Greenpeace News

Coal Is killing India's poor

jling — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:13:00 +0200

Big coal wants you to believe that fossil fuels will lift India's poor out of poverty.

©Greenpeace /James Alcock

Gaurav Jagdish, who recently boarded a coal ship in QLD, knows the poor are usually the last to benefit from coal.

Is it immoral to argue against selling Australian coal to India? According to this article in the Herald Sun, it may as well be: “[W]hat sort of paternalistic world do we live in where folk from a first world nation comfortably deny the rights of a developing nation the means to supply a reliable energy source to its people.”

Framing Australia’s coal exports as some kind of benevolent form of aid is not a new tactic, but it continues to offend those of us who have to live with the consequences of this trade. It should not go unchallenged.

I am one of the activists who climbed MV Meister to protest the export of Australian coal and highlight the damage being done to the Great Barrier Reef and to the climate. I come from Bangalore, India and I participated in the action after giving much thought to the situation in India, which sees 57 per cent of its electricity generated from coal. The irony in India is that the areas which enable this 57 per cent of electricity generation are the very ones most deprived of energy.

Electricity generated by coal is only reaching urban areas and rich states (industrialised and developed), while 250 million people in regional and rural India continue to live in darkness. Even in many areas where electricity has supposedly reached, the quality of electricity is so poor it does not even allow families to run a fan or light properly, let alone an electric stove to avoid the fumes from indoor biomass stoves.

While coal is always mentioned with regards to eradicating energy poverty, what is transpiring in the name of the same logic in India seldom gets any mention.

According to a recent report by Urban Emissions, 85,000 to 115,000 people died due to coal-related pollution in India in 2011-12, of whom 10,000 were children. The estimated cost to the public exchequer is between US$3300 million and US$4600 million dollars. Meanwhile the state of Maharashtra is confronting the horror of man-made drought because irrigation water meant for farmers was diverted to industries — 65 per cent of which are coal-fired power plants.

My country is seeing a lot of environmental damage with its forests and wildlife under threat and the accompanying displacement of the indigenous population who depend on those forests. Known as the Scheduled Tribes in Central India, these ancient communities are being pushed into deeper poverty as coal exploitation destroys their forest homes.

On the other hand, the country is already witnessing many projects providing electricity through mini grids, which are in turn powered by small scale renewable energy projects. The state of Bihar, which has the least amount of energy access in India and has no access to much of coal, has taken an ambitious programme of providing electricity to all in the state through decentralised renewable energy by 2015.

This would not have happened if renewable energy was not cost-effective. The wind tariff in India is INR 1 (AU$0.02) more than coal, while the solar tariff has dropped from INR 18 (AU$0.36) to around INR 7 (AU$0.14) under the Indian government's scheme called Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

Like most addictions, India’s obsession with coal is not sensible or rational. It is driven primarily by an unhealthy government-industry nexus. How do we know that? Because a US$200 billion dollar scam was uncovered 2012, where the Indian government had allocated 206 coal blocks at throw-away prices to 25 of India’s largest industrial conglomerates for mining between 1993 and 2011.

As an Indian, I am aware that India needs energy to develop. But just adding more coal without fixing the problems that assail the electricity sector, or measuring the impact of coal on India’s environment and its people, is not the answer to inclusive and sustainable development. We need comprehensive planning of energy, where renewable energy which can electrify our rural areas and reduce energy shortages (in urban areas), is also given its due. In the end, if anyone is indeed worried about those experiencing energy poverty, then they should also worry about how extremely vulnerable they are to the impact of climate change.

This article first appeared in New Matilda

The TV ad Coca-Cola doesn’t want you to see

tgandert — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:24:00 +0200

It’s been all over the news. Our controversial TV ad exposing Coca-Cola’s opposition to an effective Cash for Containers recycling scheme has been stopped from going on air.

Hundreds of Greenpeace supporters chipped in to get it aired on Channel 9 during one of Barry O’Farrell’s favourite TV shows. But at the last minute our spot was cancelled after TV bosses deemed it “too offensive” to go on air -- despite us cooperating fully with government classification bodies. Since then, SBS and Channel 7 followed suit and also stopped us from airing the ad.

It might be confronting. It might shock some. But let’s be clear: the only thing “offensive” here it Coke’s outrageous efforts to crush this effective recycling to stop it being implemented nationally.

Coke can’t stop us reaching even more Australians online. You can help right now by watching the ad and sharing it with everyone:

Click here to share on Facebook

Click here to share on Twitter

Carbon dioxide reaches levels never seen by humans

jling — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:20:00 +0200

The levels of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached 400 parts per million for the first time in human history. The last time levels were this high global average temperatures eventually reached 3 or 4C° higher than now, the polar regions were up to 10C° warmer than today the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets were smaller and Sea level ranged between five and 40 meters (16 to 131 feet) higher than today.

There are two reasons to be seriously worried by this year's CO₂ measurements from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

We are hitting the symbolic limit of 400 parts per million, showing how far we have come from the pre-industrial levels of 280 and the relative safety of 350.

Even more alarming, though, is the fact that this year the levels have risen faster year-on-year than ever before during the time that measurements have been made, breaking the previous record from more than a decade ago. In other words, not only are we speeding into climatic territory that humankind has never experienced before, we are still speeding up.

The planet is poised to reach the 1,000 ppm level in only 100 years if emissions continue to rise at their present level whereas an increase of just 10 parts per million might have taken 1,000 years or more during ancient climate change events. We are altering the conditions within which civilisation developed, at a rate that will seriously challenge our capacity to adapt and change.

The people with their foot on the gas pedal are the dirty fuel and logging industries, with the coal industry alone responsible for two thirds of recent frantic emission growth. And they have no intention of slowing down. Massive coal expansions are planned in Australia, China and the U.S., that would lock in increasing emissions for decades. Stopping or scaling back these projects is absolutely necessary to keep global warming from accelerating further out of control.

The Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution 2012 provides a consistent fundamental pathway for how to protect our climate: getting the world from where we are now to where we need to be by phasing out fossil fuels and cutting CO₂ emissions while ensuring energy security. Implementing a revolution in the way energy is produced and used would add six million jobs in the heating and power sectors alone.

zoom

The multitude of destructive global and local impacts of the fossil fuel industry is becoming all the more apparent and uniting local groups and international networks in resistance. The hope for the planet is that the climate movement and the clean energy solutions can grow even faster than the CO₂ emissions have. We have already seen examples of the movement taking on some of the biggest and most powerful vested interests in the world, delaying or stopping coal terminals, oil sands pipelines and coal power plants; and putting in place successful clean energy policies. What the data from Mauna Loa shows is that spaceship earth needs more hands - your hands - on deck to bring in more of these victories.

