No Dash for Gas protest against conventional oil well

The Telegraph’s environment activist correspondent, Louise Gray, points us to the No Dash for Gas website, where we can read that

The coalition of climate, anti-austerity and fuel poverty activists who were planning on returning to West Burton power station for the Reclaim The Power action camp in August have decided to switch location to Balcombe, where the Sussex community is currently resisting exploratory drilling by Cuadrilla.

The Reclaim the Power camp will now be taking place in Balcombe from August 16-21, and it’s good of Louise to tweet to let us all know. The community of Balcombe has apparently called on them for support, and:

We share their serious concerns about the environmental and social impacts of fossil fuel extraction in their area.

Which may come as news to some local residents, as fossil fuel extraction has been going on quietly in that region for decades. But at least the village shops have a few days to stock up on whatever it is anti-gas demonstrators from around the country buy (presumably not calor gas stoves).

We’re also told that any dash for gas would increase fuel poverty … no, me neither. What do we want?

We want democratically controlled, clean energy. The obstacles to achieving this are political not technical. We need to reclaim our power.

So now you know the agenda.

Who knows? Maybe the Balcombe locals will look forward to the action camp. “Participating groups include UKUncut, Occupy, Disabled People Against Cuts, Greater London Pensioners Association and Fuel Poverty Action.” (Do Fuel Poverty Action think non-fossil energy will be cheaper? I think we should be told.)

Meanwhile a hat tip to activist journalist Louise Gray for highlighting the website. Definitely one to bookmark.