Jul 08 2009
Coal Mining and Carbon Storage
In continuation ….
Mountaintop removal is an international climate change issue: Over 500 massive mountains and 1.5 million acres of hardwood deciduous forests have been clear cut and blown to bits in the US; and the coal exported from mountaintop removal operations, including millions of tons to dirty coal-fired plants in China, contribute to the growing carbon dioxide emissions climate crisis. Meanwhile governments from around the world prepare to examine the option of paying countries not to cut down their forests in order to maintain these areas as storage for carbon and to mitigate climate change. The idea falls under the “Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (UN-REDD)” scheme, up for debate this year’s climate negotiations in Copenhagen.
Not having done too much research on the topic, it does not seem that mining companies and forestry companies are working hand in hand, despite the fact that they face similar issues and perhaps could share strategies related to management of natural resources.
It seems curious that in Canada, the debate around coal mining is faint, if not non-existent. This is in start contrast to the US where there is heavy lobbying around coal mining and mountaintop removal in particular. Recently, the first bipartisan hearing in a generation to address the impact of mountaintop removal mining operations was held – under the auspices U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee (but results of the hearing are hard to locate). However, there is a mounting mobilization in Canada related to coalbed methane extraction.