The fight against fracking in South Africa

Should you care whether or not South Africa is fracked? The Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) believes you should and urges the country to take up their position in society in the fight against fracking.

Fracking (Hydaulic fracturing) is banned or restricted in more than 90 places and 5 countries worldwide and has only been practiced in its current form in the Unites States for about 12 years. It is known to be enormously water thirsty, using up to 640 million liters to frack the wells on one ‘well pad’. Not only is fracking known to have caused pollution of underground water aquifers, the natural gas released is a fossil fuel that significantly contributes to climate change and has been proven to cause earthquakes as well.

There are many negative effects associated with fracking including air, light, noise and dust pollution as well as the disruption of agricultural activities, damage to the environment and allied jobs. It is characterised by high input, rapidly depleting wells which means that they consume many resources like diesel and water and that neither the well, nor the short-term work allied to it is sustainable.

Who and what is Treasure Karoo Action Group?

Established in February 2011, TKAG, a non-profit organisation emerged as the undisputed and effective opposition to fracking in South Africa. This has been achieved with private funds and the daily efforts of an unpaid team.

• Their legal document prepared by the only attorney in Africa with a specialist focus on oil and gas drilling and international law, Dr Luke Havemann. Known internationally as the Havemann Report, it is a critical review of the Shell Environmental Management Plan.
• The second critical review is presently under embargo is a highly technical document, developed by TKAG’s legal team and 22 scientists and environmental specialists, which will, if required, be applied as part of our litigation in the event that the Minister of Minerals issue any exploration licence for fracking under the current circumstances.
• TKAG secured an internationally publicised victory against Shell’s adverts when Shell was found to have used false and or misleading advertising in 4 cases in connection with their statements about fracking.
• TKAG stood up to the minister of minerals and secured a court order on 9 January 2012, compelling the Minister to perform in terms of the rules of court and our ongoing application in respect of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) with reference to the mystery task team.

What Shell and others (don’t) want you to know

• Shale gas will provide all of our energy needs – they don’t know how much gas there is, and if they can extract it.
• Shale gas is cleaner burning and therefore much better than coal: There is no mention of the fact that all of the emissions of diesel, methane and fugitive gasses during the exploration, drilling, fracking, extraction, flaring, refining and distribution are excluded from their calculations and has scientifically been challenged on its climate impacts.
• Shale gas will provide the answer to South Africa’s employment problems. This statement is not true as jobs in the United States are overstated for relatively skilled workers and unsustainable.

What you can do to help

Don’t let fracking endanger South Africa’s environment and people. To help South Africa avoid what has happened in the United States, stand up to fracking before it started.

Thanks for taking action!