The opponents of fracking often claim that the British Government is “bribing” local communities to accept fracking in their area by promising them a share of the money paid to the government by the companies concerned. Bribery is a pretty emotive term and it seems to be used in ignorance of the substantial academic literature [...]

On 6 October the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, approved Cuadrilla’s application to explore for shale gas on the Preston New Road site, thereby overturning Lancashire County Council’s rejection. Javid is also minded to approve exploration on the Roseacre Road site providing Cuadrilla can satisfy him on highway safety issues. [...]

Fracking is blamed for many things but in Oklahoma, one of the most fracked regions of the world, the recent increase in the number of small earthquakes has a different origin. Before 2010 there were virtually no such events but in 2015 there were more than 2500 with magnitude 2.5 or greater on the Richter [...]