Australia looks set to build what will be the country's largest mine in Carmichael in Queensland. The mine is being developed by an Indian organisation called Adani and will provide coal to India to generate electricity. The mine comprises five underground mines and six open-cut pits.
The good news is that the mine will provide up to 1,500 Australian jobs and will seemingly boost the economy as the coal is dug up, processed and transported overseas.
The bad news is that Adani has a history (in Africa) of numerous environmental breaches. It's an absolutely huge mine and situated right alongside Australia's Great Barrier reef. The reef is already in trouble with rising sea temperatures and so becoming neighbour to a vast coal mine isn't exactly going to help its future.
Part of the complexity is that a large train line (about 160km) is required to move the coal and (fortunately) the cost of financing that is slowing the project.
Having grown up in Thatcher's Britain and watching (and supporting) coal miners fighting for their jobs and communities I find myself sometimes at odds with myself arguing that a coal mine which will bring economic advantage to the people who live nearby should not be built.
The world HAS moved on though. Sustainable energies are becoming cheaper and much more viable and the initiative behind the mine seems more about winning local votes that boosting the Australian economy.
Added to that having lived in Australia for nearly a decade I see just how beautiful (and yet fragile) the country's natural resources are. Australians who have never left Australia's shores seem somehow blind to that. The benefit of creating jobs always seems to outweigh the permanent destruction of nature. The Green party is margalised and people who have concerns for the environment are frowned upon.
What makes me perhaps sadder is that in a recent survey 25% of Australians hadn't even heard of Adani and the Carmichael coal mine. A Murdoch dominated media has left them ill informed and so the mine potentially could be built by stealth with the population ignorant of the environmental effects of it potentially until it is too late.
The barrier-reef is a truly beautiful place. I'd like it to be there not only for my children but for generations to come. That's not meant to be a trite and throw away statement either. The Adani mine if built will only have a life span of 60 years but it's legacy will last for hundreds of years. I'm puzzled why something would be built that would wipe out one of the Earth's natural wonders for such short term benefit.
We took part in a march to protest. Even if the damn thing does end up being built I want my kids to know that they (through me) fought against it and understood the consequences.
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