karoo's groundwater. Now he is suddenly adamant it will. JULIENNE DU TOIT spoke to him.
JdT: What changed your mind about possible contamination from fracking fluids? Before June this year, you were quoted repeatedly as saying fracking would not result in groundwater pollution, and now you say are saying that it is not only certain, but that it could happen in a matter of weeks.
GvT: My doubts started two months ago, after I came into contact with a peer-reviewed study done in a scientific journal called Groundwater by US hydrogeologist Tom Myers concerning groundwater movement in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Myers maintained there was a very slow movement upwards of deep water, a cycle taking tens of thousands of years. But, he said, the holes drilled into the shale became preferential pathways, which means the fracking fluids left underground could rise up to contaminate aquifers in as little as a few hundred or even a few tens of years.
This started me thinking about the Karoo. It also made me remember the exploration holes drilled by the gold companies on my father's Free State farm. Water rose up to them and was still warm at the surface. Also, the hot water springs that you find rising in the Karoo, in Cradock, Aliwal North and near Barrydale originate in the deep formations kilometres underground. In addition, we have proof that certain of the exploration holes drilled by Soekor were artesian. In other words, water from depths of 1,500 metres rose up via these holes. Those are just a few examples. There are more to show there is a vertical movement of briny water from depth to surface. Fortunately, rainwater trickling down improves shallow groundwater quality to a standard fit for human consumption and irrigation. Water quality is better and deeper in the east, where there is more rainfall, than in the west where there is less.
JdT: Aren't these just observations, then? There's no fieldwork. Why is this being seen as so new?
GvT: Actually, we've been stupid. The facts were before us all the time. Someone should have picked it up before, but I'm proud that I did. I freely admit now that I made mistakes in the past.
JdT: You have publicised a study that has not been proven in the field or peer-reviewed. What is the rush?
GvT: As I said in a letter to the Cape Times (in response to Professor Philip Lloyd's questions in the same newspaper), our research is of vital importance for what is going to happen during the next two months. Government is probably going to lift the fracking moratorium in July. It takes at least nine months to get a scientific paper published in a peer-reviewed journal. That is why we found it necessary to release our findings immediately. I am very worried because I now know that the fracking fluid will contaminate the groundwater. There is no doubt at all. That is why our study recommends that "Under no circumstances must the companies be allowed to include any hazardous chemicals into the fracking fluid cocktail. There are other more green options available, even if fracking is considered."
The Karoo is very similar to the Marcellus Shale in that this is a basin under pressure, but we have an additional wild card the dolerite dykes and sills that occur all through this area. The Karoo is riddled with it and this is the only shale field in the world with dolerite. Dolerite, which comes from volcanic action in the Karoo 180 million years ago, is well known as a preferential pathway for water. Any Karoo farmer knows that if you are looking to drill a borehole for water, you seek out dolerite, because water travels along it.
Incidentally, the doctoral student Fanie de Lange, who co-authored the study with me, has also found there are many kimberlite pipes in the Karoo, hidden under the dolerite but stretching down 200km or more. These are additional preferential vertical pathways for water. Do they contain diamonds? Who knows? Only a tiny percentage of kimberlite pipes do.
On top of these you add the fracking wells, and what worries me terribly is how many there are going to be. If they drill at similar rates to the US a well-pad every 260ha, with 10 wells, even across just half of the Karoo, we could eventually have 17,300 well-pads, each with 10 wells or so. Shell's Jan-Willem Eggink has said the well-pads will be 5km apart, with 32 wells on each well-pad. That means 3,600 well-pads with just over 115,000 wells. That's just Shell's wells, not Sungu Sungu, or Falcon or Bundu. If just one of these wells fails and harmful substances have been included in the fracking fluid cocktail, it will be a disaster, I can assure you.
JdT: What scale of disaster are you talking about?
I've seen department of water affairs figures http://www6.dwa.gov.za/DWAStrat/ indicating that of the 50-odd towns, villages and settlements falling within Shell's concession, 37 rely entirely on groundwater, 10 use a combination of ground and surface water and only three use surface water alone. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on clean groundwater. (Incidentally, these figures do not include the farms, where dependence on groundwater for drinking is 100%, even those beside rivers.)
