Guillen, Meldrik Justine G.

“The Dangerous Dark Stuff”

By: Unknown

Source: The Economist, March 2nd 2019

Summary:

Coal has been king in Australia ever since British colonists first spotted the black
stuff in coastal cliffs north of Sydney in the 1790’s. A Swiss-based company and
Australia’s biggest coal miner, announced it would cap coal production at current levels.
And for the first time, an Australian judge has refused to allow a new coal mine because
it would have contributed to climate change. Coal risked being enveloped in political
battles over Australia’s climate policy and the economy’s reliance on China, the country’s
biggest trading partner. There are a lot of steps they need before they need to go through
to be able to mine. Coal is considered to be Australia’s top export by value this year and
the industry’s most immediate concern is the status of shipments to China.

The delay on shipments has left Australian officials scrambling for explanations.
Simon Birmingham dismisses as “conspiracy theory” arguments that China’s coal
suspension is payback for that. Michael Roche, a consultant in Queensland, a state that
supplies China with much coking coal which is used to make steel, disagrees. He believes
China is targeting Australia. Miners hope that every delays with China will be temporary
but however the industries environmental problem isn’t. Brian Preston, chief judge of the
New South Wales Land and Environment Court, banned a bid by Gloucester Resources
to mine 21M tonnes of coal over 16 years near the country town of Gloucester.

The judge listed the mines adverse impacts such as greenhouse gases that
contributes to climate change. Notably the mine was expected to produce coking coal
and not thermal coal for power plants. But the idea that concerns over climate change
could limit the production of thermal coal and coking coal is new with broad
reverberations.

Reaction/ Critique:

Industrialization paved way in many things and happenings that changed how we
live and perceive life. We became blinded by the fact that we continuously are developing
and hence improving our ways of life. The happiness we had is incomparable and that
we seek for more until we weren’t able to satisfy our wants anymore. Right, it is our wants
that we are satisfying and not our needs. This is the very center of it all, we didn’t settle,
nothing became enough and we wanted more of what we already have. We were
manipulated by our own doings instead of us manipulating them. These, right here, is the
very reason for everything.

Yes, we were blinded before yet now we have opened our eyes to see the wider
picture. We had enough and now we are experiencing its payback. This made us realize
that we’ve made a terrible mistake and that we should now slow down and if possible, try
to revert what we have done. We were too centered to things that’s making us happy,
making us reach- we focused on something in the first place we should’ve not been in to.

In this time, as we felt the consequences of our own doings, or shall we say what
capitalists have been in to, we try to understand and seek for a solution that will save us.
We have enjoyed the benefits of these resources and now we have seen to exhaust
everything and harmed our nature. This now is the reason why some group of people are
against the continuance of coal. Coal industry has been one of the biggest business
playing in Australia and for a long time they have not seen such dilemmas to happen. But
right now, it has been a situation that one contributory factor in the abrupt climate change
is the continuance of this industry. That is why people and the government is making a
huge step in limiting the use and production of it with an intention to totally refrain from
using it again.

Coking coal is seen to produce too much greenhouse gases that is one of the
greatest contributors of global warming and climate change. The aim to shift from coal to
cleaner energy is a big step that will create a significant difference in the country’s
economy. By the time that it happens, related jobs to this industry will decline and as it
was once their main product which contributes income will decline. Though it might be a
risk in the economy, considering global warming and climate change is somehow a bigger
picture to see. What more is there to produce when resources are completely depleted?
Then it will mean not lesser income but no income at all. We can see that it somehow
might be prevented than we doing cure right now but it is finished already and what we
only can do is that do the most possible ways to save it.

With the government’s initiative to shift to cleaner energy even made the bank to
decline for financing coal projects. We can see in here that they are mitigating whatever
negative thing will happen as the industry is lying low. Of course we don’t want that money
is wasted in investing to critical industries and so the old industry must try to look for
alternatives to deal with the issue.

Coal mining in Australia has a huge impact in their environment, although we know
that it is the reason why their economy is booming and it’s on its peak but this type of
business can cause a lot of complications in their environment so it’s useless. There are
no reactions from the government because all they know is that the coal mining business
in Australia can help more the economy to rise.

The primary health problem in the coal mining business are asthma due to air
pollutants and irritants in which the best example is smoke, burning of coals can be the
problem with this health issue, difficulties in breathing that can lead to brain damage,
heart problems, cancer, and such. If we are into this situation, we cannot avoid to have
these illnesses because this will be the reason of having this business in our environment.
Respiratory diseases are vulnerable to the increase in heat waves due to climate change.
It will profoundly affect some of the most fundamental prerequisites for good health such
as clean air and water and free from disease.

Climate change is coal most serious global impact. We all know that when a coal
is burned, it automatically reacts with the oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide that
is when released to the atmosphere, it warms the earth above normal limits. Coal gives
us a lot of complications in our environment because this will destroy our body little by
little. If we have seen fired power are potent emitters of greenhouse gases and are the
contributors of the climate change.

Based to these health problems or complications that can cause the coal mining
business to their area, they are protesting against the government to stop mining business
because of what can bring to their environment. The rallies across major cities and
followed a protests, the rallies led by the Australian students to defy their prime minister
and skip school to demand the government to take action and have their full responsibility
to take charge of this kind of situation. They all know that with this problem many people
will suffer in the future. They believe and what they know is that they are fighting and will
keep fighting for their brighter future not just for us but for everybody, but all the people in
the next generation because as one, they have their concern to one another. As early as
now, the adults are now thinking for the future of their kids because, the youth will be the
next generation of Australia. I mean they are potentially the future leaders who will lead
the country right.

The Australian government have their own policy which is the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, it focuses on the protection of matters of
national environment significance. The primary objective of this policy is that it provides
for the protection of the environment by taking care of the nature, the objective of EABC
is that by taking care of trees and avoid deforestation. They also promote ecologically
sustainable development in which they enhance the resources of the community and so
that ecological processes are well maintained and the total quality of life, now and in the
future can be increased.

Australia exports less than 60 percent of coal every single year, which makes the
country the top exporter of coal globally. In my opinion, though the country is rich in
resources; when it is abused, the depletion of the environment would result to
uselessness due to the reason that the health of the citizens are being put at risk leading
them to suffer. Australian government needs to be more strict in implementing policies
about mining in order to lessen the long term bad impacts of the environment. There are
a lot of mining businesses in Australia, the country’s economy is booming as they are
improving their market in coal mining but we all know that this will bring side effects to the
people and that is the reason why they are making demands to stop coal mining in the
country because it is not good anymore, they are already showing that they are not giving
importance to the environment and their actions are not right anymore. It seems like they
are only focusing into the economic growth of the country and not considering the stand
of the citizens. The government has all the means to what’s happening in the country.
And as time goes by, the environment has been deteriorating. This would mean long-term
suffering for the population in terms of health.

Though there are times when a certain industry is booming and is always at its
peak, there will always be a time that it will go the other way around. The change in
economic status is constant. When the industry settled and played safe, they have not
seen possibilities like this. But if they have prepared for this, something like this case
won’t matter for great contingency plans will always save the project. It is expected that
the economy will shift downward for this but if proper things will be made after this, it will
always go back and recover.