a canary with a fever

Sometimes the canary in the coalmine dies quickly and at other times it slowly expires. The 93% coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef this year is a bit of both and shows how these extinction events really happen - they are not linear - they don't happen all ordered and knowable - they happen in bursts, in slides and then plateaus and then cliffs and so on. The Great Barrier Reef is a coughing canary and baring aliens and superheroes is likely to be gone within a decade or 4. This bleaching is caused by sea temperature rises and this is contributed to by fossil fuel burning and that is not even close to stopping or even slowing down. Environmental activists know that even as governments sign a global climate change deal in New York to limit global warming by at least two degrees that this is just a minimum response practically worth nothing other than the ability to skite about it, just like our idiot Minister, back in their home countries.

news.com.au

But environmental activists want greater action from the government at home. 

“Australians can see right through the hypocrisy of the government talking about the reef’s health while allowing the mining and burning of coal to go on at unprecedented levels,” Greenpeace Campaigner Nikola Casule said. 

“Our reef is dying before our eyes. We need a credible plan to mitigate climate change and move to a coal-free economy,” he said on Friday. 

This month the Queensland Government gave the go-ahead for Australia’s biggest coal mine, Adani’s Carmichael mine in the Galilee basin. It has been hugely controversial because its potential impacts on the reef due to dredging and increased port movements.

Yep the BIGGEST coal mine - but these same 'people' will weep and gnash when the reef is dead - "Why didn't someone tell us, oh why didn't someone do something". Scum is too good a word for these greedy exploitative bastards.

Reading about the demise of the Great Barrier Reef often, as in nearly every time, leads to the value of the reef and oh how the MONETARY value is placed above and beyond everything. This just makes me sick.

Be in the moment and enjoy the today you are in for the diversity of your experience and the myriad interactions with other living entities that you enjoy. The times are changing and changing fast...

if we let them

I’m increasingly concerned about the proposed open-cast mine on the Denniston Plateau and also the Crown Minerals (Permitting Crown Land) Bill. That bill has seriously eroded the protection from mining that we give our most protected land. That Bill allows decisions on access to conservation land for mining to be made by the Minister of Conservation, as well as the Minister of Energy and Resources and that a economic benefits test be included in the evaluation. This is important because of the proposed Escarpment Mine Project on the Denniston Plateau. That’s an open-cast mine on a unique, fragile ecosystem with the devastation accepted from both sides of the argument. This ecosystem was assessed recently in a BioBlitz by Forest and Bird, and over a weekend 505 species were catalogued, including a new discovery of a moth and 77 species of insects. We just don’t find this ecosystem intact any where else – it is unique. The mine will dig up 6 million tonnes of high quality coal for export. That’s 12 million tonnes of CO2 spewed into the atmosphere when it’s burnt. The Environment Court and The High Court have both agreed that the effects of coal on climate change cannot be considered under the Resource Management Act and the appeal to the Appeal Court is pivotal to putting the brakes on this insanity of a mine.

We can’t pin any hopes on the courts I suspect – no it is going to be up to people power, it is us that will stop them. What about the Department of Conservation aren’t they working to protect the Plateau? Their submission to the RMA was neutral, neither for nor against. But a Department of Conservation briefing paper to the Minister, released under the Official Information Act, says "The entire Denniston Plateau lies within the "West Coast Kawatiri Place" and is identified as a "Priority Site for Biodiversity Management. It is also described as a nationally outstanding landscape…". This landscape will be permanently altered by the mine and overburden dumps and this has the effect of, “leaving post rehabilitation in the vicinity of 75% of the altered landscape unrevegetated” The briefing paper also describes how the “current ecological integrity” of the Denniston Plateau will experience “profound change” including the increased exposure of acid forming rock which would,” likely create a far more significant acid mine drainage problem”. 