Water affairs predicts that the use of groundwater will grow in the Karoo and elsewhere. Almost all surface water is already allocated.
There is no doubt that the fracking well casings will fail, sooner or later. There is proof of this. That is why I say that contamination is absolutely inevitable and it will be one of the biggest water pollution disasters in the world. South Africa is so short of water. We cannot risk this.
JdT: I see that as with Tom Myers, a number of scientists have rubbished your claims, including the highly respected Professor Terry Engelder of Pennsylvania State University. Gas energy writer Nick Grealy quotes him at length in his column No Hot Air http://www.nohotair.co.uk/gas-guru-blog/shale-gas-2012/166-shale-gas/2535-south-africa-shale-water-the-other-side-of-the-story as saying, in response to your new study, that treatment (fracking) water is held inside the shale rock formation by capillary action and that it is "highly unlikely that gas shale leaks brine at rates that matter to mankind."
GvT: I know Engelder's views. He is the best in his field and I have great respect for him. But I am 100% certain our study is correct. I am so confident I would even be happy to debate it with him on live television. I have spoken to a number of geohydrologists in South Africa and they are all in agreement with me except for one who says he does not know Dr Eddie van Wyk of water affairs. I found this strange, because I know Van Wyk as a very practical man and I would have expected him to agree with our findings. I can only assume he is part of the government's task team on fracking and this possibility was not raised in their report to government.
In addition, I have had support from some of the top geohydrologists in the world, including Professor Shlomo Neuman from the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Water Resources. He wrote to me this week and in his email said:
"Your video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5eCl9oHh1c&feature=youtu.be is very informative (for the initiated) and well done. I also read the Myers paper you sent me and watched a few additional YouTube propaganda pieces both ways. Other than some technical details, I do not find any conceptual issues with your and Myers' points of view."
He ends his note to me (in which he agrees that not enough work has been done on "leaky aquifers or cross-formation flow") by saying "I fully support your warning."
JdT: Since no fieldwork has been done, are there any case studies at all that prove your hypothesis?
GvT: Well, that's an interesting point because I remembered in the media a while back there was mention of a certain Andre Els who was with Soekor in the 1960s and who told of a particular incident that corresponds to what my study says. I dismissed it as rubbish at the time, but since the completion of the study I have called him and he told me what happened.
Els was in charge of drilling fluids at Skietfontein farm near Aberdeen, south of Graaff-Reinet in 1967. At a depth of 4,110 metres, they lost the drilling fluid, which contained water, bentonite, chrome ligno-sulphanate and caustic soda. He told me it took a week of effort before they could plug the hole.
A month and a half after that, a farmer near Klipplaat, over 30km away, called Soekor to complain that his borehole water had suddenly turned brown. There was something odd. Els was sent there, and found that the borehole water contained chrome ligno-sulphanate. It was undoubtedly the drilling fluid that had migrated across and contaminated the borehole.
It seems unbelievable, but the drilling fluid had travelled more than 30km and had moved up from a depth of more than 4,000 metres in only 6 weeks. This shows how quickly contamination can move along a preferential pathway.
JdT: I have to ask you this. Were you ever paid by Shell? Has Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) ever paid you? Who paid for this study of yours?
GvT: The only money I have been paid from anyone who is for or against fracking is from Shell. They paid me R22,000 to review their Karoo Groundwater Atlas Report and attend a three-day workshop in Cape Town by SRK Consulting. SRK did the work for Shell on the Karoo Groundwater Atlas. No one has paid me to do this new study.
JdT: You say it seems there are university academics on the fracking task team. But if you were on the team, what would you advise?
I would say by all means drill a hole to explore what is down there, but do not frack. That is the approach France is taking. DM
(Disclosure: Julienne du Toit lives in Cradock, one of the few towns in the Karoo that doesn't depend on groundwater. She believes that fracking in the Karoo and elsewhere would be a very bad idea.)
JdT: What changed your mind about possible contamination from fracking fluids? Before June this year, you were quoted repeatedly as saying fracking would not result in groundwater pollution, and now you say are saying that it is not only certain, but that it could happen in a matter of weeks.
