In Part 1 of this blog post, I discussed the impact of the proposed Galilee Basin coal mine on the Aboriginal people living in the area. In this post, I will further describe the mine’s expected impact on the environment surrounding the Galilee Basin and why the mine is not economically viable.
The Carmichael mine will consume a vast amount of water – “12.5 billion liters of water a year over its 60-year lifespan” (Milman). What does this mean and for whom does this matter? The Galilee Basin is not a wasteland. Not only do Aboriginal people call this Basin their home, but so do farmers, like Bruce Currie, who is worried that the giant thirst of the mine will threaten his livelihood and the lives of the 1400 cattle he owns. He claims, "If we don’t have water supplies for us and our cattle, it will destroy our business, basically. The old saying out here is you can live a long time without love but you can’t live long without water.” Annette, his wife, further explains this sentiment, “We'd lose our home, we'd lose our lifestyle, we'd lose our passion. It’s not only a case of the mines going ahead and we lose our water. It will destroy our life (“The New Coal Frontier”). And while I don’t necessarily agree with the Currie’s cattle farm, the idea that a government would allow a private company to gobble up resources that someone’s livelihood is dependent upon is perhaps even more distressing.
Others, like Tom Kirkwood, cattle farmer, and Rob Williams, electrician, aren’t bothered by the proposed mines. Kirkwood, like Tony Abbott, believes mining is essential for Australian prosperity, “Mining and agriculture have always been the primary industries of Australia and always will be. Without them, we’ll be in big trouble” (The New Coal Frontier”). Williams, oblivious to current events, follows up with, “How can it hurt? It’s got to be good. There’s lots of habitat out there for wildlife. Koalas and kangaroos – they learn to adapt. I work in the workshop and birds fly in there all the time. Wildlife adapts to mining, so people should do, too (“The New Coal Frontier”). I’ve read that quote dozens of times now, but I’m still dumbfounded every time I read it. With evidence reporting that a “water drawdown of 5cm would cause a number of the nearby Doongmabulla Springs to dry up and its reliant species die off”, I don’t see how anyone can afford to be or feel justified in being so ignorant (Milman).
At this point, I realize I still haven’t told you about the brains, or lack thereof, behind the mining operations. We shift now, for a brief tangent, to India. The Indian mining group Adani, headed by Guatam Adani, seems to have Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Environment Minister Greg Hunt in its pocket. (picture of Adani w/Abbott). Gautam Adani is used to benefiting from powerful political relationships. As India’s current Prime Minister Narendra Modi has climbed the political ladder, Adani has seen his stock value rise incredulously and political roadblocks cleared fantastically. Despite Modi flying to New Delhi in Adani’s private jet, Adani claims he has not profited from Modi’s patronage (Acharya). With Tony Abbott clearly rejecting climate change and stating, “Coal is good for humanity” and the Australian government investing over A$2bn of public money into the expansion of the mine, there is little left to the imagination regarding the relationship between Adani and certain officials in the Australian government (Milman, Rankin). What’s perplexing is Environment Minister Greg Hunt’s signing off on the Carmichael mine and dismissing evidence that the mine will fatally threaten the existence of three separate animals, despite his knowledge and acceptance of climate change; his own department specifically advised him that the mine would endanger the yakka skink and the ornamental snake, two vulnerable species, and scientists warned him that the creation of this mine will have “‘serious detrimental and irreversible consequences’ for the endangered black-throated finch and may even push it to extinction” (Milman, Robertson). I don’t know how anyone can justify this contradictory behavior – unless he is doing Adani some favors. Fortunately, legal action has been taken against Hunt’s fast tracking of the mine, and the court ruled “the approval of Adani’s Carmichael mine was invalid because the federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, had not fully assessed its impact on two vulnerable species. Now, the federal government will take six to eight weeks to reconsider its approval” (Milman, Robertson). This time, let’s hope he uses common sense and sound judgment to reject the approval.
But besides my speculation that Adani has politicians in his pocket, his mining group is disreputable for other reasons. The Indian mining company has a history of kicking up dust in the environment: the company “was fined the equivalent of $3.5m for damaging mangroves, creeks and the local environment at the site of its Mundra Port in Gujarat. An Indian government committee found that Adani had also failed to properly safeguard groundwater supplies, built an airport without approval and had tried to ‘circumvent statutory procedures’. The fine follows a previous environmental breach by Adani in 2010” (Milman). According to Ruchira Talukdar, healthy ecosystems campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, this behavior shows “a consistent lack of respect for environmental conditions” (Milman).