INFOGRAPHIC: This will change the way you look at recycling. Guaranteed.

tgandert — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:36:00 +0200

It’s good for the planet, good for jobs, and would save local governments millions of dollars every year. These are just some of the reasons why our politicians should implement a national 10 cent refund-recycle scheme.

‘Cash for Containers’ has been operating for decades in South Australia, where recycling rates are more than double those across Australia. Other countries with similar schemes boast rates of over 95%. It’s the sensible solution to prevent plastic pollution littering our beaches and clogging up our waterways.

The majority of State Premiers across Australia have shown support for the scheme, but a handful of beverage industry giants like Coca-Cola are doing all they can to get it scrapped.

Sharing these simple facts far and wide will help make this scheme a reality. Read on and share this with everyone.

Click on the infographic to download a high resolution version (PDF, 5.9 MB)

Tweet to help take this further

[INFOGRAPHIC]: why we need a national Cash for Containers scheme in Australia right now http://bit.ly/10JCvOk via @GreenpeaceAustP #CokeFail | Tweet this

Did you know: it would take 400 years for a plastic bottle thrown away to break down http://bit.ly/10JCvOk via @GreenpeaceAustP #CokeFail | Tweet this

[INFOGRAPHIC]: 15,000 bottles and cans are littered in Aus every min (8 billion per year!) http://bit.ly/10JCvOk via @GreenpeaceAustP | Tweet this

How you can help

Our State politicians have the power to make the ultimate decision, but they’re coming under intense pressure from beverage industry giants not to pass a national scheme. Click here to send a personal message to your MP today.

Learn more

Stop Coca-Cola trashing Australia: 3 things you can do

8 reasons Australia needs a national ‘Cash for Containers’ scheme

Our TV ad telling Coca-Cola to stop trashing Australia

Shhh... the truth about recycling Coca-Cola doesn’t want you to know

Coca-Cola’s court case against the Northern Territory’s recycling scheme

Over 10,000 people stand in solidarity for action against coal

tgandert — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:32:00 +0200

On Wednesday 24 April, an international team of six activists boarded a fully-loaded coal ship bound for South Korea as it left the Great Barrier Reef.

They took action to protest against Australia’s coal exports driving catastrophic global warming.

When we asked Australians to stand in solidarity with the activists by signing on to our statement of support, we were overwhelmed at the response. Within days 10,000 people had signed up to show their support.

To make our calls as strong as possible, we published this statement nationally in the Australia Financial Review - read widely among investors and decision makers – to show the business community we won’t stand for coal exports fuelling global warming.

When news broke of the activists boarding the coal ship, it kicked off a bit of discussion about civil disobedience. Professor Clive Hamilton from Charles Sturt University weighed in on the debate:

“In a situation where the facts overwhelmingly demand sweeping measures to protect humanity yet our political system seems unwilling to respond, what is a concerned citizen to do? ... When all legitimate means have been exhausted, the only alternative to apathy and despair appears to be civil disobedience.”

Harmony, one the six activists from USA said:

“I took action because people deserve a better future than that’s being offered by the coal industry. We cannot allow coal companies to expand unchecked, to continue to sicken communities across the world, and now export their direct energy to other countries. By boarding this ship, I’m working to take the step away from coal toward a clean and renewable energy future.”

From everyone at Greenpeace, thanks so much to everyone who joined this call.

Sign up our emails today for the latest news and action opportunities from Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

Holbourne Island: a pristine environment in danger

tgandert — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:47:00 +0200

Holbourne Island is the northernmost island of Australia’s beautiful Whitsunday group. It lies just 30 kilometres from Abbot Point, where a proposed coal terminal is slated to become one of the biggest in the world.

Holbourne Island © Tom Jefferson / Greenpeace

Queensland community campaigner for Greenpeace, Louise Matthiesson, recently visited Holbourne Island National Park and wrote this account.

The first thing I noticed about Holbourne Island were its coral beaches. They slope gently from the dunes, providing an ideal nesting grounds for flat back and green turtles -- both listed as vulnerable species. The layout of these beaches makes it easy for the turtles to dig in and lay their eggs, as well as for baby turtles to make their way to the sea after hatching.

This pristine island is grave danger. There's a real possibility that three million tonnes of dredge spoil from the proposed Abbot Point coal development might get dumped in the ocean just eight kilometres from the island. With the strong current and monsoonal weather, the mud plumes from the dump site could easily flow towards the island and smother its fringing coral reefs.

Back on the mainland I spoke to spoke to locals and tried to find people who’d visited this remote reef island. I couldn’t find anyone who had been there since the cyclones of the last few years. We were worried that the fringing reefs may have been badly damaged.

So when the day finally came to sail to Holbourne Island on the Rainbow Warrior, I was both excited to see the reef firsthand, but nervous about the damage we could be documenting. We were taking seven journalists to show them the beauty of the island and what was at stake.

What we found on Holbourne Island

On the way in we sailed past Nares Rock, a couple of kilometres from the island, constantly circled by hundreds of seabirds feeding on the rich fish life below. Many of these birds nest on the island itself.

The Rainbow Warrior anchored in deep waters and we boarded smaller inflatable boats with our snorkel gear.

We were very lucky to have Jacquie Shiels, a local marine biologist, as our guide. As the boats drew closer to the island and the water became shallower, we could see darker patches of coral but hard to tell the condition it was in. We pulled up on a white beach, not made of not of sand but of sun bleached coral that crunched under my feet.

As we swam around, Jacquie pointed out enormous purple stag horn corals, giant clams, parrot fish, sea anemones, brain coral, fire branch coral. "Don't touch it, it stings!" she warned.

We searched for the giant manta rays known to frequent the island coast. We soon met up with the Greenpeace dive boat where renowned underwater photographer Darren Jew had been capturing this beauty on camera. Here's a great photo Darren took before the rays moved on:

Swimming out from the beach for the first 20 metres the coral looked like it has sustained some damage. As soon as we got into deeper water, we were taken aback by its beauty. We found a wonderland of colourful fish in their designer outfits! Corals of all shapes, sizes and colours began to appear. While there was evidence of some cyclone damage the reef was still spectacular.

