Michael McKenzie on Bush Telegraph
Losing energy as Gillard spinsABC NEWS (QLD) 13/8/2010
Why won’t the govt. release the test results for toxins found in Kogan Creek?
Methane danger in CSG, scientist says
The coal seam gas (CSG) industry being developed in Queensland could create huge amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane, a Climate Institute scientist says.
“With thousands of potentially unregulated, unmonitored bores coming on-line in the next few years, we could see a massive spike in Queensland’s methane emissions.”
Methane is many times more potent a greenhouse pollutant than carbon dioxide CSG . . and will hugely increase the amount in the atmosphere.
Ancient Mound Springs Under Threat
The mound springs of South Australia are a unique groundwater discharge feature of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), a deep regional groundwater system that covers 22% of the Australian continent. They are the principal sources of surface water in the arid to semi-arid inland heart of Australia, and have great ecological, scientific, anthropological and economic […]
Downs farmers challenge CSG water claims
Members of the Basin Sustainability Alliance say at least two Queensland Government documents show that CSG water is extracted directly from the Walloon Coal Measures, which is an aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin.
The same document also identifies that the amount of water available for allocation from the Walloon Coal Measure under the Resource Operations Plan is zero megalitres.
A December 2008 scoping study on the ground water impacts of the Coal Seam Gas development was commissioned by Queensland’s Department of Infrastructure and Planning and shows the Walloon Coal measures will be “dewatered” as part of the planned Coal Seam Gas industry developments
Queensland government to ban BTEX chemicals
An underground coal gasification (UCG) pilot plant at Kingaroy, 210km northwest of Brisbane, was closed down earlier this month after traces of the cancer-causing chemicals benzene and toluene were found in bores near the plant.
“It is our commitment to legislate to ban them from ever being used in Queensland,” he said. “The message is very clear, no one is allowed to use these chemicals in the extraction of coal seam gas.
Water Commission lacks expertise to protect Great Artesian Basin
THE Bligh Labor government today all-but confirmed it lacked the technical expertise to monitor the impact of gas exploration and extraction on the Great Artesian Basin.