Books by Peter Ralph

The water and the air in the Fisher Valley was pristine before the coal seam gas companies arrived with government endorsed gas exploration and development licences. Then they marched roughshod over the owners of privately owned highly productive farming and grazing land, paying them little in the way of compensation. After drilling they pumped water, sand and toxic chemicals at high pressure hundreds of metres into the ground in a process known as fracking that exploded the coal seams, releasing the methane while giving scant attention to the ground, air and water pollution they were creating. When little Charlie Paxton aged only six passes away with a mysterious form of cancer, his father, Charles, swears to have his revenge. He is determined to stop the gas companies even if it means blowing up their wells and blocking their access to agricultural properties. But big gas is powerful and backed by rapacious governments who won't hesitate to use their police and army to smash through blockades. Can a small group of farmers, greens and conservatives stand against the might of big gas and the governments complicit in helping it?