UPI: Greenpeace feels snubbed by Cuadrilla

Greenpeace said Wednesday it was "rebuffed" by British energy company Cuadrilla when it reached out for an open debate on hydraulic fracturing.

Cuadrilla Resources has endured more than two weeks of protests near the town of Balcombe near the southeastern coast. The company is engaged in preliminary oil exploration there and environmental groups worry it's a prelude to a broader campaign using hydraulic fracturing, known also as fracking.

The drilling technique has led to an oil and natural gas boom from shale deposits, notably in the United States.

Greenpeace said it wanted to have a debate about fracking with Cuadrilla online through the social networking site Twitter.

"We asked fracking company Cuadrilla, currently being surrounded by protesters in the Sussex village of Balcombe, for an open, transparent debate on Twitter about, well, fracking," it said Wednesday. "Sadly, we were rebuffed."  MORE