The Great Barrier Reef. Beautiful one day, an open sewer the next?

India expects to use coal imported from their Australian mines to power some of their planned 455 coal-fuelled power plants. For this to happen it's expected that The Great Barrier Reef will have even more coal terminals built along its fragile, stressed reef to fill massive tankers which will then be manoeuvred through the treacherous channels between the reefs then around the world.

What could possibly go wrong?

The 350.org India co-ordinator Chaitanya Kumar said "what we now need in India is a dramatic shift in policy that puts sustainable and clean energy access as a priority."

Link here to a petition to share concerns that ...

Indian companies GVK and Adani are proposing a series of mega-mines in Australia’s Galilee Basin to fuel their coal power expansion plans. GVK has just received approval for its controversial “Alpha Coal Project” that includes a massive new coal terminal right in the middle in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Adani Group has plans to build what would be, by far, Australia’s biggest coal mine, along with another massive coal export terminal at Abbot Point and nearby Dudgeon Point.

It's not that India is tardy in investing in sustainable alternative energy. In fact they could show countries such as Australia how to use solar panels to prevent evaporation from irrigation channels as can be seen in the photo from Gujurat.

(photo sourced from the web)

A friend recently said to me, surely the coal industry filters their waste water carefully before releasing it back into the environment, and especially when it's near the Great Barrier Reef?

A recent email from Greenpeace gives the following information that would make my friend's toenails curl in horror (my bold):

"There are 250,000 million litres of polluted water sitting in coal mine pits in the Bowen Basin – that’s the equivalent of 100,000 Olympic swimming pools. Some of this water has been there for two years. Instead of treating the water to remove harmful toxins, the coal industry has spent the last two years lobbying for permission to release their polluted water into Queensland’s waterways.

These waterways feed into the Fitzroy River downstream to graziers, towns, the city of Rockhampton and eventually, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Last week, Premier Campbell Newman told Queensland Parliament “the government will not do anything to in any way degrade the feed water coming down the Fitzroy for their water supply.”

That same day, Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney introduced new legislation that allows that to happen.

The Deputy Premier is proposing to create new provisions within the Environment Protection Act that would enable the coal companies to pollute our waterways.

We need to show the Premier that legislation permitting our environment, including the Great Barrier Reef, to be polluted is not acceptable. Send him this message today urging him to pull the Deputy Premier into line and to defend our drinking water and the Reef from the coal industry. 

This new legislation will give companies the opportunity to ask for permission to release their toxic water into Queensland rivers, beyond the standards and guidelines set for safe drinking water and agriculture at short notice and without public review. 

Please tell Premier Newman we need protection for our waterways and our precious Great Barrier Reef from the coal industry."

Link here to petition to let the Queensland government that allowing rampant pollution along the world Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef is completely unacceptable.

Given that Australia is considered to be the driest inhabited continent on earth, the interior has one of the lowest rainfalls in the world, and around 3/4 of the land is arid or semi arid, it seems insane (perhaps criminal is a more fitting word) to allow coal mining companies to pollute our fragile and precious waterways.

fish with lesions - picture from link

Pollution in waters outside Gladstone affects fish, the fishing industry, tourism and many locally owned and operated local businesses. Lesions in fish are common, which makes them unsuitable for sale. More information here and here.

This issue affects more than Queensland and their government which seems to be in a state of dribbling, salivating lust about squandering finite fossil fuels to overseas countries. Whether we like it or not, we're all connected. Foolish, shortsighted decisions made in Australia affect people in far off lands, India included. Our governments - all our governments and policy makers - need to have a basic grasp of environmental cause and effect to ensure that our world remains relatively inhabitable.

Politicians, no matter where they are have the ability to push in a direction that ensures shortsighted decisions aren't made. How they choose can have devastating consequences for humankind.

Unfortunately, in Australia the motto often seems to be 

"Dig it, drill it, sell it off and stuff the future" 

Perhaps our politicians need to receive training in "How to say no" to the fossil fuel companies.

Another post on The Great Barrier Reef and the devastation that Australia is allowing (encouraging?) to happen in this beautiful area.

And for a short video added 13 November 2012, showing the official line compared to what's happening on the ground https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/mining/gladstone/watch-this-video-now

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Climate Matters. J is for Jellyfish

This if for J in the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2012. Link in the sidebar.

Jellyfish don’t strike me as being the most appetising creature in the sea. In fact, I think they look decidely unpallatable. But I’ve been told that with overfishing and the changing pH levels in our oceans that they will become more abundant and we might need to start finding some tasty recipes as fish stocks plummet and species become extinct.

One indication that ocean pH levels are changing and becoming unbalanced is when Jelly fish “blooms” occur. Pollution and overfishing affect jellyfish – they adapt quickly to take advantage of the changes and breed very quickly creating a bloom or infestation.

Overfishing in oceans worldwide has resulted in less predators. Because there’s less competition for food, jellyfish thrive and can reach plague proportions. The overfished species struggle to recover as the jellyfish feed on fish eggs and small fish.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

As the temperature rises, as is happening with climate change, the ocean chemistry changes. What happens with warming waters and the dilution from arctic and antarctic ice, is a bit similar to when you put cold milk in a cup of coffee, creating currents within and between the different temperature liquids. They mix at different rates. When you add winds, heated land, ocean currents, storms and tides, it enables warm water jellyfish to migrate along with the warming waters and reach new environments. 

At times jellyfish which have adapted and survived in plague proportions become a pest to shipping when they clog ship filters. Beachside holiday locations become undesirable and local economies suffer.

Man-o-war

Algal blooms occur when algae die in vast quantities, stripping oxygen from the water. Jellyfish can survive in these low oxygen dead zones which can also be created by urban pollution and agricultural run-off. The rising levels of carbondioxide in the oceans affects the brains and central nervous systems of fish which increasingly interferes with their ability to survive and evade predators but which doesn't affect jellyfish.

Urban runoff occurs when we put fertilisers and pesticides onto crops, and in our gardens. When it rains, the residues run into waterways, rivers, lakes and eventually into the oceans as a polluted soup - along with garbage, cigarette butts, and litter, affecting the breeding cycles, breeding ability and health of whole fish populations.

Heavy metals get into the oceans, from smog which is absorbed by the water, and from other sources of pollution (think oil spills, run off from mines etc.) This is absorbed by little fish, which is then eaten by bigger fish, which is then eaten by bigger fish again which are then eaten by us. These bigger fish are the Tuna, Salmon, Flake etc. of the oceans. This is a form of bioaccumulation where we essentially eat the fish with the highest density of heavy metals.

The Australian Marine Conservation Foundation has noted that overfishing and destructive fishing practises have led to “An incredible 80% of the world’s fish stocks are now over-exploited or fished right up to their limit. Once considered inexhaustible, our oceans are now in a state of global crisis, and they need our help.”

The Australian Marine Conservation Society has prepared this excellent guide for the many Australians who love seafood but also love their oceans. "it’s not enough to simply buy what is fresh. If we want to keep eating fish we’ll have to learn to buy what is sustainable.” Tim Winton, Australian Author, AMCS Patron.

Last year I wrote about the importance of keeping a Journal for J in my theme of workplace bullying. Here.

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