Yet Another Poem About Coal Mines and Global Warming #StopAdani
Channel: Jonathan Sriranganathan
Date: 13/07/2017

I often feel frustrated that mainstream discussions around mega-mines like the Adani Carmichael coal mine are framed as binary ‘jobs vs the environment’ debates.
Although big mining companies like to tell us otherwise, the coal industry actually employs a fairly small number of people compared to other more socially valuable industries like agriculture and tourism.
I’ve spoken to plenty of resource industry workers in places like Gladstone and Mackay who tell me that the big mining companies consistently place profits ahead of their employees’ long-term welfare, and that as soon as the boom slows down, they cut people loose.

The big end of town tries to manipulate us into thinking that this a question of inner-city latte-sippers versus workers in the regions, when actually it’s about a few tax-dodging multinational corporations screwing over all of us (wherever we live). Personally I can’t stand lattes. If I’m perfectly honest, I also don’t really care all that much about clown fish. But I do care about the millions of people around the world whose lives will be destroyed by floods and droughts if small, wealthy, developed nations like Australia don’t lead the charge in advocating for drastic global action to prevent climate change.

There are no jobs on a dead planet. A ‘strong domestic economy’ won’t count for much when a billion climate refugees are looking for safety, and prime agricultural land turns to desert.
I’m sure there are politicians in both the major parties who are privately opposed to projects like the Adani mega-mine but feel they have to toe the party line. They are cowards. If they don’t publicly oppose and vote against it, they are colluding with billionaires who would happily screw over the rest of us in pursuit of greater profits.
Anyone who thinks that we can’t improve ordinary people’s quality of life unless we support the fossil fuel industry is a sucker.
Just because some cashed-up lobbyist tells you this is the only way to create jobs and generate revenue doesn’t make it true.

All of us have a moral duty to prevent projects like this from going ahead – to stand up for the rights of First Nations peoples, to protect our water table and farmland, to challenge the corruption and manipulation of our political system, to give voice to the billions of people in poorer countries who will be hit hardest by climate change, and to preserve global ecosystems for future generations. In a context where big business is undemocratically influencing political decision-makers, the moral duty to prevent these mega-mine projects overrides the more general moral duty to abide by the rule of law.

But this isn't just about one coal mine. This is about a morally bankrupt system that is structurally incapable of responding to the impending threat of climate change. Regardless of whether this particular coal project actually goes ahead, the fact that our political establishment is even entertaining the idea of supporting it, and continues to do so little to shift away from coal exports and fossil fuel dependency, shows how ineffective our political leaders really are.

I’m willing to get arrested if I think it will help stop the Adani Carmichael coal mine going ahead, and I know thousands of other people are too. Take note Premier Palaszczuk.

http://www.stopadani.com/why_stop_adani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wfjwlWlGTk