GvT: My doubts started two months ago, after I came into contact with a peer-reviewed study done in a scientific journal called Groundwater by US hydrogeologist Tom Myers concerning groundwater movement in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Myers maintained there was a very slow movement upwards of deep water, a cycle taking tens of thousands of years. But, he said, the holes drilled into the shale became preferential pathways, which means the fracking fluids left underground could rise up to contaminate aquifers in as little as a few hundred or even a few tens of years.
This started me thinking about the Karoo. It also made me remember the exploration holes drilled by the gold companies on my father's Free State farm. Water rose up to them and was still warm at the surface. Also, the hot water springs that you find rising in the Karoo, in Cradock, Aliwal North and near Barrydale originate in the deep formations kilometres underground. In addition, we have proof that certain of the exploration holes drilled by Soekor were artesian. In other words, water from depths of 1,500 metres rose up via these holes. Those are just a few examples. There are more to show there is a vertical movement of briny water from depth to surface. Fortunately, rainwater trickling down improves shallow groundwater quality to a standard fit for human consumption and irrigation. Water quality is better and deeper in the east, where there is more rainfall, than in the west where there is less.
JdT: Aren't these just observations, then? There's no fieldwork. Why is this being seen as so new?
GvT: Actually, we've been stupid. The facts were before us all the time. Someone should have picked it up before, but I'm proud that I did. I freely admit now that I made mistakes in the past.
JdT: You have publicised a study that has not been proven in the field or peer-reviewed. What is the rush?
GvT: As I said in a letter to the Cape Times (in response to Professor Philip Lloyd's questions in the same newspaper), our research is of vital importance for what is going to happen during the next two months. Government is probably going to lift the fracking moratorium in July. It takes at least nine months to get a scientific paper published in a peer-reviewed journal. That is why we found it necessary to release our findings immediately. I am very worried because I now know that the fracking fluid will contaminate the groundwater. There is no doubt at all. That is why our study recommends that "Under no circumstances must the companies be allowed to include any hazardous chemicals into the fracking fluid cocktail. There are other more green options available, even if fracking is considered."
The Karoo is very similar to the Marcellus Shale in that this is a basin under pressure, but we have an additional wild card the dolerite dykes and sills that occur all through this area. The Karoo is riddled with it and this is the only shale field in the world with dolerite. Dolerite, which comes from volcanic action in the Karoo 180 million years ago, is well known as a preferential pathway for water. Any Karoo farmer knows that if you are looking to drill a borehole for water, you seek out dolerite, because water travels along it.
Incidentally, the doctoral student Fanie de Lange, who co-authored the study with me, has also found there are many kimberlite pipes in the Karoo, hidden under the dolerite but stretching down 200km or more. These are additional preferential vertical pathways for water. Do they contain diamonds? Who knows? Only a tiny percentage of kimberlite pipes do.
On top of these you add the fracking wells, and what worries me terribly is how many there are going to be. If they drill at similar rates to the US a well-pad every 260ha, with 10 wells, even across just half of the Karoo, we could eventually have 17,300 well-pads, each with 10 wells or so. Shell's Jan-Willem Eggink has said the well-pads will be 5km apart, with 32 wells on each well-pad. That means 3,600 well-pads with just over 115,000 wells. That's just Shell's wells, not Sungu Sungu, or Falcon or Bundu. If just one of these wells fails and harmful substances have been included in the fracking fluid cocktail, it will be a disaster, I can assure you.
JdT: What scale of disaster are you talking about?
I've seen department of water affairs figures http://www6.dwa.gov.za/DWAStrat/ indicating that of the 50-odd towns, villages and settlements falling within Shell's concession, 37 rely entirely on groundwater, 10 use a combination of ground and surface water and only three use surface water alone. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on clean groundwater. (Incidentally, these figures do not include the farms, where dependence on groundwater for drinking is 100%, even those beside rivers.)
Water affairs predicts that the use of groundwater will grow in the Karoo and elsewhere. Almost all surface water is already allocated.
There is no doubt that the fracking well casings will fail, sooner or later. There is proof of this. That is why I say that contamination is absolutely inevitable and it will be one of the biggest water pollution disasters in the world. South Africa is so short of water. We cannot risk this.
