John Brentnall, of Gunnedah, writes:
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It is understandable that people who have businesses in Gunnedah think coal and CSG are good for the area.
It is also understandable that people who lived through the decline when the abattoir and the Vickery mine closed, see mining as the economic saviour of the town. However, there is a bigger picture that needs to be seen at both the local and the world scale.
Coal and coal seam gas threaten aquifers, the viability of agriculture and the health of anyone living near its activities. Also threatened are forests, the river and the rural nature of the countryside.
If Santos gets its way, Gunnedah will be surrounded by thousands of gas wells and be transformed into an industrial area.
The Carbon Tracker Initiative says: “Between 60-80 per cent of coal, oil and gas reserves of publicly listed companies are ‘unburnable’ if the world is to have a chance of not exceeding global warming of 2°C.”
All Christians should be environmentalists and I base this on precepts from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. First, the Bible emphasises human responsibility for nature.
Second, we are called to “love your neighbour”. “Neighbour” includes all humanity, current and future generations. It also includes all living creatures and their environments.
I am a member of the Uniting Church, which takes seriously its role as an agent of care for creation. In 2013, the church called on the state government to protect agricultural land, water, forests and wilderness areas, from coal and CSG mining. The church also decided to sell its fossil fuel shares.
The situation is critical, this is the only planet we have, we have to take action now or it will be too late.
That means no new coal mines and no new gas wells.