The coal connection

We were joined by Aparna Udupa, a Greenpeace clean energy campaigner from India. Arpana was there to see the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef so she could go back to India and tell people of what was in store for it. Shockingly, the Australian government is planning to allow the development of several new coal terminals on the Great Barrier Reef coast.

The journalists with us were stunned by its beauty. And they could clearly see just how close the island is to the Abbot Point coal terminal and the dredge dump sites.

The reckless expansion of the coal industry could put all this at risk through increased dredging, global warming and subsequent ocean acidification.Now that I've seen Holbourne Island for myself I am now all the more determined to protect this little-known spot.

A call to action: Greenpeace steps in to halt coal

aharris — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:07:00 +0200

Greenpeace has dramatically stepped up its campaign to stop Australia’s biggest contribution to climate change from getting any bigger. This morning six volunteers boarded a bulk carrier filled with thermal coal, leaving Australia bound for Asia.

We did this because Australia's coal exports are the nation’s greatest contribution to climate change and plans are underway to roughly double the volume of coal we export. A development that flies in the face of Australia’s commitment to take action to limit global warming to below 2 degrees.

We’ve all seen what climate change is doing to this country and the places we love. That’s why over ten thousand Australians - including the country’s most respected climate scientists and academics and over forty non-government organisations from around the country - have called for the expansion of our biggest contribution to it to stop.

Right now there is no political solution to this problem because all the major political parties have committed to doubling and trebling our coal exports. So, in the absence of any action being taken by our political leaders, Greenpeace is calling on all Australians to join it in physically preventing the expansion of coal, through peaceful civil disobedience.

The activists on board the bulk carrier, MV Meister, are not just Australian. In recognition of the global problem created by Australia’s coal exports, we have a multinational team peacefully occupying a coal shipment as representatives of a region-wide campaign to bring about the end of the age of coal.

Greenpeace has campaigned against the expansion of coal exports from Queensland, through the Great Barrier Reef, using every legitimate means we can to stop them going ahead. We’ve made detailed submissions, triggered Departmental inquiries, used Freedom of Information to expose holes in assessments, helped 25,000 people make submissions to processes, published full page advertisements and written large on a beach our call to protect the Reef from coal. To no avail: our governments have not acted to protect the Reef or prevent the expansion of our biggest contribution to climate change.

It’s well known that most coral reefs around the world are unlikely to survive with more than 1.5 degrees of average global warming: right now, the planet is heading decisively for four degrees warming. As Australians, our contribution to saving our Reef from this global problem is to stop increasing our biggest contribution to it. As international citizens, we cannot sit by and watch coal consumption and supply grow, and not do everything in our power to prevent it.

If you support Greenpeace’s action, join the statement we’ll be publishing here.

Australian coal: the view from India

jling — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:24:00 +0200

My name is Arpana Udupa, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace India. I’m on board the Rainbow Warrior, travelling up the Queensland coast.

While the green ocean, blue sky dotted with puffs of white and bottle green landscape of the coast is breath-taking, the coal ships in the distance and the prospect of Great Barrier Reef being destroyed by coal and coastal development is breaking my heart.

It is a pattern of development I’m very familiar with and one that is being played out in India on a much larger scale. We are also seeing large scale mining in central India - home to rich forests, wildlife such as tigers, elephants, leopards and Indigenous tribes. As you can see in the graphic below, all of these inhabitants of the forests have been displaced for these power projects:

Click on the image to see larger size

Ironically, the regions that endure the bulk of coal mining and coal-fired power stations in India are the same areas that experience the most amount of energy poverty.

The 'Coal Curse'

Greenpeace India recently supported the movie “Coal Curse” by an eminent journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta in Delhi. The movie highlighted the crony capitalism involved in the coal industry and the consequences of coal mining in the Singrauli region of Central India. Singrauli region has 14 coal mines (capacity of 83 million tonnes per annum) and 10 coal-fired power plants (12,700 MW)

Coal pollution causes over 100,000 deaths a year in India. Right now there is a man-made drought in Maharashtra State caused by irrigation water being diverted for industries - 65% of which are thermal power plants. Aid agencies are warning the drought could cause famine with all the deaths that scourge brings with it. As an Indian I know what this industry can do and I know what could be in the offering for Australia.

Addicted to coal?

The Indian Government justifies all of this in the name of development and ending energy poverty, nationally and internationally. But the truth of the matter is that coal has not provided answers for India’s need for sustained and inclusive development. It has not provided the solution to energy shortages nor energy access for 25% of its population even after 65 years of independence.

What we see is an irrational addiction to coal, driven by government-industry nexus, as was evident in the 200 billion US dollars scam in 2012. In this case the Indian government allocated 206 coal blocks at throw-away prices to 25 of India’s largest industrial conglomerates for mining between 1993 and 2011.

To make matters worse, coal is not cheap and is not becoming cheaper. Adani Power petitioned India’s regulation setting agency Central Regulatory Electricity Commission (CERC) seeking a tariff increase on imported coal and the CERC has set up a committee to work out the exact quantum of the compensation. This means that consumers will pay more for electricity and COAL is not becoming cheaper for Indians. For more information on Adani, please refer to this fact sheet (PDF, 25 kb)

While India needs energy, lots of it actually, what we are really saying is that India has got itself locked into a mindless expansion of coal, without having appropriate policies to fix the problems that plague its electricity sector or really accounting the consequences of such a move on India’s environment and its people. What is needed is a holistic assessment of our energy situation, with an equivalent focus on renewable energy, which can really help us electrify our rural areas and reduce energy shortages in urban areas.

Renewables offer huge potential

The country has a potential of 400,000 MW of wind (onshore) and gets 300 sunny days on an average. Wind power has matured in India and costs almost the same as coal in per unit cost. Likewise solar power is almost at parity to coal power in Delhi, which is a state as well as the capital.

The most heartening stories of rural electrification are becoming a reality through decentralised renewable energy, where small scale solar and wind, micro-hydro and biomass based electrification through micro-grids is fostering a mini energy revolution.

