1485: Holey Frack

[Bucho]

Peyton's accent really is the greatest.

[SlateDando]

I'm behind on shows and have probably missed the boat, but Keith mentioned sometime that he wished someone would just lay things out for him and tell him what's going on with the fraking issue.

All About Fracking

I don't know if this guy is right, because with an entire internet at every person in the world's disposal, there's always going to be SOMEONE out there that can refute any claim and frame it in a way that makes sense on the surface, but he's pretty direct, his sources are cited on the bottom of the article, and if you don't feel like reading you can just click the 'listen' button right there at the top. Takes about fifteen minutes out of your day.

Edit: JUST noticed that someone already beat me to this, and I'm being redundant, but it really is a good, concise article that should be checked out.

[Dean from Australia]

This just hit my inbox this evening...

On ABC's Four COrners program Monday 11/7/2011

"Millions of cubic metres of sea floor are being drudged up from the Great Barrier Reef to make way for massive new coal seem gas export facilities. No, we're not kidding.

It's the largest dredging project ever undertaken in Australia, and one that has the United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) so alarmed they're warning the Reef could lose its iconic world heritage status. We've created an emergency petition to stop this. Sign here, tune in and spread the word now.

GetUp! - Dredging the reef

As The Age (newspaper) recently put it- what's of primary concern is the "vast dredging program" associated with the construction of three coal seam gas plants located inside the reef's World Heritage area. "The Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) has approvals to dredge 46 million cubic metres from within the harbour boundaries, inside the World Heritage area, over the next 20 years...a volume equivalent to 27 Melbourne Cricket Grounds." 1

Environment Minister Tony Burke has so far refused to stand up for the Reef, a priceless and fragile site of significance not just to Australia, but to the world. Imagine if the Pyramids were being bulldozed or the Grand Canyon mined -- the global community would be furious. Well UNESCO is furious. They're sending a special delegation in March to inspect the mining sites at the Reef, but that's too late to stop the damage happening now.

Meanwhile, UNESCO are being lobbied hard by the insatiable coal seam gas industry. And although they failed to even tell UNESCO about the project, the state and federal governments would have us simply trust them to monitor and regulate this crazy project -- claiming it's possible to dredge up 46 million cubic metres of reef inside a world heritage site provided there's sufficient environmental oversight. If the Australian Government won't stand up for the Great Barrier Reef as it's ripped up for corporate profit, we will.

That's why we've created an urgent petition, as we prepare to launch this campaign on the global stage.

GetUp! - Dredging the reef

The fragile and unique ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef is already under intense pressure due to earlier floods and a changing climate. We've witnessed a steep increase in the rates of death of endangered marine wildlife this year -- including dolphins, dugongs and turtles. The massive development for the coal seam gas industry may well prove too much for it to handle.

Coal seam gas mining is now affecting our communities and environment, from the family farm to the deep blue sea, and once these areas are destroyed, no amount of money will ever bring them back...