Anti-fracking protests in Balcombe signal major shift in public awarenessCuadrilla demonstrations show how fracking has gone from largely ignored to hotly debated, both publicly and politically The partially drilled oil well at Balcombe, which has been besieged by thousands of protesters, is not the UK's first or largest fracking site. In fact, it is not een a fracking site at all, as Cuadrilla's planis to e!tract oil by conentional drilling if possible.But it has caught the public imagination in a way that the recent history of fracking in the UK has not,with the scale of the last few days of protest signalling a ma"or shift in the public consciousness of the issue, and a ma"or headache for the goernment.#nti$fracking is drawing together a si%eable coalition of people at demonstrations& 'middle (ngland' has been as much in eidence as )ccupy* +aily ,ail readers hae outnumbered -uardianistas* first$time protesters mingled with eterans* old and young "oined hands* and people whose primary concern is presering the countryside found common cause with climate change actiists.The breadth of the opposition to fracking was amply illustrated in last week's -uardian poll . /01 oppose it in their area, /01 support it. The fight for the goernment . particularly Conseraties whoare much more pro fracking than the 2ib +ems . is oer that 301 who are so far undecided. 4racking . the process of blasting high$pressure water, sand and chemicals at dense shale rock to release the tiny bubbles of methane or oil trapped within . has gone from being an obscure bit$part player in the energy industry to taking centre stage, and that is "ust where its proponents do not like it.5hen Cuadrilla started e!ploring in the UK, in 3006$70, it attracted little attention outside the oil and gas industry. #s a enture capital$backed company, it had no need to raise money on the stock market or to publicise its plans. 8ather the opposite . there was no fanfare and little attempt to inform anyone, outside the handful of goernment agencies whose permission Cuadrilla re9uired.The company's first application to frack went through the local and parish councils near Blackpool unopposed and almost unremarked. Cuadrilla consulted with the (nironment #gency and :ealth and ;afety (!ecutie, both of which had to work swiftly to establish protocols on fracking, and went about drilling its first wells. There was local grumbling, but few outside the affected illages took much notice.It was only after the first e!ploration in early 3077 that Cuadrilla attracted attention, when its 2ancashire operations literally woke up the neighbours. Two small earth9uakes . too little to do any damage, but strong enough to be noticed . struck the local area.