Here's a list of E&T articles on shale gas with a summary of the impression given by the contents of each article: positive or negative.

** Call to Ban Shale - negative
** Halt Shale Gas Extraction - negative
** Commons Committee Questions Energy Minister On Shale - negative
** Shale Gas Provides Benefits to UK - ends by repeating known lies from an eco-propaganda film.
** Shale Gas Contributes to Global Warming - negative
** Cuadrilla Finds Shale Gas in UK - NEGATIVE
** Fracking Could Harm Bath Hot Springs - negative
** Fracking Highly Probably Cause of Tremors - negative
** Concerns Raised Over Shale Gas - negative
** Shale gas should be left in the ground - yes - you guessed it - Negative!
** Shale Gas Water Pollution 'Unlikely' - note the quotation marks - NEGATIVE

Even the articles with a vaguely positive sounding headline turn out to be full of alarmist statements from lobbyists funded by anti-shale establishment interests. Can anyone think why the IET might be so biased against shale?

How about reporting the good news IET? Good news like Shale Boom Cuts Electricity Prices by Half


Why is the IET presenting its members with such biased, one-sided reporting on this important development? Has it got something against abundant, cheap, clean energy? The blatantly biased reporting on this and other energy issues is the reason why I resigned my 18 year IEE membership.

Having read a few of the articles you've referred to, you seem to have locked yourself into a mind-set where any even remotely negative comment within an otherwise positive article somehow makes the whole article negative.

In short, you seem to be asking for biased, one-sided reporting, but it must be completely and utterly positive in favour of shale gas.

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S P Barker BSc PhD MIET

In the numerous IET articles on wind and solar I don't recall any "even remotely negative comments" - despite massive objections on the grounds of their huge cost per kWh, their need for 100% backup by gas power stations, the subsidies paid to wealthy landowners by inflating the bills of poor pensioners, ruining the beauty of the countryside, the noise pollution and flicker, the loss of tourism, the chopping of rare birds of prey etc. etc.

No - I've never seen any of those issues mentioned in an E&T article.

So how come *every* single shale gas article needs to be weighed down with (unfounded) objections from the likes of WWF and Friends of the Earth? If WWF and FOE get their say in every E&T shale article - why don't we ever hear from any of the numerous organisations opposed to wind and solar subsidy farming??

And so it continues - compare and contrast the following: First a brand new report from the Polish Geological Institute - confirming what multiple US studies have found:


Compare with this blog post on Polish Shale from Pelle Neroth - the IET's man in Brussels:


So it seems irrational fears and green smears are reported as if they were facts, while factual engineering studies aren't even reported.

Human history shows that any institution like the IET will always follow fashion and support the consensus establishment view, that is what it does, it is in its DNA.

Scientific fact and original thought will often be thought of as a minority viewpoint in such institutions.