Therefore, what we need is a serious introspection in both Australia and India, about what is the kind of development the two countries would like to take, when the prospect of climate change looms over us. More so for India where 72% of its 1.2 billion population is poor and marginalised and extremely vulnerable to climate change. So for all our sakes, let’s keep the coal where it should be, let’s protect a precious world heritage like the Great Barrier Reef, and lets facilitate India to follow a low carbon economy growth, which is both inclusive and sustainable.

Ending the overfishing crisis

jling — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:37:00 +0200

Less than six months after sailing through the Indian Ocean last year, Greenpeace has returned to the region to help end overfishing and create sustainable tuna fisheries that bring real economic benefits to coastal communities.

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza will be operating in the Indian Ocean for two months to document and record fishing vessels that are operating illegally or using highly destructive and wasteful fishing techniques.

An estimated 24% of the global tuna catch comes from this ocean alone, but the Indian Ocean and the tuna stocks within it are coming under increasing pressure as more and more vessels join the hunt in this multi-billion dollar fishery.

Fishing vessels from wealthier distant nations such as France, Spain, Taiwan, Korea, China, Japan and elsewhere take close to 50% of the tuna catch, using destructive fishing techniques such aspurse seines with Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs).

This type of fishing results in a high level of bycatch of sharks, rays, turtles, whales and dolphins and juvenile tuna. Long-line fishing, also common in the Indian Ocean, has similar problems and is in need of urgent reform.

Compounding the overfishing problem, regional coastal states are investing more and more in expanding their own fishing fleets. But the catches from these fleets are poorly documented and it is not clear how many boats are targeting tuna in the region.

All tuna species in the Indian Ocean region are showing signs of decline as fishing powers have failed to agree to limit the size of their fleets. Regional management needs to be significantly improved if the region is have sustainable fishing in the future.

Globally, there is 2.5 times more fishing capacity in the world than there are fish. In the Indian Ocean in particular, there is a small window of opportunity to make changes and prevent some of the excessive overfishing that has taken place elsewhere.

This is why the Esperanza and her on board team will attend this year’s Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) meeting in Mauritius in May. There we will send a clear message to IOTC delegates – start managing this fishery effectively or risk destroying it!

You can keep track of the Esperanza's tour of the Indian Ocean here.

Abbot Point wetlands: why put this beauty at risk for coal?

jling — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:25:00 +0200

Of all the places that the Rainbow Warrior has visited so far on its Save the Reef tour, we’ve been most moved and captivated by Abbot Point and the Caley Valley Wetlands.

To read the formal environmental assessments of the place, you would think that all of the beauty and diversity of the World Heritage Area dwells beyond the port boundaries, and that Abbot Point itself is an island of barren ordinariness... Nothing could be further from the truth.

Of the nine new coal terminals proposed for the Great Barrier Reef coast, four are earmarked for Abbot Point. There is a coal terminal already there and as we sailed by on our way to Bowen from Townsville, there were four ships at anchor waiting to access the terminal. Our minds turned to how many there would be if the capacity of the port were increased four-fold, as is proposed by the coal industry.

If that should come to pass, the first place damaged will be the Caley Valley wetlands. This is a beautiful place, alive with extraordinary bird life – some of which are already endangered – bounded by swamp gums and paperbarks, its waterways provide a carpet of lilac waterlilies and a home of dragon flies and tiny honey eaters.

This is the place Hancock Coal wants to turn into a rail loop for their new coal terminal.

The rugged Mount Luce looms above the Caley Valley Wetlands, covering 5000 hectares and hosting migratory shore birds that travel here from China, Japan and Korea. Coal industry assertions that this wetland is not significant for migratory birds have been exposed as false by recent surveys that found more species there than ever before, including a nationally important population of the threatened Australian Painted snipe

Then there’s Abbot Point itself. Large new infrastructure for Adani’s proposed “Terminal 0” will be constructed metres from Abbot Beach. This is a beach where Green and Flatback turtles lay their eggs and which was described as “important nesting habitat” by a turtle study conducted in 2003. The Australian snubfin dolphin, described by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority as “the Reef’s most threatened marine mammal,” also lives here, as do dugongs and migrating whales.

This is not a place where industrial development should take place. This is a place that needs to be valued and nurtured for its beauty and the unique story it tells all of us about this country. Queenslanders and the people of Bowen have already copped more than their fair share of extreme weather and hard knocks, it’s time for the Environment Minister to draw a line in the sand and say, enough is enough. It is also high time the people of regional and rural Queensland had some support, as they struggle to build lives and jobs that are built to last and last a lot longer than this dangerous and fickle coal boom.

Thermal coal exports killing our future

aharris — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:37:00 +0200

By David Ritter, originally posted in The Australian: A MOMENT has been reached in our national history where the prosperity and wellbeing of Australia are at threat. Radical plans to expand coal exports endanger our most precious places including the Great Barrier Reef, and stand to make a major contribution to tipping climate change out of control. But in the face of this clear and present danger our political leaders are silent.

As concerned citizens we must now turn our minds - as suffragettes, champions of the anti-slavery movement, anti-war protesters and others have in the past - to civil disobedience. Martin Luther King once said that a time comes when silence is betrayal. Truly, that time is now in Australia. It is a truth that was seared on to us by the angriest summer in our nation's history.

Civil disobedience has deep roots in the great religious and philosophical traditions. According to philosopher John Rawls, civil disobedience entails public, non-violent and conscientious breach of the law undertaken with the aim of bringing about change. Practising civil disobedience in a liberal democracy requires accepting the legal consequences of one's actions, thus showing ultimate fidelity to the rule of law. Civil disobedience is about peacefully standing up for a fair go or to stop something precious from being destroyed.

Around the world, civil disobedience has proven essential to social and economic progress and Australia is no exception.

From women getting the right to vote to gay and lesbian liberation; from the Gurindji walk-off to the Franklin River blockade; from anti-apartheid demonstrations to protests against the Vietnam War: civil disobedience is a precious part of the heritage that has made us a tolerant and thriving country.
The proposed expansion of the thermal coal industry in Australia calls for civil disobedience because of the scale and immediacy of the threat and the absence of action to address the danger.

The world is on target for a temperature increase of 4C by the end of the 21st century. Australia in particular is at risk of dire impacts. Eminent Australian climate scientist David Karoly has warned that by driving global warming we are "unleashing hell" on our country. Our coal exports are by far Australia's greatest contribution to climate change at about 140 per cent of domestic emissions in 2011-12. The International Energy Agency has given a precise timetable for reducing use of thermal coal, yet we don't even monitor our exports, let alone have any plan for restraining their increase.