Instead of accepting Adani’s behavior, Australia’s government should cultivate a respect for the environment. One of the most iconic ecosystems of the world is at stake: The Great Barrier Reef. Global warming can seriously harm the reef because, “corals are extremely sensitive to changes in water temperature and can die off if they warm too much. Ocean acidification, the change in the water’s chemistry when it absorbs CO2, is also a major threat, as it makes it harder for corals to form their skeletons” (The New Coal Frontier). Oh, and the entire mine project is expected to produce “350m tonnes of coal a year at capacity” and emit “at least 700m tonnes of greenhouse gases once operational” (Milman). Additionally, the coal sent to India “will release 128m tonnes of CO2 a year when burned – almost the entire proposed emissions reduction of the Coalition’s Direct Action climate plan for one year. Adani has calculated that the mine will release an additional 3bn tonnes of CO2 in Australia over a 60-year period, due to fugitive emissions” (Milman). If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around this, Victoria McKenzie-McHarg sums up the scope of the mine with, “If all projects planned for the Galilee Basin go ahead, the pollution from burning the coal would be more than Australia’s entire annual greenhouse gas pollution” (Milman). But wait, there’s more. To expand the Abbot Point port where all the coal would be shipped out from, 5m tonnes of seabed was to be excavated and dumped in the reef’s waters, potentially smothering corals and seagrasses, essential for fish, turtles, and dugongs. But because UNESCO made its concerns heard, the government backed down and opted for the sediment to be dumped on land (“The New Coal Frontier”).
If all this hasn’t convinced you this mine is a bad idea, economics might convince you. Adani boasted the mine would generate 10,000 jobs and up to A$22bn in royalties, but testimonies in court show that the mine would only generate 1,464 jobs and A$4.8bn in royalties. Furthermore, demand for coal is slowing. The price of Australian coal fell to $56 a tonne earlier in May. More and more nations are turning to renewable and cleaner energies. Experts call the disconnection between a nation’s economic growth rate from its consumption of fossil fuels the “structural decline” of coal. Considering the high cost of developing the mine, railway, and port, and the falling price of coal around the world, many would consider the Carmichael mine “financially unviable” (Rankin).
Ultimately, this mine is terrible for the people and animals living in the Basin, the dying Reef, the companies and governments hoping to profit from it, and the health of the world and the human beings living in it. Researching all this information has expanded my perspective on not only Australia and its conservation policies, but also the differing attitudes toward climate change and its relevance in our daily lives. Stay tuned as I update you on our trip and all the things I’m discovering down under.
Works Cited
Acharya, Mosiqi. “Is Australia ready for India’s Gautam Adani?” The Guardian. 4 September 2015. Web. 29 July 2015.
Milman, Oliver. “Australian banks under pressure after French lenders rule out funding Galilee Basin coalmines.” The Guardian. 8 April 2015. Web. 29 July 2015.
Milman, Oliver. “Big four banks under pressure to rule out funding Queensland coal projects.” The Guardian. 25 Nov 2014. Web. 29 July 2015.
Milman, Oliver. “Carmichael mine may push rare bird to extinction, scientists warn Greg Hunt.” The Guardian. 24 April 2015. Web. 29 July 2015.
Milman, Oliver. “Greg Hunt clashes with environment groups over Carmichael mine approval.” The Guardian. 29 July 2014. Web. 29 July 2015.
Milman, Oliver. “Greg Hunt urged to scrap Carmichael mine plan after new evidence of impact.” The Guardian. 3 Aug 2015. Web. 5 Aug 2015.
Milman, Oliver. "The New Coal Frontier." The Guardian. Web. 27 July 2015.
Milman, Oliver, and Joshua Robertson. "Approval for Adani's Carmichael Coalmine Overturned by Federal Court." The Guardian. 5 Aug 2015. Web. 5 Aug 2015.
Milman, Oliver, and Joshua Robertson. “Coalition will take six to eight weeks to revise its Carmichael coalmine approval.” The Guardian. 5 Aug 2015. Web. 5 Aug 2015.
Rankin, Jennifer. "The Financial Case against Australia's Largest Coal Mine." The Guardian. 15 May 2015. Web. 29 July 2015.
Robertson, Joshua. “Greg Hunt ‘ignoring advice’ on danger to wildlife from Carmichael coalmine.” The Guardian. 16 June 2015. Web. 29 July 2015.