This is not, as some people believe, the end of the battle to stop Shell from fracking up the Karoo. It is, if anything, another beginning of what will be a lengthy and protracted war. It will be trench warfare, a battle of attrition, with few immediate successes and setbacks.

The victory will go to the side with greater endurance and a deep belief in the principles and cause for which it is fighting.

Shell as a transnational company is governed by  money, at all steps of the game, and for it and its employees and minions if something does not make money it does not exist.

The enemies ranged against this monolithic corporation are varied and include environmentalists, anti nuke activists, people concerned about water and the impending global shortages of this essential commodity as well as people advocating and lobbying for increased utilisation of renewable forms of energy such as solar and wind power.

This means that the collective opposing Shell come from different creeds and backgrounds and are most definitely not in total agreement on everything to do with anti fracking. This includes the official boycott of Shell products called on the weekend.

As the boycott gathers steam and builds links into countries like the Netherlands, US and Britain it will be interesting and instructive to monitor the progress and the reaction of Shell as it begins to understand that anti frackers come from all the segments of society and cannot be simply swept under a PR road show like some pesky insects.

Spare a thought for the other fracking applicants, Bundu and Falcon, lurking and having benefitted from the media and public spotlight  on Shell and being able to manoeuvre behind the scenes underneath the radar screen.

It is critical to keep the activities of these frackers in the public spotlight as they would like nothing more than to pursue their nefarious fracking techniques and methods far away from public investigation.

Here in the Karoo there are people who are busy with petitions, letters to the press and politicians and also publicising and educating the public about the clear and present danger to the groundwater here that is critical for survival.

Fighting for a cause that is greater than oneself is one of the most beautiful experiences that is possible for a human being. When that cause involves the future way of life and security of generations to come then it becomes impossible to ignore.

Whether money or sustainable life with access to clean water wins in this struggle will only be answered in years to come. Fracking is not a 48 hour bug but a malevolent and malicious virus that needs a concerted and long term investment of time from all that care about life on this planet and not only about money.