Commonwealth Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics data reveals that across the next five years the coal industry plans to add new thermal coal mining capacity equivalent to twice our 2012 exports of this commodity.

As News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch said more than five years ago, "climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction." Despite the rancour over the carbon price, there is bipartisan support in Australia for reducing carbon emissions and commitment to the 2C global target.

Neither the ALP nor the Coalition is proposing any action on coal exports. Yet the lack of progress in global climate negotiations means there is no international solution in sight. If we want to do something about the emissions generated by Australian thermal coal exports, our country has no choice but to act.

Opposing the expansion of the coal industry does not mean objecting to mining per se. Indeed, the Australian extractives sector includes some great examples of world's best practice in environmental and social responsibility. Neither is stopping the expansion of coal about being against jobs. In reality, the planned growth of the thermal coal industry directly threatens tens of thousands of real and existing jobs in tourism, agriculture and fishing, as well as indirectly in manufacturing.

Four years ago, internationally renowned climate scientist James Hansen said that "peaceful demonstration is not out of order, because we're running out of time". Just three months later, he was arrested at a protest. Most recently, Hansen has retired from his post with NASA to engage in more activism, noting that at 72 he is "not worried about having an arrest record".

In Australia in 2013, it is not easy to oppose the expansion of the thermal coal industry, but the silence of our politicians is a betrayal of our shared fate. Our choice is clear: Australia must cease expansion of coal exports or wilfully threaten the future of our children. For our kids and our country we must act to break the silence.

Follow @David_Ritter

David Ritter is chief executive of Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

The North Pole. 2.7 million names. One flag. One Arctic.

aharris — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:26:00 +0200

Our four young explorers on a mission with Greenpeace have planted a flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole, at the same spot where a submarine planted a Russian flag claiming the Arctic for Moscow.

After a gruelling week-long trek across the frozen Arctic Ocean, over giant pressure ridges and around icy pools of open water, we planted our ‘flag for the future’ four kilometres beneath the ice at the top of the world and called for the region to be declared a global sanctuary.

The flag is attached to a glass and titanium time capsule containing the names of 2.7 million people who joined the campaign to Save the Arctic. We came to the Pole to demonstrate that this special area of the Arctic belongs to no person and no nation, that it is the common heritage of everyone on Earth.

As global warming melts the sea ice, companies such as Shell and Gazprom are moving in to exploit the region's oil.

We stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples across the Arctic whose way of life is threatened by the unchecked greed of industry. We're asking that the area around the Pole be made off-limits to oil companies, industrial fisheries and the claims of governments.

Here are a few snapshots from their incredible journey:

En route to the North Pole. Actor Ezra Miller, an Arctic ambassador with Team Aurora, keeps pace on the a trek with Greenpeace.

Here, things are getting very difficult for Team Aurora. Not only are conditions in the Arctic naturally harsh, but now they're facing a terrible southward ice drift. Wind and currents are driving the ice floes south as the team tries to move north. Even as they brave pressure ridges, blisters and frozen fingers to battle across the ice and no matter how hard they ski, they've found themselves right back where they started.

Renny Bijoux, from the Seychelles, an Arctic ambassador with Team Aurora.

En-route to the North Pole. Martin Norman, Greenpeace logistics, keeps pace on the trek with Greenpeace.

After seven days trekking through the Arctic, Team Aurora makes it to the North Pole. Here, flags for the future decorate the ice at the North Pole.

Team Aurora, our four young explorers, Josefina, Renny, Ezra and Kiera, lower the time capsule into the icy waters of the Arctic.

The time capsule is lowered into the icy waters at the North Pole. A flag for the future is attached to the glass and titanium time capsule containing 2.7 million names of supporters who wish to protect the Arctic. The following words are enscribed on the capsule:

"Placed at the North Pole 2013. If found please return to Greenpeace, a University or place of learning."

Mission complete! Our Movement has reached the North Pole! Renny Bijoux from the Seychelles, an Arctic ambassador with the North Pole expedition team waves the Save the Arctic flag at the North Pole.

Winning the fight for the climate, one community at a time

jling — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:55:00 +0200

For a long time, efforts to stem the growth of global CO2 emissions and avert the impending climate chaos have been synonymous with complex international negotiations between governments.

The unwillingness of governments to commit to action has given those of us concerned about the future a reason for pessimism. However, a series of new recent victories might give reason to rethink what progress on climate looks like.

In Australia, the expansion of the world’s biggest coal export terminal in Newcastle has been delayed and looks likely to be shelved. The decision is due to lower than expected demand for Australia’s coal exports and concerted community action. Communities are taking action because they are not willing to put up with more coal trains and the toxic dust they spread.

The massive coal ports planned in the US Northwest seem to be hitting the same dead end. Coal demand is falling, partially because air pollution and other deadly impacts are forcing a re-evaluation of policies in importing countries and partially because renewable energy is booming.

The victory for the local movement in Newcastle came as our Rainbow Warrior is sailing along the coast in support of the communities taking a stand against planned monster coal terminals.

In Thailand, the country’s energy minister said yesterday that the proposed coal power plant in Krabi, one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, should not be built. The announcement came on the heels of a Greenpeace climbing action and local community protests against the plan.

Another, even bigger coal power plant project was cancelled a week earlier in Poland, where Greenpeace and other organizations have been engaged in legal fights to keep the government from bending laws to give free CO2 emission permits to new coal.

In India, 36 coal mining projects were shelved as the government of India’s largest province, Maharashtra, announced new prices for land purchases for coal mines. Last year, Greenpeace teamed up with local communities in the region to defend forests and community lands against coal mining.

What if the turning point in the global fight to avert climate chaos is not signatures of presidents and prime ministers on paper, but a line drawn in the sand by local communities that are not willing to put up with the deadly fossil fuel industry anymore?

From China to the US and Thailand to Turkey, there are more and more people who no longer buy into the argument that economic development and security are only possible at the price of clean air, clean water and the health of ourselves and our children. At the same time, renewable energy is booming and it is becoming clear that economic wellbeing does not require environmental destruction.

There is already a precedent. While the US administration was dragging its heels at the end of the last decade, the grassroots anti-coal movement successfully fought more than a hundred new coal power plant projects, doing more for the climate in a few years than 20 years of climate negotiations among the world’s most powerful countries.