JdT: I see that as with Tom Myers, a number of scientists have rubbished your claims, including the highly respected Professor Terry Engelder of Pennsylvania State University. Gas energy writer Nick Grealy quotes him at length in his column No Hot Air http://www.nohotair.co.uk/gas-guru-blog/shale-gas-2012/166-shale-gas/2535-south-africa-shale-water-the-other-side-of-the-story as saying, in response to your new study, that treatment (fracking) water is held inside the shale rock formation by capillary action and that it is "highly unlikely that gas shale leaks brine at rates that matter to mankind."
GvT: I know Engelder's views. He is the best in his field and I have great respect for him. But I am 100% certain our study is correct. I am so confident I would even be happy to debate it with him on live television. I have spoken to a number of geohydrologists in South Africa and they are all in agreement with me except for one who says he does not know Dr Eddie van Wyk of water affairs. I found this strange, because I know Van Wyk as a very practical man and I would have expected him to agree with our findings. I can only assume he is part of the government's task team on fracking and this possibility was not raised in their report to government.
In addition, I have had support from some of the top geohydrologists in the world, including Professor Shlomo Neuman from the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Water Resources. He wrote to me this week and in his email said:
"Your video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5eCl9oHh1c&feature=youtu.be is very informative (for the initiated) and well done. I also read the Myers paper you sent me and watched a few additional YouTube propaganda pieces both ways. Other than some technical details, I do not find any conceptual issues with your and Myers' points of view."
He ends his note to me (in which he agrees that not enough work has been done on "leaky aquifers or cross-formation flow") by saying "I fully support your warning."
JdT: Since no fieldwork has been done, are there any case studies at all that prove your hypothesis?
GvT: Well, that's an interesting point because I remembered in the media a while back there was mention of a certain Andre Els who was with Soekor in the 1960s and who told of a particular incident that corresponds to what my study says. I dismissed it as rubbish at the time, but since the completion of the study I have called him and he told me what happened.
Els was in charge of drilling fluids at Skietfontein farm near Aberdeen, south of Graaff-Reinet in 1967. At a depth of 4,110 metres, they lost the drilling fluid, which contained water, bentonite, chrome ligno-sulphanate and caustic soda. He told me it took a week of effort before they could plug the hole.
A month and a half after that, a farmer near Klipplaat, over 30km away, called Soekor to complain that his borehole water had suddenly turned brown. There was something odd. Els was sent there, and found that the borehole water contained chrome ligno-sulphanate. It was undoubtedly the drilling fluid that had migrated across and contaminated the borehole.
It seems unbelievable, but the drilling fluid had travelled more than 30km and had moved up from a depth of more than 4,000 metres in only 6 weeks. This shows how quickly contamination can move along a preferential pathway.
JdT: I have to ask you this. Were you ever paid by Shell? Has Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) ever paid you? Who paid for this study of yours?
GvT: The only money I have been paid from anyone who is for or against fracking is from Shell. They paid me R22,000 to review their Karoo Groundwater Atlas Report and attend a three-day workshop in Cape Town by SRK Consulting. SRK did the work for Shell on the Karoo Groundwater Atlas. No one has paid me to do this new study.
JdT: You say it seems there are university academics on the fracking task team. But if you were on the team, what would you advise?
I would say by all means drill a hole to explore what is down there, but do not frack. That is the approach France is taking. DM
(Disclosure: Julienne du Toit lives in Cradock, one of the few towns in the Karoo that doesn't depend on groundwater. She believes that fracking in the Karoo and elsewhere would be a very bad idea.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtDtAX97qJU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=hKjDfcDgUow
This has new information, new characters and new facts. For example, what the professor from Cornell Univeristy (a leading pioneer of fracking technology) has to say about fracking now. Also on the video is the former VP of Mobil. It could be something that could be shown at community meetings or used as a weblink on your site or in your newsletters
For those on pricey or slow data lines…when you open the link, the second icon to the right (next to the cc icon) on the bottom right taskbar of the video box (where you click to enlarge the screen) is for changing the quality put you mouse on it and select 240p instead of 360p so you can watch it on a much lower res that plays through without download time out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=hKjDfcDgUow
This has new information, new characters and new facts. For example, what the professor from Cornell Univeristy (a leading pioneer of fracking technology) has to say about fracking now. Also on the video is the former VP of Mobil. It could be something that could be shown at community meetings or used as a weblink on your site or in your newsletters
For those on pricey or slow data lines…when you open the link, the second icon to the right (next to the cc icon) on the bottom right taskbar of the video box (where you click to enlarge the screen) is for changing the quality put you mouse on it and select 240p instead of 360p so you can watch it on a much lower res that plays through without download time out
Please share this web page with everyone you know. Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) needs your support!
