Prime Minister David Cameron gave his support for hydraulic fracturing, a process used to extract gas and oil from shale rock. In an editorial written for the Daily Telegraph, a newspaper in Britain, Cameron lauded the benefits of fracking. He said it could bring in more jobs, decrease energy bills and give funds to the communities where the resource would be extracted.
"If we don't back this technology, we will miss a massive opportunity to help families with their bills and make our country more competitive," the Conservative Party leader added.
Reuters reported that Britain has potential shale reserves which, when mined, would help decrease its dependence on energy imports. Environmentalists, however, cited the destruction that injecting a combination of water, chemicals and sand to rock in order to get the resource could bring. They said it could cause pollution, spoil the countryside and even cause minor earthquakes. The prime minister dismissed the concerns and said that for as long the activity was regulated properly, it would be safe.
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