What I know for sure is that we at Greenpeace will continue to make life hard for the dirty energy industry that stands between us and a safe future climate. As the deadly impacts of coal become more and more apparent, these victories will undoubtedly keep rolling in.

Lauri Myllyvirta is an energy campaigner at Greenpeace International

Clean energy projects are expanding throughout India. So why does Australia need to send more coal?

jling — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:32:00 +0200

Coal giants and politicians who push to increase Australia’s coal exports often point to rising energy demands in places like China and India.

@Greenpeace

If Australia doesn’t export more coal, they say, remote villages in India will never get electricity. There are 300 million people, mostly in rural parts of India, without access to electricity but right now a new wave of renewable energy projects is taking off across the country:

The Punjab government is installing solar-panel covers over 18,000km of irrigation canals, reducing evaporation and generating electricity at the same time.

In Ladakh, high on the Himalayan plateau, solar technology is being used for heating, cooking and power.

A group called Selco is delivering free solar-lights to the energy poor.

Villages are using cow dung in biogas plants to generate clean gas for cooking.

In Bihar, rice husks (a waste product) are being used to generate 6 to 7 hours of electricity each evening for 100,000 people.

These projects prove that, with a little creativity, everyone in India could access electricity using clean energy sources. Watch this fantastic video from our friends at Greenpeace India.

Growing opposition to coal

Environmentalists are alarmed that in central India over 1 million hectares of forest are threatened by plans for new coal mines. Dozens of power plants in several provinces have faced sustained opposition from local communities, including traditional fishing people, farmers and families concerned about the health impacts of coal.

Greenpeace India recently teamed up with two other organisations to release a report quantifying the health impact of coal power in India. The report found that the premature death of between 80,000 and 115,000 people every year can be attributed to coal power in India, including 10,000 children under five.

For all these reasons, India does not have an endless appetite for Australia’s coal. There are better, cleaner, cheaper ways to meet India’s electricity needs and India appears to be finding them. As German clean energy advocate Dr Harmann Scheer said:

“Our dependence on fossil fuels amounts to a global pyromania, and the only fire extinguisher we have at our disposal is renewable energy.”

Great news: Newcastle coal terminal delayed, could be 'shelved'

tgandert — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 05:56:00 +0200

The community in Newcastle is celebrating a victory against the march of new coal developments this week.

Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) this week confirmed to a conference in the Hunter Valley the controversial fourth coal export terminal may be shelved. Why? It’s the result of falling demand for coal and the concerted efforts community action against growing coal exports. It’s good news for the planet too – coal exports are Australia’s biggest contribution to climate change.

Congratulations Newcastle! This incredible news demonstrates what community action can achieve when we stand up to the coal industry. What’s more, it shows that if we continue to take action together against other destructive coal developments, we can win.

Last month, over 1500 Novocastrians took to the streets to protest against Terminal Four. Hundreds of households have been surveyed about their views on the proposal, revealing a high degree of concern that the health of people living near the existing coal terminals and rail lines is being affected by coal dust already.

PWCS’ CEO, Henry du Plooy originally planned to open Terminal Four as soon as 2015. Now, it’s looking as though it might not go ahead at all – due in no small part to community activism. As he told the conference this week:

"There is no doubt the anti-coal lobby is making good on its commitment to specifically target T4 with the aim of stopping it to stop further expansion of the Hunter Valley coal industry."

The campaign continues in Queensland

The Rainbow Warrior visited Newcastle two weeks ago to support the campaign against Terminal 4. This week, the Warrior is in Queensland to support communities taking a stand against other monster coal terminals. One is proposed at Dudgeon Point in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. It’s not far from Mackay, where locals have raised concerns about the health impacts of coal dust. Find out more about the Warrior’s tour of Australia to #SaveTheReef.

You can join the voices calling for a halt to the T4 coal terminal by telling the NSW Government that the health of the community is more important than the profits of the coal industry. Take action here: http://stopt4.org.au/

Once again, congratulations to activists in Newcastle from everyone at Greenpeace!

Killing the Reef with coal: 3 questions Minister Burke needs to answer

tgandert — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:05:00 +0200

ABC’s 4Corners program “Gas leak!” revealed major flaws in the assessment of coal seam gas projects in Queensland. This is not an isolated case – last year, Environment Minister Tony Burke called the environmental assessment for the huge Alpha coal mine proposal “shambolic”.

Greenpeace’s work to stop the expansion of coal exports on the Great Barrier Reef coastline shows that the standard of assessment being applied to major industrial developments in the Great Barrier Reef is also seriously flawed. It would shock most Australians. The tale of two coal terminals at Abbot Point, Terminal Zero and Terminal Three demonstrates a crisis of management of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the expanding fossil fuel industry.

We need answers to the questions raised by the 4 Corners program, and by Greenpeace’s investigation into the T3 approval:

If a 60 million tonne coal terminal can be approved for development in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, is there any thin green line that Australia won’t cross?

If a coal terminal can be approved based on false information, how can Australians have confidence in our environmental laws and leadership?

Even more fundamentally, if climate change is the biggest and gravest threat to the future of the Reef, why is Australia trying to expand our coal exports, already our biggest contribution to global warming?

This tells a much broader story of institutional failure in Australia when it comes to protecting and preserving our most precious natural assets. News broke this week that the Federal Environment Department is investigating allegations that GVK Hancock provided false or misleading information in order to get approval to build a 60 million tonne per year coal export terminal at Abbot Point, in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, which is an offence under Australia’s Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The investigation was prompted by Greenpeace’s workexposing GVK Hancock’s failure to include significant new information about the ecological values of the Caley Valley Wetland, which will be partially developed for the coal terminal, in their environmental assessment of the proposal.

The problem is, the terminal has already been approved by Environment Minister Tony Burke. The thin green line is already broken. Greenpeace has sent a letter of demand to the Environment Minister Tony Burke, who has power to suspend or revoke Hancock’s approval, now that there is a shadow cast over the accuracy of the information they provided to obtain it.

The investigation should take a few months, and we’ll be watching out closely for the results. You can help by tweeting to Environment Minister Tony Burke asking him to suspend GVK’s approval to build a coal terminal at Abbot Point while they’re under investigation by his own department. Retweet ours below or write your own to @Tony_Burke.