The moratorium on dreaded fracking has been lifted by our government! Treasure the Karoo Action Group are going to challenge the issuing of fracking licenses in court and for this we need funding from the public who want to also say no to fracking coming to South Africa. A bit about us:
Who is Treasure the Karoo Action Group www.treasurethekaroo.co.za http://www.treasurethekaroo.co.za
Treasure the Karoo Action Group is a non-profit organization needing supporters to raise awareness and funds for our legal campaign to formally oppose the issuing of fracking licenses. TKAG are on the forefront of the fighting the threat of fracking coming to South Africa by taking our government to court. In January 2012 we took the Minister of Minerals, Minister Shabangu to court for being secretive about who was on her government fracking task team. We won the case and the High Court judge ordered Minister Shabangu to divulge who her fracking task team were, only for us to find out that relevant and other important ministries like Ministry of Water Affairs, Tourism, Agriculture, etc were not on the fracking task team.
Minister Shabangu has announced a pro-fracking decision to cabinet. TKAG This rushed decision to lift the current moratorium on fracking contravenes our constitutional rights to a safe environment, clean air and clean drinking water. In the US for example, they are taking up to 4 years to make a decision on fracking in one of their states, doing proper cost benefit analysis (effects on roads, taxes, jobs, air pollution, environmental impact, water sourcing, etc, etc) and our Minister has only taken a few months without doing a cost benefit analysis for the country! Fracking could have irreversible effects on our environment and the fracking technology has been banned or under some form of moratorium in 155 places globally.
What you can do to help TKAG
I attach the following for you and ask that you please circulate it to everyone you know so they can be informed and take action by supporting TKAG:
1. Information about TKAG and Fracking
2. A map from the Petroleum Agency of South Africa showing the current fracking exploration license applications
3. A press release showing TKAG's win in court in January 2012
4. A press release showing how the ANC will benefit from fracking
5. A press release by TKAG on 10 September 2012
Way's to help TKAG
You can STILL help get the word out that fracking is now coming to South Africa and that TKAG are the organisation to support to stop it. We need funds for the legal fees PLEASE. You can help us by doing any or all of the following:
1. Donate a mere R50 a month or what you can afford to TKAG via:
a. Online: https://www.givengain.com/cause/2961/ (click on the red donate button on the top right and accepts all
currencies)
In the notes column, please add initials KR (This is to track that your donation came from this email)
Or
b. EFT: TKAG TRUST ACCOUNT, STANDARD BANK FISHHOEK
Account Number: 072072849 Branch Code: 051001
With reference: (Your Name KR)
(Please email proof of payment with your name and email details to funds@treasurethekaroo.co.za mailto:funds@treasurethekaroo.co.za
to be thanked appropriately.)
2. Circulate the attached documents to your personal and professional networks to raise awareness and lobby funding for TKAG's legal campaign
3. Join our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TreasureKarooActionGroup?ref=ts&fref=ts and http://www.facebook.com/groups/chaseshelloutofthekaroo/
4. Follow us on Twitter: @timelesskaroo and @treasurekaroo and retweet our messages to your followers
5. Invite TKAG to Cape Town events to talk to groups of people
6. Offer TKAG a click-through banner advert on your newsletter going out to your database (please provide sizes and pixels allowed)
7. Host a click-through banner to TKAG's website on your website (please provide sizes and pixels allowed)
8. Sign our online Avaaz petition: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_fracking_in_South_Africa/?wiQbDbb
Feel free to write back with suggestions of what you could possibly do to assist our cause. Time is of the essence, we need funding fast and your financial support will be your "NO TO FRACKING". People of South Africa have NO idea how bad fracking is to the environment and people's health. Please do your part! We cannot mess with our water supply, health, nor can we leave polluted land legacy for our children.
