Mark Andrews on Saturday: Frack to the future, and a purr-fect example of modern-day madness
It's the end of the line for fracking then. The Oil and Gas Authority has ordered that the UK's only two shale gas wells be sealed with concrete. Cuadrilla, the company operating the sites, accused the Government of abandoning enough gas to meet the country's needs for several decades. And, of course, leaving us dependent on that nice Mr Putin to keep warm. Still, the green lobby is delighted. That Russian gas is so much better for the environment than the nasty stuff from Lancashire.
We all know large-scale burning of fossil fuels cannot go on forever, and we must invest in both renewable and nuclear energy. The recent breakthrough on nuclear fusion could be the answer, but it's a long way off. Right now, we need a sensible strategy to manage the transition. The abrupt end of coal as an energy source has left us at the mercy of fluctuating gas prices, hence the recent rise. Turning our back on the chance of greater self-sufficiency is pure folly.
Also, how many of the 'activists' who spent the summer months protesting about fracking and supporting Extinction Rebellion, are now complaining about the choice between 'heating and eating'?
That's it. He must go. Up until now I had largely sat on the fence about Partygate. But if the report in the Daily Mirror is true, Boris Johnson has crossed the line. According to the newspaper, police have seen pictures of Mr Johnson swigging from a can of Estrella. Estrella? From the can? What sort of savage is he? And don't give me the old "Winston broke rules too". Churchill would at least have broken the rules with a bit of panache. He wouldn't have thrown his career away for a can of ghastly mass-produced lager.
A strange tail from Bristol University. The ultra-woke college has offered staff advice on dealing with students who identify as cats. Being sensitive to their felines, obviously. This is paw-some for George Galloway, but bad mews if you're paying 10 grand a year to study at an institution which is rapidly becoming a laughing stock. Apparently, students of the Felix persuasion like to be addressed by the pronouns nya/nyan, which are Japanese for "meow". I hope this is a wind-up, that some student wag thought it funny to see how far they could push their lecturers by inventing a ludicrous grievance. Because if Britain's leading universities really are admitting students who fancy themselves as the leading role in Tom & Jerry, this dumbing down thing must be worse than we thought.