@tony_burke Might b prudent 2 suspend GVK's Abbot Pt T3 approval until inquiry against them is complete! #savethereef ow.ly/i/1NOPW
— Greenpeace Aus Pac (@GreenpeaceAustP) April 2, 2013

All big fish netted as Aldi commits to end destructive tuna fishing

tgandert — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:53:00 +0100

We did it! Australia will soon become the second market in the world after the UK to virtually abolish the most destructive tuna fishing methods.

Supermarket giant Aldi has this week agreed to end its destructive tuna fishing. Following our campaign against the biggest tuna brand in Australia, John West, every major supermarket that hadn’t already made a pledge to catch its tuna responsibly followed within weeks.

This is big news for the thousands of sharks, threatened tuna species, turtles and other marine life killed every year by harmful Fish Attracting Devices (FADs). At the same time, fisheries in the Pacific Ocean can finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing that far fewer foreign owned industrial fishing vessels will use destructive fishing methods in their oceans.

Too many boats, too few fish

The bigger problem behind irresponsible tuna fishing is the massive expansion of industrial fishing globally. Every year, more and more industrial scale vessels from the big fishing powers like Korea, USA, Taiwan, European Union and China come to the Pacific - which supplies over 60% of the world’s tuna.

Some of these vessels like the Albatun Tres are monsters that can catch as much in a single trip as some Pacific Island countries catch in a whole year.

Above: Activists deploy a banner reading "No Fish No Future" next to the Albatun Tres, the world's second biggest tuna fishing vessel, known as a super super seiner. The ship can take 3000 tonnes of tuna in a single fishing trip which is almost double the annual catch of some Pacific island countries. © Greenpeace / Paul Hilton

Pacific Island countries only receive a tiny 6-9% of the $4 billion value of their tuna. But fisheries in these countries are fighting back. They have set up a joint venture to meet the demand in Europe and Australia for FAD-free tuna. Pacific Islanders are increasingly looking to use sustainable locally-owned models like the Maldives pole and line fishery.

Whether it’s the famed and endangered Bluefin (also known as ‘Porsche of the Sea’) or the more humble and plentiful Skipjack, tuna is eaten everywhere. Prestigious restaurants in Tokyo, London, New York, Sydney and Melbourne serve up Bluefin sushi for as much as $50 a bite. Two decades ago, Bluefin was plentiful enough to be canned. If something isn’t done soon to stop the use of FAD fishing altogether, Yellowfin and Bigeye could become endangered too.

We did this together

None of this happens without consumers demanding change. Over 50,000 Australians have sent messages since October last year to tuna companies demanding destructive fishing end. Together we made the message loud and clear. Now, Pacific fisheries and the tuna population just might have a fighting chance.

Above: Greenpeace activists dressed in shark suits with a giant tuna can reading "John's Waste" and a banner reading "John West Slashes Ocean Stocks", occupy the roof of John West's headquarters in Cheltenham, as part of a Greenpeace campaign to expose the company's destructive fishing practices. © Jesse Marlow / Greenpeace

Greenpeace escorts super trawler Margiris out of Port Melbourne

aharris — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:38:00 +0100

The notorious monster boat, the Margiris, pulled out of Port Melbourne on Thursday on a course straight out of Australian waters.

And like most Australians, we’re happy to finally see the back of it.

On Thursday night activists in Greenpeace inflatables escorted the notorious Margiris super trawler out of Port Melbourne so it knows we’re watching its every move.

We’re incredibly relieved to see the back of it -- but the story doesn’t end here. The tragedy is that the vessel may head off to devastate fisheries elsewhere in the world as it has done rapidly in the past.

Greenpeace had earlier confronted the Margiris (now known as the Abel Tasman) in West Africa in March 2012 and then again in the Netherlands in July. We stand in solidarity with the small-scale fishers whose livelihoods would be destroyed by monster boats like the Margiris: no monster boats here, not anywhere.

For years, the Margiris has been plundering the Pacific, Atlantic and many places in between. I can do this because it can stay at sea for lengthy periods of time - given its ability to store more than 6,000 tons of fish. Indiscriminate large-scale fishing like this is jeopardising the livelihoods and food security of millions of people who depend on our oceans for food and jobs.

The facts about super trawlers like the Margiris are what make ships like this so frightening. Its nets can be big enough to hold 13 jumbo jets -- a capacity which can catch the equivalent weight of 20 buses of marine life every day. It’s not just fish that become trapped: endangered turtles, dolphins and seals are often netted too.

It’s no wonder super trawlers have destroyed jobs and livelihoods in West Africa and the Pacific. These ships - which represent a small minority of fishermen in the world - receive a grossly disproportionate allocation of fishing opportunities compared to smaller (and more sustainable) operators, because of subsidies, political power or simply their ability to travel to waters further from coastlines.

Globally, industrial scale ships like the Margiris employ just 5% of the world’s fishermen, but their huge capacity enables them to scoop up as much fish as the remaining 95%. This places a massive strain on local (and more sustainable) fisheries.

Public opposition to these ships is huge, in Australia and globally. Tens of thousands of Australians took action when the super trawler attempted to fish in Australian waters last year. In Senegal, the collective actions of 52,000 local fishermen pushed the government to ban all foreign trawlers from local waters.

Where to next for the Margiris? At this stage it’s unknown. Ships like this are always on the prowl for new places to fish. Greenpeace will be watching all super trawlers closely and shining a light on their destructive ways until they end up where they belong: on the scrapheap.

Will it ever return to Australia? Not in the short term. Environment Minister Tony Burke banned it from fishing in Australian waters for two years last October. But with news the a coalition government would overturn the super trawler ban, it’s clear we can’t relax just yet.

For now,we can be thankful that by speaking out together we sent a strong message to the owners and operators of super trawlers everywhere: not here, not anywhere.

We have won before

jling — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 23:13:00 +0100

In 2011, thirty years after the event, Queensland state cabinet documents were released that showed the then-Premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, was totally opposed to the World Heritage declaration of the Great Barrier Reef. Why? Because his government wanted to mine the Reef for oil.

© Greenpeace 1999 Gladstone, Australia: Greenpeace this morning continued its campaign of action to stop the greenhouse vandalism of the Great Barrier Reef by once again stopping operation of the Stuart Oil Shale plant near Gladstone, Queensland.

It seems impossible, but in 1980 the Queensland government argued the Reef should be kept off the World Heritage register so oil companies could drill in it without having to worry about damaging it.