The moratorium on dreaded fracking has been lifted by our government! Treasure the Karoo Action Group are going to challenge the issuing of fracking licenses in court and for this we need funding from the public who want to also say no to fracking coming to South Africa. A bit about us:
Who is Treasure the Karoo Action Group www.treasurethekaroo.co.za http://www.treasurethekaroo.co.za
Treasure the Karoo Action Group is a non-profit organization needing supporters to raise awareness and funds for our legal campaign to formally oppose the issuing of fracking licenses. TKAG are on the forefront of the fighting the threat of fracking coming to South Africa by taking our government to court. In January 2012 we took the Minister of Minerals, Minister Shabangu to court for being secretive about who was on her government fracking task team. We won the case and the High Court judge ordered Minister Shabangu to divulge who her fracking task team were, only for us to find out that relevant and other important ministries like Ministry of Water Affairs, Tourism, Agriculture, etc were not on the fracking task team.
Minister Shabangu has announced a pro-fracking decision to cabinet. TKAG This rushed decision to lift the current moratorium on fracking contravenes our constitutional rights to a safe environment, clean air and clean drinking water. In the US for example, they are taking up to 4 years to make a decision on fracking in one of their states, doing proper cost benefit analysis (effects on roads, taxes, jobs, air pollution, environmental impact, water sourcing, etc, etc) and our Minister has only taken a few months without doing a cost benefit analysis for the country! Fracking could have irreversible effects on our environment and the fracking technology has been banned or under some form of moratorium in 155 places globally.
What you can do to help TKAG
I attach the following for you and ask that you please circulate it to everyone you know so they can be informed and take action by supporting TKAG:
1. Information about TKAG and Fracking
2. A map from the Petroleum Agency of South Africa showing the current fracking exploration license applications
3. A press release showing TKAG's win in court in January 2012
4. A press release showing how the ANC will benefit from fracking
5. A press release by TKAG on 10 September 2012
Way's to help TKAG
You can STILL help get the word out that fracking is now coming to South Africa and that TKAG are the organisation to support to stop it. We need funds for the legal fees PLEASE. You can help us by doing any or all of the following:
1. Donate a mere R50 a month or what you can afford to TKAG via:
a. Online: https://www.givengain.com/cause/2961/ (click on the red donate button on the top right and accepts all
currencies)
In the notes column, please add initials KR (This is to track that your donation came from this email)
Or
b. EFT: TKAG TRUST ACCOUNT, STANDARD BANK FISHHOEK
Account Number: 072072849 Branch Code: 051001
With reference: (Your Name KR)
(Please email proof of payment with your name and email details to funds@treasurethekaroo.co.za mailto:funds@treasurethekaroo.co.za
to be thanked appropriately.)
2. Circulate the attached documents to your personal and professional networks to raise awareness and lobby funding for TKAG's legal campaign
3. Join our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TreasureKarooActionGroup?ref=ts&fref=ts and http://www.facebook.com/groups/chaseshelloutofthekaroo/
4. Follow us on Twitter: @timelesskaroo and @treasurekaroo and retweet our messages to your followers
5. Invite TKAG to Cape Town events to talk to groups of people
6. Offer TKAG a click-through banner advert on your newsletter going out to your database (please provide sizes and pixels allowed)
7. Host a click-through banner to TKAG's website on your website (please provide sizes and pixels allowed)
8. Sign our online Avaaz petition: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_fracking_in_South_Africa/?wiQbDbb
Feel free to write back with suggestions of what you could possibly do to assist our cause. Time is of the essence, we need funding fast and your financial support will be your "NO TO FRACKING". People of South Africa have NO idea how bad fracking is to the environment and people's health. Please do your part! We cannot mess with our water supply, health, nor can we leave polluted land legacy for our children.
"A Criminal Remains A Criminal, Whether He Wears A Convict's Suit Or A Monarch's Crown"
Victor Hugo
Boycott Shell, DO NOT, buy shell products, or fill your petrol tank at a Shell Service Station!
