Anyone considering the use of MIW for natural gas extraction activities has the potential to incur long-term liability because just the act of moving contaminated water gives you total responsibility for it in the future.
The RSPB has also voiced concerns about any potential oil extraction around Rathlin Island, off County Antrim, a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area (SPA), which it argues is too important for wildlife to allow that to happen.
While presently only 0.03 TW of energy was extracted from wind in 2008, and there is room for a considerable expansion of this technology with relatively insignificant effects on the climate, any future expansion on a global scale must take account that the potential for extraction of wind energy is finite according to the nature of the Earth system.