I think you worry too much! I am sure the Accountants Lawyers will work
out a perfectly reasonable solution.
I look back at the 1950's when I used to go down to the creek see Patypus
my mate could tickle fish (this is Australia). Now we have an unholy fight
against rape by Multi-Nationals with the Mining: the latest saga being the
Coal Seam Gas, which our Governments (State Federal being run by different
parties, so they are both singing from the same book) really pushing for the
'resource' to be utilised. There seems to be evidence from other areas (like
the Southern States of the US) that there is virtually no environmentally
responsibility from these companies. There seems to be evidence of gas leaks
from the Fracking process in areas such as Tara in Queensland: I have a friend
who lives there his dam is polluted from the leaking Methane (or worse).
The issue is that Australia has huge coal deposits right down the Eastern
coast, one of the prime areas for picking is the Northern Rivers area of New
South Wales. This is where I live now: a reasonably pristine food bowl that
has many environmentally aware residents.
There are Mining exploration leases covering most of the East Coast. The
local company wants to start mining. Unlike the US, in Australia the land
owner has no control over what mining is allowed on his land, the recompense
for inconvenience is pitiful (possibly $Au 15K/year, but there are cases where
it is much less, or even nil). Add to that the potential damage to Acquifers,
the loss of prime agricultural land, it is of little wonder that 93% of
residents in the area are against the mining.
Another lovable thing the Mining companies do is to deflate the land value: In
My Friends case in Tara (Qld), his land is now virtually worthless, yet the
Gas company makes over $Au 1Mil per well/year I have been told. He is now
stuck there: the air is polluted, his water is polluted, his roads are stuffed
because the Mining companies do not finance infrastructure, he cannot sell his
asset for a reasonable price.
I think the NSW residents are in for a big fight: I think this will be bigger
than the old growth forests anti-logging campaign of the 1970s.
regards Doug
On Fri, 23 Nov 2012 23:33:55 Keith Addison wrote:
Fight Against Climate Change Blocked by Luddites at Big Oil
by Linda McQuaig
Published on Wednesday, November 21, 2012 by the Toronto Star
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/11/21-7
The Fight to Save the Planet From the Fossil Fuel Industry Heats Up
With Divestment Campaign
Wednesday, 21 November 2012 11:40
By Sara Jerving and Mary Bottari, PRWatch | News Analysis
http://truth-out.org/news/item/12888-the-fight-to-save-the-planet-from-the-
fossil-fuel-industry-heats-up-with-divestment-campaign
--0--
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/11/21-1
November 21, 2012
CONTACT: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Third Report Warns that Leaders' Lack of Action Is Locking In Worst
Consequences of Climate Change
WASHINGTON - November 21 - A string of recent reports paints a clear
picture that the world is not on track to fulfill leaders' stated
goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 F) above
pre-industrial levels, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists
(UCS).
The alarm bells scientists have been ringing for years are turning
into a chorus, said Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy at
UCS. World leaders set a goal of avoiding 2 degrees of warming, but
the commitments they've made to meet that goal are inadequate.
Without much more aggressive action, we will lose the fight to avert
the worst consequences of climate change.
A United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report released today
says that countries aren't doing enough to keep the world from
warming 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. Even if they met the
most ambitious versions of current pledges, the report concludes,
emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2020 will
be about 52 gigatons (Gt) -- some 8 Gt more than is needed to have a
likely chance of keeping temperature increases below 2 degrees C.
The gap could be as high as 13 Gt if more lenient assumptions about
current pledges are used. For comparison, current emissions are about
50 Gt per year. This projected gap for 2020 is 2 Gt higher than in
last year's UNEP report.
Not only are nations failing to close the gap between their actions
and the 2 degrees goal, Meyer said, but the gap is actually
widening.
The UNEP report echoes two others:
- Last week, the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook
2012 concluded, if action to reduce CO2 emissions is not taken
before 2017, all the allowable CO2 emissions would be locked-in by
energy infrastructure existing at that time. The agency found that
two-thirds of known fossil fuel reserves would have to stay in the
ground to retain the possibility of limiting
