Fracking exposure salutary

I WOULD like to thank Jeanette McRae for warning us of the possibility of mineral exploration within our area. I am absolutely appalled by the idea, and hope the council knocks it on the head.
In the United States, fracking has caused terrible damage to communities, and the environment. It has poisoned ground water, caused earthquakes in previously stable areas, and led to incidental harm through noise, air pollution, heavy vehicle traffic, etc.
There is also the matter of gas leakages with attendant risk of explosion — just what we need in our bushfire-prone area. There is even an amusing story about the CEO of a minerals company who sued a fracking operation where he lives in Texas, because his house value plummeted.
The Healesville community needs to unite as a matter of urgency to oppose any such mis-development within our township, or anywhere near it.
A more general consideration is that even conservative organisations like the World Bank now recommend leaving fossil fuel reserves in the ground. Whether it’s brown coal in the Latrobe Valley, black coal in the Galillee Basin, or natural gas under Badger Creek, extracting it is guaranteed to speed up the cooking of our planet.
Dr Bob Rich,
Healesville