EDINBURGH: The Scottish government will not support the development of fracking after a public consultation found overwhelming opposition to the practice, the energy minister said on Tuesday in a victory for environmentalists.
Scotland imposed a moratorium on fracking, the process of fracturing underground shale rock to release gas and oil, in 2015 and that will now remain for the foreseeable future.
“The decision taken today means fracking cannot and will not take place in Scotland,” Paul Wheelhouse told the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.
“Taking account of available evidence and the strength of public opinion, my judgment is that Scotland should say ‘no’ to fracking.”
Fracking has run into stiff opposition in many countries from environmentalists who say it causes problems including pollution of the water table, and from residents of areas where fracking is being considered.
Environmental groups Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth both welcomed the news from Edinburgh and said the executive there, run by the Scottish National Party (SNP), was leading the way toward clean energy.
“This is a huge win for the anti-fracking movement, particularly for those on the front line of this dirty industry here in Scotland, who have been working for a ban these last six years,” said Mary Church, head of campaigns for Scotland at Friends of the Earth.
Britain’s central government, led by Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, supports fracking. The opposition Labour Party has said it would ban the technique if elected.
“The SNP government is leading the way toward the clean energy system that people want. The Conservative government in Westminster is now alone in backing fracking and looks very isolated indeed,” said Elisabeth Whitebread, energy campaigner at Greenpeace UK.
Scottish government says “no” to fracking
Scottish government says “no” to fracking
Protesters try to attack driver after truck speeds through anti-Iran demonstration in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with marchers demonstrating in support of the Iranian people, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver.
The U-Haul truck, with its side mirrors shattered, was stopped several blocks away and surrounded by police cars. ABC7 news helicopter footage showed officers keeping the crowd at bay as demonstrators swarmed the truck, throwing punches at the driver and thrusting flagpoles through the driver’s side window.
The police department confirmed its officers were on the scene but didn’t immediately say if anyone was arrested.
Two people were evaluated by paramedics and both declined treatment, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Several hundred people had gathered Sunday afternoon in the Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian theocracy. The LA police department eventually issued a dispersal order, and by 5 p.m. only about a hundred protesters were still at the scene, ABC7 reported.
Activists say a crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has killed more than 530 people. Protesters flooded the streets in Iran’s capital of Tehran and its second-largest city again Sunday.
