In the UK, the Queen’s speech is apolitical – she merely gives royal assent to Parliament’s wishes. This year, the Queen’s speech includes legislation removing the right of landowners to object to underground pipelines traversing their property. Should this right then not extend to fracking beneath Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle or across the Duchy of Cornwall?
Companies such as Cuadrilla have bullied and strong-armed our government, corrupt and spineless as it is, into allowing the spread of fracking and underground coal gasification, to the extent that local authorities are being given money to continue with these insane and inefficient practices. Large swathes of Britain, including National Parks and Sites of Special Scientific Interest have been given over to exploration of underground reserves of shale oil.
Fracking and extreme energy present huge risks to underground aquifers. We are continuing to fuel the greenhouse effect by burning our remaining sources of fossil fuels, releasing CO2 and methane in the process. Moreover, each fracking well uses up millions of gallons of water, which requires thousands of lorry miles to transport it, in order to pump the shale oil from beneath the surface. The whole process is therefore an extremely inefficient way of obtaining energy.
The only sustainable solution is for massive investment in renewable energy and to take energy out of the hands of private companies, greedy for profit at the expense of our environment. We need a socialist solution to unfettered capitalism, and we need to move towards a sustainable economy.
Oil may bring wealth to a tiny elite, but we cannot drink the stuff!
The Queen’s Speech
Anachronistic, antagonistic. Angry activists
Bellow, “Bury beneath Balmoral, Buckingham Palace!”
Campaigners contend controversial
Decision. Delving deep,
Earthworks excavate energy.
The futile failure of fracking’s
Grip on government. Greenhouse gases given go-ahead.
Halliburton harvests heinous haul.
Idiotic, ill-conceived idea.
Judgement jettisoned, unjustified
Knackered, kaput.
Loot and lucre
Make maleficence mellifluous.
Nullify necessary, natural,
Overwhelming objections. Obeisance to oil,
Petrochemical pollutants proliferate.
Queen quells queries. Aquifers
Ruined. Removes right to refuse.
“Shovel under Sandringham. See how she suffers.
Transport tragic teratogens ‘twixt tubes
Underfoot, underground.”
Vehement, vociferous, vexatious, vengeful,
Wondrously wilful. We won’t wait to
Extinguish extreme exploitation.
Won’t yield to yellow-bellied, oily political yes-men.
Zero tolerance. Zero fracking. Zero royal assent.
You can read some more of my poetry in ‘Little Red Poetry’ (£4 pbk, £2.50 pdf e-book).
All proceeds go to build a new party for ordinary people, against cuts and privatisation. 
Copies are also available from Left Books
Tags: corruption, extreme energy, fracking, poetry, renewables, republicanism
Andrew Walton's Blog 
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