Mass March to ‘Defend our Water from Coal Seam Gas’

Sunday the 16th (yes, this weekend coming) is Townsville?s Mass March for Nation Action day to ?Defend our Water from Coal Seam Gas?.
As we all know, this has been stated as “the biggest single issue in Australia, ever” and Drew Hutton has predicted that stopping Coal Gas mining will be “the biggest environmental campaign in Australian history”.
We are now faced with and Australian Gasland (see link below). It has reached our shores in Australia, Queensland. It is affecting our water and our farmland and it is really happening here in places like Chinchilla, which already have devastating reports and daily threats to communities. They are tirelessly defending their livelihoods from the expected construction of thousands of additional wells planned along our great artesian basin. There is documented evidence of bores in Chinchilla spewing methane gas…yes, flammable water in QLD. Benzene and Toluene have been found in farming dams that feed their cattle…wells are leaking…
Do you care? Will you be part of it?
Info for our local Townsville EVENT:
October 16th is when our community will walk the talk to Defend our Water from Coal Seam Gas! Come join the mass march through our city to show your support with the rest of our country. Our message:
We want a moratorium until the full social and economic impacts are known!

Where:???????? Gather on Victoria Bridge 11am, October 16th

What:?????????? March to Anzac Memorial Park (15- 25 minutes)

Why:???????????? Your presence will help send a strong message!
Everyday people are responding to this grave issue of
‘fracking? and endangering the aquifers our great artesian
basin and pose contamination of precious farming lands.

How:???????? Wear yellow (lock the gate) or blue (defend our waters)
sporting banners to walk with. Make your own to share
your message or carry one of ours!

* Music and picnic festivities by the water at Anzac park, so please BYO lunch and water to enjoy in the park with the sound of the “Wassa Rhythms of West Africa?!

What is happening in QLD?
* The Coal Seam Gas Land Grab (60 Minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaWA_TDG56I&feature=related
“The great coal seam gas land grab in Queensland. Throughout Queensland, mining companies are marching onto private land, sinking wells without permission, and threatening the livelihood of landowners. This outstanding story by Australia’s Sixty Minutes program is something that no Queenslander should miss”
How close to home is this threat?
*Far North mining potential highlighted at Cairns conference – http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/10/08/185561_local-news.html
Want proof by investigation?
* The Australian Gasland:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w5KpKe0ys4
“Lock the Gate’ was inspired by the film Gaslands, which addresses the issues surrounding coal gas mining in America. ‘Lock the Gate’ is a brief look at part of the Queensland (Australia) situation – centered around Kingaroy, Dalby and Tara. Ian & Arkin Mackay hit the road for a three day drive to check it out… what unfolded was the realisation that coal gas mining is alive and thriving in the state… and so is an active protest movement.
There will be major rallies in Brisbane and Sydney at the same time.
The time is NOW! Let us create a day to remember for Townsville!
Many of us will be pushing wheelbarrows to represent our farmers so bring yours along too (if possible), otherwise we encourage you to be creative with ideas and signage/banners to make this fun, loud and proud so bring on the noise and spread message. If you are pressed for time, simply come along for the walk to show your support for a moratorium!
Please invite everyone you know and encourage them to attend. If there is anytime to get involved in fracking politics – this really is the time when your actions count!
Want to know more? Grab a cuppa and invest 5-10 minutes of your time find out what is really going on by clicking on the links below.
If you want to be included on the email outs (for this event only ? no spamming) then please email tonielle_c@hotmail.com or find us on facebook ? Mass March to Defend our Water from Coal Seam Gas.
Please extend this email invite, bring your friends, family, community groups or simply yourself; to walk the talk is send a strong message and the power of community is our strength to make the right we want to see in our world.

Will you be there?

Thank you for your continued support and hope to see you this Sunday.