Fortunately for all of us, some young scientists had begun documenting the Reef in 1967 so they knew what was at stake. As one of those scientists told the ABC last year:

“We put what little money we had to going out every weekend and getting into reefs, learning about them and doing fish surveys looking at corals and molluscs and providing a baseline sort of study for what those areas were like.”

While it was the scientists that provided the hard data, it was the community that provided the power and the passion - and did so in a time that made community organising a lot more difficult than it is today.

As Dr. Adam Smith from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said last year: “We can't imagine how individuals had to deal with mining companies and Governments that were focussed on development …”

For Dr. Eddie Hegerl, a scientist and an activist, the campaign came with huge demands: “We were always seemed to be on the edge of exhaustion for years you know it really went on and it was intensive. We went up and down the coast giving lectures to every community organisation and service club and political party that would listen to us.”

That will sound very familiar to hundreds of folk across Australia who have again spent the last few years fighting to protect the Reef from industrialisation.

But this is not just a story of David versus Goliath, a story where communities fight to protect the places they love. This is a story about winning.© Greenpeace 2002 Brisbane, Australia — Shale oil one day, climate change the next; was the message on a banner unfurled dramatically from the landmark Story Bridge this morning by Greenpeace activists.

Because the community cared, because those young scientists worked with such generosity and determination, the Great Barrier Reef was finally declared a World Heritage area in 1981, something most Australians are rightly proud of.

But the Reef’s future is not secure. It is facing a complex bundle of threats, not the least of which are coastal development for export coal, and the insidious damage inflicted by warming seas and ocean acidification.

Last year, Brenda Harvey, one of the activists that fought so hard to protect the Reef over 40 years ago said: “I feel that there's just so much more we have to do and we're all getting too old to do it."

We cannot let the hard work and courage of those great Australians be in vain. Once again the Reef is in danger and once again it is the Australian people who need to step up and protect this place that we all love so much. We have won before; we will do so again, together.

At what cost?

jling — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:06:00 +0100

Imagine if our air was so dirty it led to the deaths of 10,000 kids under the age of five every year from respiratory problems, or so filthy that it gave 20 million Australians asthma. Imagine if air pollution killed between 80,000 and 115,000 Australians each and every year?

We would be rightly scandalised by that. We would demand action and no doubt get it. We certainly wouldn’t accept that kind of disease burden as being the necessary by-product of our energy consumption would we?

This is the price being paid by Indian families for coal fired power as revealed in a shocking new report co-sponsored by Greenpeace in India.

The study - conducted by Dr. Sarath Guttikunda and Puja Jawahar of Urban Emissions - is the first time that anyone has quantified the death and disease burden from coal power plants in India. Apart from the thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of Indians sickened by this pollution, the study also estimated the economic impact of this health burden, putting it at between US$3.3 and 4.6 billion per year.

In 2010, India was the third biggest consumer of coal world-wide and most of it was produced from domestic coal mining. But the country is also a key target market for Australia’s growing coal exports. Indian companies GVK and Adani are planning to build massive new coal mines in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. Adani’s Carmichael mine is proposed to produce 60 million tonnes of coal at full production, and GVK’s Alpha and Kevin’s Corner mines would together produce the same. MetroCoal, the company behind a large new mine called Bundi proposed for Queensland’s Surat Basin has recently announced a deal to sell this coal to a India’s National Thermal Power Corporation – a public company running some of the power stations already polluting Indian air.

When the Australian coal industry is challenged over the growth of coal exports to India, the public is spun the story that only coal can lift Indian communities out of poverty and that Indian families are desperate for Australian coal. This report reveals the truth behind that lie and its fatal delusion. On the contrary, pollution from coal power is causing death and disease on a significant scale in India.

That’s why Greenpeace is working to accelerate the proliferation of renewable energy across regional and metropolitan India to help combat the terrible toll coal is taking. It’s also why it is unconscionable for Australia to push its coal onto India, now that we know what this costs communities in lives, poor health and in financial terms.

Almost seven years have passed since the Rainbow Warrior visited Newcastle on the NSW Central Coast.

jling — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 05:13:00 +0100

Since then, coal shipments passing out of Newcastle’s harbour between Nobby’s Head and Stockton break wall have risen higher and higher. For too long local residents have been suffering the consequences of the growing coal shipments.

Coal dust particles fill the air and noise pollution is on the rise.

Despite health concerns raised by local residents, coal companies are charging ahead to make annual exports even bigger. The port of Newcastle is already exporting 165 million tonnes of coal per annum, yet the proposed “T4” Kooragang Island coal terminal could see exports skyrocket.

With coal mines creeping nearer to rural villages, health impacts are coming closer too.

The effects of coal dust are well known to residents of the Hunter Valley, where there are several towns that are bordered on two or three sides by open-cut mines. The NSW Department of Health itself wrote a submission opposing the South East Open Cut because of the effect it was likely to have on the residents of the village of Camberwell.

This is why local communities from across the Hunter region are organising and speaking out against T4 and new mine proposals for the health of their children and the future of rural industries.

Even if you make just a short visit to Newcastle, you’ll see local residents hard at work building support for the movement to stop T4. Local groups have been door-knocking in the affected areas, billboards and newspaper advertisements have been placed, corflutes adorn street light poles, and letters flood local newspapers opposing the new coal terminal and calling for proper Government oversight of the coal industry’s plans.

Their main concern is that severe health risks have been overlooked in the Government assessment processes. Residents groups, environment organisations and concerned local citizens have pulled together under the banner of the Coal Terminal Action Group to fund and analyse pollution monitoring equipment and analyse the collected data. The results were released last week, and were startling: even without a new coal terminal, levels of dangerous particulate pollution in the suburbs near the coal terminal are higher than the national standard. Particulate pollution is often enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, causing serious health problems, especially for adults with existing heart and lung diseases.

The Hunter region has come a long way since the last time the Rainbow Warrior visited in 2005. When it returns on 26-28 March 2013, it will be greeted by hundreds of people actively defending their communities against the damage inflicted by coal.

Ahead of the Warrior's visit, there will be a rally in Newcastle against the coal terminal on 16 March. Join people from Sydney, the Liverpool Plains, the Hunter Valley and the mid-north coast in Newcastle marching against the T4 coal terminal from 10am on 16 March 2013.