Now this I did not expect. The usually squishy Church of England has come out tentatively in favor of fracking, knocking its opponents for “ignoring the poor.” Per the Telegraph:

While warning against giving “cowboys and cavaliers” free rein to exploit the Earth’s natural resources, the Church insisted that environmental risks could potentially be minimised as it publicly set out the arguments in favour.
It acknowledged that fracking, which involves fracturing underground rocks to extract gas and oil, was “less than ideal” but said it might still be less harmful to the planet than burning coal.

Naturally, the Church insisted that it didn’t have a view on the matter, issuing a statement confirming that the church had “no official policy” on the matter.

But then it said this:

Philip Fletcher, chair of the group, said: “There are a number of balancing considerations which need to be taken into account when coming to a view.
“Fuel poverty is an increasingly urgent issue for many in society – the impact on energy bills is felt most by the least well off.
“Blanket opposition to further exploration for new sources of fuel fails to take into account those who suffer most when resources are scarce.”
He said the church shared the view of environmentalists that there should be proper controls, remarking: “We do not want cowboys and cavaliers digging up the land in a free for all exploitation.”
But he added that the procedure could potentially be carried out safely through “operational best practices”.
“There are issues and risks,” he said.
“The answer to those is to treat them seriously and to minimise them.

When you’re losing the Church of England . . .