Listening to the discussions of Ministers and Directors
General is a formula for the development of ulcers! The Minster of Energy is a case in point,
with numerous platitudes and generalisations being given, and very little meat.
The Government’s determination to promote the development of
shale gas deposits in the Karoo makes one ask whether the decision has been
made as to who is to share in the profits generated by the granting of the
licence. In the light of numerous
Government actions, such as the Arms Deal, the Police Headquarters lease, the
purchase of the IEC offices, leads one to ask, in any major decision by
Government, who is to benefit. Shale gas
and shale oil deposits were once considered to be the next great provider of
energy. However, experience has shown
that the energy supplied by these deposits tends to decline at a rapid rate,
far quicker than the always-optimistic projections of the oil companies seeking
the licences. The result is that they companies
need to drill new holes, fracture a greater area, in order to maximize their
profit from the licences. And, of
course, that activity has two major results.
More destruction is caused to the environment, and more land is rendered
sterile for any other purpose. The oil
companies, when asked about the question of water contamination, point out that
the amount of water and chemicals used in the fraccing process is very
small. That ‘information’ is purposely
misleading. By far the biggest damage likely
to be caused by fraccing in the Karoo will be to the huge water resources held
in the aquifers under the Karoo. Those
aquifers hold sufficient water to meet the needs of South Africa! When the rock that holds them in place is
fractured, the methane that is trapped in the shale is freed to migrate into
those aquifers, destroying their potential for use for agriculture and other
purposes for the indefinite future. The
value of that water, if applied correctly, far exceeds the short-term value of
the oil or gas likely to be recovered.
In addition, the methane that will be released in incalculable volumes,
is at least twelve times as effective as a greenhouse gas than is carbon
dioxide! When the rock structures
holding that methane underground are fractured, the methane will be free to
migrate to the surface and into the air, compounding the already critical
global warming problem! And once the
rock is fractured, there can be no stopping this migration. It will remain a factor that cannot be
controlled for hundreds of years. As to
the promise of hundreds of jobs being generated by the fraccing process, on
would be pardoned for doubting the reality of those promises. Basic common sense tells us that the promise
of the creation of jobs by an activity with a very limited life must be
carefully scrutinised before we take the huge risk of destroying a significant
national asset.
The President and the Minister have spoken of the need to
’develop a nuclear capability’. Perhaps
those two worthies can explain the rationale of the decision to dismantle the
Atomic Energy Corporation less than twenty years ago! That body was a centre of excellence matched
by perhaps three other organisations in the world. It was built up at huge cost to South Africa,
and then, when the ANC took power, simply destroyed, leaving behind a shell
that was reduced to stripping the copper wiring from the buildings to sell in
order to pay the bills! Perhaps the
gullible public can remember the scandal when the plant that manufactured the
seamless tubes for the nuclear fuel pellets was sold to the Chinese for
sufficient money to pay the commission on the sale! A plant that was valued at R600 million went
to the Chinese for R16 million! Now we
plan to use the French to provide us expertise to build nuclear power
plants. Why the French, when they, in
common with most other countries using nuclear power are reducing their
dependence on that technology? One is
tempted to believe that the prime reason is the proclivity of the French to pay
healthy bribes to the people in power! The
fact that no new nuclear power plants will be built in France must surely be a
significant driver for the sale of the technology to the unsophisticated
Governments of Africa (described by a senior official in one of the companies
involved in the Arms Deal as ‘a bunch of jungle bunnies’!), where France has a
reputation for unloading outmoded technology at unaffordable prices and on
generous terms, not the least of those being the payment of considerable
‘inducement money’ to the officials who make the decision. One factor that the Government seems to be
unaware of is that a large proportion of the nuclear fuel presently changing
hands throughout the world derives from the reprocessing of the nuclear
warheads, particularly from Russia. The
actual production of new uranium is presently only about a third of the current
demand. Once the warheads have been used
up, the cost of replacement fuel will go through the roof, and we will be stuck
with yet another worthless ‘investment’ by Eskom! Of course, the gullible public will wind up
carrying the can, paying prices for electricity that have become and will
continue to be a major deterrent to the development of industry. One further point on nuclear power. In the past, the question of disposal of
radioactive waste was glibly passed over.
It was known then that the ‘disposal system’ comprised a shed in a
remote area, packed with rusting steel drums containing highly toxic material. The public should demand, as a precondition
for any further nuclear power plants, that a comprehensive disclosure be made
of the waste disposal provisions presently in place and projected for the
future. Nuclear waste disposal has been
a major reason for the discontinuance of nuclear power plants in Germany, a
country which is known for its honesty of Government. If we have a much better system, let us and
the rest of the world hear about it!
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