Letters to Editor: Fracking fears

Fracking fears show lack of education

I was most dismayed to see your lead letter of January 19 about Hawke's Bay becoming the "Texas of the South".

I live in Texas 10 months of the year and here in Napier two months, so I do know what I speak of, unlike some of your respondents.

I also worked in the natural gas industry for 20 years.

We do have "fracking" in Texas. I live on the border of the Eagle Shale formation, one of the largest deposits in the country.

We have no polluted waters, no air pollution (a bit of dust from the trucks and work but most of our pollution comes across the border from Mexico and their unregulated burning), a few flare burn offs but we had those before precisely because of thee massive deposits of natural gas.

Pollution from the Gulf Coast to Ft. Worth - hardly! Earthquakes - sorry not in Texas (there have been some in the northern US, but they have not been definitely linked to any injection of fluid because of "fracking". Your readers need to be educated on that which they speak - not condemning a practice which has produced more than 30,000 jobs and reduced our dependence on the Middle East for our insatiable demand for oil and gas.

Please, visit Texas some time and see what a great state we have.P J Krueger Napier NZ and Helotes, TexasRemove beach gatesI hope that councillors at Hastings District Council will force the following actions:

1. Removal of the recently installed gates at Ocean Beach and cancellation of the security firm's contract to operate them.

2. Bringing to account the person or persons at HDC who arranged for a contract (worth many thousands of dollars) to be issued to a private company without a tender process.

3. The future involvement of a council committee meeting and full public consultation whenever restrictions on public access are contemplated at beaches and other recreational areas.

Edward Hamilton, Hastings

Flowers a real joy

On behalf of the residents of Eversley, a big thank you to the kind people who bring us flowers.

They are very much appreciated.

Isobel Simpson, Eversley.