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Great Barrier Reef


wolfie

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Just as Britain is closing most of it's coal fired power stations and coal mines, Australia is about to build an enormous coal mining complex in Queensland, and to transport the coal they plan to build a huge shipping canal right through the Great Barrier Reef.

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Apparently they are sat on millions of tons of the stuff. There is also a tussle going on between mining companies & farmers over what is the breadbasket of Australia. I don't know if you saw the recent series on Australia by Simon Reeve  on BBC ,but coal was a subject on there.

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There are three main areas of human interest - social; environmental & economic. The last one, economic wellbeing, tends to trump the other two every time. As resources begin to run out, those that have them, will exploit them for their own use and profit through trade. Those that don't have them, will pay through the nose for them, or just take them, if they're big enough.

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Dizzy -
 
 The reef is protected by two complementary pieces of federal legislation:

the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 oversees activities in the marine park
Australia's key national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, protects nationally significant matters including the Great Barrier Reef World and National Heritage areas.
These acts provide an internationally recognised world class system of environment and heritage protection. To ensure use of the Great Barrier Reef remains sustainable, activities in the World Heritage Area and marine park are tightly controlled under these laws, as well as other relevant state and federal laws.
 

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Regardless of what protection and legislation, there is

What exactly is happening?
  • Major new port infrastructure is proposed and in progress in hubs along the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – from Gladstone to Cape York. These projects will devastate significant areas of Queensland’s coastline both on and offshore. The port at Abbott Point is destined to become the largest coal export port in the world, more than twice as large as any other on the planet!
  • Up to 10,000 coal ships would travel through the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area by the end of this decade, carrying coal and coal seam gas through the reef. More ships mean more pollution, more spills, more groundings and more collisions, as have occurred already now.
  • For coal ships to access the huge ports, millions of tonnes of sea floor will need to be dredged within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
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:lol:  :lol:  If you hadn't posted that Mark7 I wouldn't have googled.   Ugly things though eh ? 

 

I think Wolfie got it right.  I don't quite know what you googled Ms Dizzy, so I am at a loss as to how you determined they are ugly.

 

Unless of course you were looking at a SOCKEYE SALMON !    :lol: 

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I've sailed through the Great Barrier Reef several times on bulk carriers, in the days before we had the benefit of GPS. Queensland is a rich source of minerals and exports millions of tonnes a year by sea already. It seems to me that whatever anyone in this world tries to do there is always a pressure group ready to swing into action and oppose it, with the likes of 38 degrees ready to back them.

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 there is always a pressure group ready to swing into action and oppose it, with the likes of 38 degrees ready to back them.

So thank God for the pressure groups who have highlight the "rat run" practice employed by some shipping companies who take illegal short cuts through the Great Barrier Reef, all with the sole aim of profit.

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I'm not sure what is meant by "illegal short cuts" Wolfie, but if such things exist I'm sure the culprits will be easily caught as there is no hiding place on the high seas these days with compulsory long range AIS being carried by all ships these days.

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compulsory long range AIS being carried by all ships these days.

You say all ships Asp but aren't there certain requirements regarding tonnage, when the ship was constructed etc

Obviously you are the forum expert regarding ships, but what would prevent a ships captain turning it off, or certain countries/shipping lines totally ignoring it, and what happens to the culprits. Are you saying it is totally fool proof?

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