Coal World

Do they never stop and wonder where all that pollution will go? It saddens me to think that money wins out over intelligence in such a crucial issue as the future of our planet. Government and business behave as if we have a spare Earth tucked away somewhere that we can whip out when this planet is in its death throes.

Australia has such limited supplies of fresh water it seems absurd to be wasting it supporting more environmental terrorism. Australia is viewed as a large country with plenty of space, and while this is true in terms of its actual area, the habitable land is only a very, very small percentage of that. It is basically one big desert with a green rim.

The Great Barrier Reef is already suffering with the terrible destruction caused by the recent increase in the population of the Crown of Thorns sea-star (as we can't call the starfish any more), bleaching caused by the increases in sea temperature, not to mention all the agricultural chemicals washing out of the rivers into the ocean. If the government gives these mines the green light the reef will also have to contend with possible oil spills.

Native wildlife habitat and prime agricultural land will be destroyed all for the sake of more coal, more pollution, more money. Once this land has been poisoned it will be next to useless for both the wildlife and the farmers.

When will the Australian government realise that part of their mandate is to ensure there is a habitable home for the people of Australia to live in and will the people of Australia rise up and demand this before it is too late?