Your headline to Dr Martin Rodger’s letter “Exaggerating fracking ideas” (Echo August 23rd) was I thought very appropriate because it sums up his letter well. He continues his anti-fracking campaign by making sweeping statements and generalisations which he fails to substantiate.

An independent report into fracking was carried out by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society under the chairmanship of the Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Cambridge University.

As part of their work they took evidence from a wide ranging number of bodies including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. They concluded that the risks associated with fracking can be managed effectively and there was no reason to stop it. As a civil engineer, I prefer to believe the work of my peers rather than the unsubstantiated scares of environmentalists.

I suggest that Dr Rodger and his followers recognise this and the part that shale gas can play in meeting our energy needs and put their efforts not into stopping it but ensuring that it is properly regulated as the report recommends.

As an aside, I think that in this area given a choice most people would opt for fracking rather than having a multitude of wind turbines in Poole Bay.

RF Cooper, Laidlaw Close, Talbot Village