“When I spoke in the European Parliament in support of fracking, most of the negative comments I received [complained about] ‘greed.’ What is meant here by ‘greed’ is the desire for material improvement that has driven every advance since the old Stone Age. Someone sees an opportunity to offer a service that other people will pay for and, in consequence, wealth is created where none existed before. What happened with coal in the 18th century could happen again now: Prices will fall, productivity will increase and people will be released to new jobs, raising living standards for everyone. ‘Greed,’ in this sense, is why we still have teeth after the age of 30, why women no longer expect to die in childbirth, why we have coffee and computers and cathedrals. ‘Greed’ is why we have time to listen to Beethoven and go for country walks and play with our children. Cheaper energy, on any measure, improves our quality of life.”
— Daniel Hannan, a British member of the European Parliament, writing in the Daily Telegraph about environmentalist claims that fracking is based on “greed”