SIR, At last the Welsh Assembly has come to its senses and has voted in favour of a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Wales. This is good news indeed for many people in Wales and in Monmouthshire. Fracking is a method of mining unconventional shale or coal bed gas and oil. It involves drilling bore holes hundreds of metres underground and pumping in millions of gallons of water and toxic chemicals, under pressure, to split the rock to release the gas or oil which is trapped within it. Known risks include possible contamination of water supplies with dangerous chemicals, earth tremors and the seeping of methane into the atmosphere. Further extraction and continued dependence on fossil fuels will also undermine our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which are causing climate change. Fracking is not progress, it has been around for years. The only difference now is that, due to the high price of gas and oil compared to 10 years ago, it has become more economically viable and allows governments to remain wedded to technologies of the past. It would make much more sense to invest money into new technologies which would enable this country to become energy self sufficient in ways which don't involve polluting our air and water. Although there are currently no plans to frack in Monmouthshire, it is believed that there are significant reserves under the ground in almost all areas of the county, so it would only be a matter of time. It is, therefore, good news that the Welsh Assembly has put a halt to this, for the time being at least. Note that the vote in the Welsh Assembly saw all Conservative and Lib Dem members voting against a moratorium while Labour and Plaid members voted in favour of it. Ann Were  (Gwent Green Party)