Talk Fracking asked the author of the ‘Frackademics’ report, Paul Mobbs, to respond to the critique of this report by Professor James Verdon at Bristol University. Here follows a quick rebuttal. It is not comprehensive and we do not intend to embark on a lengthy...
Frackademics - how the fracking industry and their PR machine have infiltrated the academic community This new study commissioned by Talk Fracking, looks at the relationships between scientists, academics, policy makers and the industry. This report undermines the foundations of the four reports, which the government and industry...
CONTENTS Introduction Case study 1: University funding and NERC's CDT for Oil and Gas Case study 2: Academic involvement in major shale gas studies Case study 3: The Mackay-Stone shale gas climate impacts study Case study 4: The Science Media Centre and the 'seeding' of articles Case study 5: Guardian 'open...
Case study 1: University funding and NERC's CDT for Oil and Gas Doctoral research is a gateway to holding senior positions in academia. Therefore the availability of funding to support doctoral research represents a way in which those providing funding can skew the academic agenda in...
Case study 2: Academic involvement in major shale gas studies Can the public have trust in the statements made by leading academics?; or do potential conflicts of interest warrant some element of suspicion, requiring that we test the validity of that information? What matters here is...
Case study 3: The Mackay-Stone shale gas climate impacts study When the Mackay-Stone report [30] was released by DECC in September 2013, it generated the kind of headlines which the Government were looking for in the wake of the Balcombe protests in Sussex. For example, from...
Case study 4: The Science Media Centre and the 'seeding' of articles Over the last few decades, particularly in relation to the struggle over issues such as tobacco or climate change, the abuse of science in the media has become an issue of academic study. As...
Case study 5: Guardian 'open letter' from academics On 4th June 2014 the Guardian published a letter [58], co-signed by 50 academics, on the issue of shale gas. We should begin with the concluding paragraph of the letter – As geoscientists and petroleum engineers from Britain's leading academic...
Case study 6: The interrelationship between the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Gas and Oil and The Task Force on Shale Gas In this last case study we will examine how 'astroturfing' happens at the Parliamentary level; and how the public relations mediated relationships between corporate interests...
Conclusion The basis of rational, scientific judgement is evidence, and the framework for how that evidence is assessed and conclusions drawn. The recent use of scientists to front the case for unconventional gas and oil in Britain is not based on clear, unequivocal evidence. Instead it relies...