sharing this: Nari Lindsay: MEAT AND LIVESTOCK AUSTRALIA (MLA) outlines some important issues to consider in their document COAL SEAM GAS OPERATIONS ON LIVESTOCK PROPERTY. It is still an unresolved engineering challenge to effectively seal gas wells with concrete during production and once they are abandoned because when you pour concrete into a well and it solidifies, it shrinks. You get gaps in the concrete and it leaks. When the wells leak we will see cross contamination of aquifers over time. The buried coal strata will continue to leach heavy metals and radio nucleotides forever. Nothing will magically disappear just because the wells are capped. Australia is a dry country and we value our water. The amount of water used for gas extraction is phenomenal and only 20% of that water is left after the extraction process. This water is contaminated and even when treated it is not fit for consumption or irrigation purposes. The treatment process takes up large areas of land and leaves that land and water unusable. The increased traffic from heavy vehicles on the roads will soon destroy any upgrades that may come from mining. The mining industry contributes less than (3%) to the Queensland economy and employs less than two percent of the work force, this includes the unconventional gas industry. 8,000 jobs have gone from the coal and gas industries over the last 18 months in Queensland alone. According to the Mineral Resources Council the attrition rate will continue to increase over the next few years. If anyone believes that the mining industry will create new jobs in their region they will need to think again. The mining companies will call on those people already retrenched who have experience in the industry and its operations. There will not be jobs for people who have not worked in the sector previously. It is ludicrous that Australia is still putting resources into a dead in the water mining industry. We should instead be leading the world with renewable energy. China has installed the equivalent of Australia’s entire solar capacity in just six months. Germany’s renewable energy push has had an impact far beyond its shores, driving down costs faster than anyone thought possible just a few years ago. The irreversible negative impacts on our health, land, water our future and the fate of our future generations far out way the little (if any) short term benefits the coal and gas industries can offer. N.Lindsay Wolvi
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 06:21:54 +0000
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