They all know what will happen and they don’t care because of the supposed economic benefits but they are all illusion. They admit that at the moment the market for coal has slumped, they talk about 400 jobs – that’s the same number of workers recently dumped when the Spring Creek mine closed down so there are no new jobs. They base their big payoff on imaginary future scenarios that don’t consider any macro or micro event that could affect the maximum potential money (assuming everything goes exactly right), and their future predictions are junk, fallacy. Funny that the opponents to this mine have facts - abundant facts. Facts like the inevitable damage the mine will cause, the 21 identified inconsistencies between the Resource Management Act and proposed mine showing adverse effects on the environment that are more than minor. Facts like inconsistencies between the stated objectives within local, regional and national planning documents and the activities of this mine. These are FACTS. The opposite of the wishes and hopes of the economic growth fantasists, and they won’t change their minds, no. Their minds are made up. But they need the acquiescence of the people to do it. They can only do it if we let them.

For another brilliant post on this subject matter please read Claire Browning at Pundit - she writes so well and she hits every nail on the head. 

open sore

The West Coast Regional Council has granted consent for Perth-based Bathurst Resources to mine 200 hectares in the Mt Rochfort Conservation Area on the Denniston Plateau, northeast of Westport via a open cast coal mine, that will be the 2nd biggest here. This decision is so shortsighted. Coal!?! Open cast mine!?! Conservation Area!?! - all for the fake short-term benefit of economic gain - what a crock. You are destroying this world and our children's future and you don't even care.

NZH

The three hearing commissioners granted the consent, "but not without some considerable reservations and anguish," they said. "The most and almost overwhelming factor that we had to consider is the enormous financial benefit that the mine will bring to the Buller district and the West Coast region."

Three fools - you have shown where you stand.

Fairdown/Whareatea Residents Association spokesman David Orchard said "The impact is absolutely appalling, the impact on health is bound to be considerable."

Coal Action Network said "Burning coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel activity on the planet and there are huge reserves of coal left worldwide. If we allow them to be burnt, we have no chance of avoiding a climate catastrophe," said spokeswoman Frances Mountier.

West Coast Environment Network said "The commissioners' decision had clearly been compromised by Department of Conservation (DOC) withholding detailed scientific evidence it had gathered on the impacts of the proposed mine", and "Any short-term economic benefit will be outweighed by the long-term impacts on communities and ecosystems of adapting to climatic change if large-scale coal mining continues."

A shocking decision that leads us down the road to ruin. And not the last shocking decsion that we will have to fight or accept as the gnats start selling everything off and digging everything up.

polluting paradise

Terrible news that they want to explore for oil off Abel Tasman National Park coastline, Golden Bay and Northwest Nelson. This is the most pristine area of this country with beautiful landscapes and undisturbed nature. They cannot be allowed to do this - simply it must be and will be stopped.

Nelson Mail

A Chinese-backed Australian mining company has revealed plans to explore for oil in the seabed off the Abel Tasman National Park coastline, across much of Golden Bay and the northwest corner of the South Island.

Speaking from Sydney, Greywolf chief executive Edward Lancaster said the company hoped to start explorations and eventual mining operations once approval was granted from Crown Minerals – and if its Chinese partners considered it worthwhile.

Mr Lancaster plans to visit the region within the next month to assess the potential for developing the area. Golden Bay was potentially a mineral-rich area and if coal and oil were found, Port Tarakohe could be developed to service those industries, he said.

Company representatives have already spoken to Tasman District Council chief executive officer Paul Wylie about their plans, including the possible development of Port Tarakohe.

"The job prospects for the region would be very good and I know he [Mr Wylie] is anxious to develop the area," he said.

Local tangata whenua are incensed

Golden Bay iwi are alarmed at the plans by Sydney-based Greywolf Goldmining NL. It is proposing drilling the seabed for oil and gas, as well as prospecting for coal in Golden Bay and developing Port Tarakohe.

Manawhenua Ki Mohua, comprising three Golden Bay iwi (Ngati Tama, Te Ati Awa and Ngati Rarua), received the company's petroleum application from the Crown Minerals department last week.

Their representative, John Ward-Holmes, said iwi were "totally opposed to any exploration or drilling of the seabed for oil on cultural and environmental grounds".

"Everyone is alarmed about it. We don't want this and we want to let people know what's in the pipeline."

He said iwi had not been informed about the company's applications to prospect for coal.

We must support Manawhenua Ki Mohua and oppose these exploiters. People power can and will stop them - we will stop them.