Regards,
Tonielle Christensen
(on behalf of the North QLD Conservation Council)
0422 068 995
www.nqcc.org.au
Ps ? If you can?t do the walk but want to support this cause in other ways you see fit ? please let me know! We would love more musicians or people to for light duties at our destination of Anzac park.
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The relevance is very current to our times: communities and farmers are already being affected and this is really, really, really serious. If you have not yet seen the movie documentary called “Gasland’ about ‘fracking’ in the states, then I urge you to look into it (link below). It will likely upset you, make you angry, perhaps depressed and likely make you feel hopeless…but if you are like me, you will find motivation to write you to your friends and families to share this story.
Links to get informed while you enjoy your cuppa:
Lock the Gate: www.lockthegate.org.au is the leading organisation with lawyers working towards demanding the moratorium before its too late.
Website fact sheets; http://lockthegate.org.au/csg-facts/csg-factsheet.cfm
* Queensland coal seam gas debate fires up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3wWIlOKb40&feature=related
“The future of Queensland’s irreplaceable farming land remains at risk as a result of the extraordinary impact the booming coal seam gas industry was having on rural Queensland. The Federal and State Governments have now signed off on multi-billion dollar export projects that will take the industry to a new level of investment and production. As Pip Courtney reports on Landline, farmers and green groups are dismayed by what they see is the indecent haste of this latest resource bonanza.”
* Fracked Off!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nswfNJwjTlk&feature=related
“Are landscapes and water supplies being ruined by fracking? Dateline reports on the controversial way of tapping into gas reserves that’s splitting the US.” Now in Australia.
* Gasland trailer (the movie)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8&feature=related
“GASLAND – (2010) Directed by Josh Fox. Winner of Special Jury Prize – Best US Documentary Feature – Sundance 2010. Screening at Cannes 2010.It is happening all across America and now in Europe and Africa as well – rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from a multinational energy conglomerate wanting to lease their property. The Reason? In America, the company hopes to tap into a huge natural gas reservoir dubbed the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground?a hydraulic drilling process called fracking?and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower. But what comes out of the ground with that natural gas? How does it affect our air and drinking water? GASLAND is a powerful personal documentary that confronts these questions with spirit, strength, and a sense of humor. When filmmaker Josh Fox receives his cash offer in the mail, he travels across 32 states to meet other rural residents on the front lines of fracking. He discovers toxic streams, ruined aquifers, dying livestock, brutal illnesses, and kitchen sinks that burst into flame. He learns that all water is connected and perhaps some things are more valuable than money.”
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Related Articles (from the ABC website):
Q? WHERE ARE THEY MINING CSG? A: In your backyard! MAP of CSG exploration and wells:
*This is the description of the Surat/ Bowen Basins
http://www.originenergy.com.au/1727/Surat-Bowen-Basins
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The (Real) Facts: found online…
http://www.wewantcsg.org/coal-seam-gas/the-facts.html
*CSG extraction always involves contaminated water as extraction of gas draws water out of the coal seam that is highly toxic and can contain large amounts of salt, endocrine disruptors and heavy metals such as (e.g. mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium)
*CSG extraction poses serious risks to fresh water aquifers. The huge volumes extracted from coal seams can lead to major depletions in adjoining aquifers used for drinking water, agriculture, other industries and fire fighting.
*Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) causes micro-seismic events or little earthquakes intended to open up pathways for fluids or gases to flow. If these fractures intercept fissures or faults, the fracking fluids, contaminated water or gas can move into other geologic layers, contaminating the groundwater. Yes that?s right, man-made earthquakes!
*Australians want cleaner energy; switching to gas-fired electricity has to be one of the most inefficient ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The process of removing methane from a coal seam sees a large amount leaking into the atmosphere, adding significantly to greenhouse pollution, up to 35% of the Gas-well?s output? BUT we do get the other 65% safely to your stovetops, heaters, taps and dishwashers!
*Methane?s global warming potential (GWP) ? or warming potency compared to carbon dioxide ? is around 23. That means it?s 23 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a 100-year period. So adding one tonne of methane to the atmosphere would have the same effect as adding 23 tonnes of CO2.
*Typical releases from gas wells include BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). All these substances affect the respiratory system. 25% are carcinogenic; 37% affect the endocrine system; 52% affect the nervous system and 40% affect the immune system. They can and do contaminate air, surface water and underground water systems.
*The fracking process is not new in Australia and has been used in the production of CSG in this country for more than 15 years. Scary! Not even major players in the mining industry are convinced that CSG is a good idea; mining magnate Clive Palmer recently slammed the CSG industry, calling its technology unsafe and unproven
*A common misconception is that the fracking process involves ?a mystery cocktail of toxic chemicals? however this is not the case, they?re very well known toxic chemicals such as Butoxyethanol and Methanol, most of which can make you and your family very sick and are potentially fatal. Many of these chemicals can be found in everyday items like Toothpaste and Ice Cream
*The fracking process has been investigated by independent authorities in the United States, many of which have raised grave concerns about the practice and chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing
*Bores and gas wells pierce all geologic layers between the surface and bottom of the shaft, including the aquifers people rely on for drinking water and stock or irrigation supplies. If bore casings or cement seals fail, contamination can occur. Steel casings corrode rapidly in saline water while cement seals deteriorate over time and under pressure.
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Get Up! Don’t risk Coal Seam Gas:
http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/coal-seam-gas/csg-ad-petition/dont-risk-coal-seam-gas
Costa Georgiadis’s trip to see the sights of CSG wells QLD:
http://www.gmagazine.com.au/video/2559/get-informed-about-gas-mining-costa-georgiadis

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ABC related articles online: www.abc.net.au
*Another CSG gas leak worries farm groups – http://www.abc.net.au/rural/qld/content/2011/09/s3317609.htm
*Minister slams CSG company over gas leak – http://www.abc.net.au/rural/qld/content/2011/05/s3226768.htm
*Landholders told to know their rights on CSG – http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/Landholders-told-know-rights-abc-3395045968.html?x=0
*Late Line: CSG miners reject bullying allegations- http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2011/s3283918.htm

coal seam gas wells chinchilla