As a homeowner and long-term resident of Galong I find it difficult to contain my anger and frustration at the Sibelco DA variation currently under consideration by the Harden Shire office due to the lack of a mine bypass road in their application for expansion.
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This plan, if agreed to in its present form, will be an example of a mining company using its power and influence to achieve an outcome that, in my opinion, is blatantly unfair to the Galong community.
Mr Stokes, who represents this world wide mining group with numerous operations across Australia, should not have to be reminded that the responsibility is on the mine operator to minimise the impact of their activities on a local community.
For Sibelco to be allowed to expand their operations without the requirement of a mine bypass road will have a profound major adverse impact on the entire Galong community with long-term consequences.
Not only the home owners who live along Ryan Street where Sibelco plan to run their trucks, but all other traffic movements in and out of Galong.
Ryan Street is most commonly used to access shopping, business, medical and professional services.
All the requirements not available in the Galong village.
Even the kids’ two school buses, ambulance, fore and police services will have to fight for space on the roads, confronted by Sibelco mine trucks six days of the week from 7am to 7pm for the next 40 years or the life of the Galong mine.
I for one, and all the people I talk with, place our trust in our elected representatives to persuade Sibelco to reconsider, the build the mine bypass road for their growth and expansion into the future and for the welfare and quality of life of the community who live close by so that their homes and the village of Gakong remain desirable places to live.
John Acland
Galong
Problems a plenty
In previous essays I have mentioned problems with the land based temperature records (LBTR).
The problems are: urban heat island effect, land use changes and questionable adjustments to the long term temperature records. (Some adjustments are legitimate when bringing together two data sets, through the homogenization process). These problems are corrupting the record.
The LBTRs are used to promote the climate con even though all other data sets are showing a general cooling of the world since the turn of the century.
However, a further problem may be skewing the data upwards, creating a spurious trend, in world temperatures. Something, it appears that BOM and other bureaux are loathe to discuss.
There has been a trend to installing thermistors, electronic devices to measure temperature, instead of mercury thermometers. These thermistors are very sensitive to slight changes in temperature. Many have been installed at airports.
The problem with airport installations is that there are often large aircraft generating enormous amounts of heat. This heat is sometimes blown across to the thermistor, which being very sensitive, picks up the change even though the duration may be short. The thermistors are probably detecting temperature spikes that a mercury thermometer would not record.
Recent examples are Alice Springs airport and Heathrow airport in London.
All the profits (prophets) of doom and gloom should be rejoicing, when it can be shown that there is no global warming happening. No global warming=no climate change; thus we are “saved”.
I invite the climate crooks to emanate from the woodwork and tell me, and readers, where I am wrong.
John Westman
Country going backwards
Australia is going backwards - thanks to our Prime Minister and his gang of four. Mr Abbott seems so full of hate for all people, or things that are not totally in line with his distorted view of the world.
He sneers at anything that impact positively on climate change! His Government is about to stop funding wind energy projects, and has now cut back on another source of renewable energy.
Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is instructed to pull investment from home and small-scale solar power operations.
Environment Minister (for degradation?) Greg Hunt said CEFC would just focus on large-scale solar and emerging technologies. CEFC was originally designed to make a profit, but is now likely to go into deficit.
Mr Abbott seems to continue plucking ‘reason’ out of his butt.
Much of Australian business activities are low tech and we need outside funds to change. Our dependency on mineral exports has been to our longer-term detriment. Mining is contracting further (coal especially); gas extraction is ‘on the nose’; while business confidence remains poor.
In 2016, the first of the 40,000 workers retrenched from the car industry will happen, and more will follow! The Government has already tried to unleash its ‘crash through’ budget. Australia is in for a very long and rough ride.
Craig Couzens