The German government just voted to ban fracking! UPDATED: Berlin votes to divest from fossil fuels!

Germany's coalition government has agreed to ban fracking for shale gas after years of fractious talks over the issue ‒ but environmental groups claim the ban does not go far enough and have vowed to fight the deal.

Test drilling will still be allowed but only with the permission of the respective state government, officials said.

German industry is keen to keep the door open to fracking ‒ which involves blasting chemicals and water into rocks to release trapped gas ‒ arguing that it could help lower energy costs, but opposition is strong in the country, where a powerful green lobby has warned about possible risks to drinking water.

If the law is approved by parliament, Germany will follow France, which has banned fracking, whereas Britain allows it subject to strict environmental and safety guidelines.

This was a compromise with environmental groups as the agreement opens the deal to be revisited in 2021.

I'm with Bernie. Why can't the US be more like Europe?

UPDATE: More good news from Germany as Berlin votes to divest from fossil fuels, becoming the fifth European capital to do so.

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Thaumlord-Exelbirth's picture

I'm guessing something to do with the Red Scare. Partially, at least.

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Why can't the US be more like Europe?

Not being like Europe has plenty of good things about it, unless you only pay attention to the positives and skip all the negatives which is generally what occurs when a comment like that bolded above gets made...

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CaptainPoptart's picture

Tell us about some of these negatives that aren't worse here. All ears, because I think VL is spot on.

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I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance. - e.e.cummings

LOL.

Bless your heart Poptart.

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CaptainPoptart's picture

But I also noticed you didn't respond to my question.

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I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance. - e.e.cummings

martianexpatriate's picture

like us to be more like Europe too.

Better schools. Fewer shootings. On the average, much less libertarianism. I can think of a couple negatives but they aren't big ones.

Tell me what your negatives are?

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mimi's picture

a lady once told me in an airplane flying over Germany and then England. See, our wheat and rye-fields are all really rectangular and squares with exact 90 percent angles, but British corn fields are all nicely rounded smoothly fitting into all the small hills and valleys and have always some sort of green hedges on their borders, so much more lovely and humane.

What she didn't know was that US cornfields are conspiratorial. I didn't tell her. My mouth was just too squared into a lockjaw.

So, definitely think about what kind of corn fields you wish for.
German:
German-style crop images.jpg
British:
2-British-crop- images.jpg
US:
3-US-CROP-images.jpg
Corn fields tell us everything about our national character, yes.

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martianexpatriate's picture

The evidence has been in for a long time. Fracking will eventually cost us far more then it gains us.

It's the same deal as always. The people involved take the money and run, and years later the people live there and the taxpayer have to pay for the mess.

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snoopydawg's picture

If so, will this ban stand up against the corporations and their 3 industry insider judges?
I'm pleased that Germany is taking climate change seriously. Didn't they also recently pass another bill that either helps them get off fossil fuels or something else?

I read this article on huffpo today and what the fracking industry has done to rural Pennsylvania would be criminal if we had a working justice department in this country, or if our regularatory agencies weren't in bed with the corporations.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pennsylvania-fracking-water_us_576b7...
The article is heartbreaking to see what so many people are going through with not being able to use their water and that even if they can't use it, they are still paying $80/month for their water bills.
Isn't that what happened in Flint too? Even though the water is full of lead, people are still paying high water bills or being shut off.
The corporate coup is almost completed and the TPP will drive in the final nail.
Damn Obama and every congress member that voted for this treasonous bill that gives away our national sovereignty. How can this be legal for foreign companies to over rule our regulatory agencies even if they aren't working?

And I imagine what is happening in Penni's happening all over our country. I read an article about how the abandoned oil wells are leaking and that since so many oil companies have filed for bankruptcy, Texas is on the hook for cleaning up after the oil companies.
Privatize the profits and make the tax payers pay to clean up their messes.

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

LeChienHarry's picture

fossil fuels?

When Germany doesn't generate enough electricity for the day, her connections with France and its nuclear power plants, come in very handy.

I haven't heard much about France trying to create sustainable (non nuclear) energy. Would love to. Hoping they are moving fast in this direction.

There are a lot of solar tile roofs but seems no national effort to help distribute solar or wind individually at this time.

Anybody?

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You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again you did not know. ~ William Wiberforce

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Hawkfish's picture

Test drilling will still be allowed but only with the permission of the respective state government, officials said

In other words, they couldn't get a national ban because of political differences between the two legislative houses, so they compromised by passing the buck to the states.

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg