Australian Government Approves Controversial Coal Mine That Could Threaten Great Barrier Reef

great-barrier-reef-527987_640Environmental activist groups around the world have been speaking out this week, about a planned coal mine project that could threaten to destroy the Great Barrier Reef. The Austrailian government recently approved the Carmichael mine, a which will be run and operated by India’s Adani Enterprises.

The mine will be located in central Queensland, and could have a direct impact on life in and around the reef.

In a statement earlier this week, Greenpeace Austrailia said:

“Carmichael would be a complete disaster for the climate and the Great Barrier Reef. The federal government and Environment Minister should be in the business of protecting the Reef and the climate, not giving mining companies licence to destroy them.”

Australia’s environment minister Greg Hunt claims that the government will able to somehow magically stop whatever harm may be done to the local ecosystem.

“The rigorous conditions will protect threatened species and provide long-term benefits for the environment through the development of an offset package. These measures must be approved by myself before mining can start,” Hunt said.

The Great Barrier Reef has become an area of great concern in Austrailia, after it was discovered that the reef has already lost half of its coral cover over the last three decades.

“In the circumstances, the risks of this proposal are just too great to justify it, particularly in light of the dramatically reduced economic benefits and very questionable viability of it,” lawyer Saul Holt said back in May.


John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.

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