Fracking is a process of developing oil or gas that uses huge amounts of water and can have devestating environmental impacts - poisoning lands and making ground water toxic. A Texas based company in America known as Rhino is trying to frack 1.5 million hectares of land in Pietermaritzburg, Ladysmith and Nkandla, this includes over 10 000 farms in these areas. The area that they want to frack provides water to the surrounding farms and the people.
The water will be poisoned and will affect both the people and animals living in and around these areas. The water is also used on the farms and therefore will affect the food eaten. South Africa is going through a drought at the moment and therefore cannot afford contaminated water.
Phillips Steyn is the COO for the Rhino company and said that they had not done fracking before but the Rhino U.S owners have and to his knowledge have not had any environmental incidents, that is not very promising.
Rhino is going to frack in South Africa's world renown Midlands, please sign my petition urging the South African cabinet to act immediately to protect South Africa's water and lands.
For more information on fracking in South Africa please see these sites:
Midlands Conservancy, Sherina Swart's blog, Rhino's fracking proposal.
