It’s getting easier to find events and images that capture the inherent irony of industry, particularly those connected to fossil fuels, having to respond to the changing climate conditions that they are (1) helping to cause, and (2) dismissive of.
Like this one from 2010:
QUEENSLAND-focussed Cockatoo Coal has ceased production at its open pit operation after the mine flooded in unseasonal heavy rainfall.
The story can be found here. I particularly like the use of the word “unseasonal.” And this:
Flood waters in the region have reached record levels that are equivalent to the one in 100-year flood design levels … “The exact cause of the pit flooding is not fully understood as access has been impossible due to the bad weather and lack of suitable aircraft to enable access or a fly over,” Mr Nightingale said.
Anglo American today declared force majeure on five of its mines in the Bowen Basin.
Darn force majeure – completely unavoidable.
Then, a few days ago, a bit closer to home, this:
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… a portion of the map by Seattle Public Utilities shows areas of Seattle that have the potential to be below sea level during high tide in 2050 under different sea level rise and extreme tide scenarios.
Story here. Notably this:
“2012 was the hottest year on record for our planet and one month ago, the highest tide ever recorded in the city of Seattle happened,” Councilman Mike O’Brien said.
“You can look over my shoulders and see the cranes that represent the economic activity of this maritime and industrial sector that create so many family wage jobs, when you look at the map and you see that most of Harbor Island can be under water in these events, it really causes us concern about future looks like and how we adapt to that.”
The thing to note is that the concerns are being raised by local councillors, not the industrial leaders whose infrastructure is at risk – especially Harbor Island, the largest man-made island in the world at the time, and a huge economic driver of the region.
Our equivalent is Deltaport, where we are spending billions to connect with road and rail, and a massive expansion in order to ship more of this:
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Deltaport coal terminal.
Soon to come: The fight of a generation over the removal of ALR lands to develop the warehouses and parking lots to serve the expansion of Deltaport, now that the Tsawwassen First Nation has established the precedent with the development of this:
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Twassassen Mills .
So the expansion of car- and truck-dependent commercial and industrial projects in the Lower Mainland – perhaps the greatest in a generation – will occur on agricultural lands exceptionally vulnerable to sea-level rise, projects made possible by the use and shipment of fossil fuels, to benefit those who claim they are the inheritors and stewards of the land.
It’s getting tough to keep track of the layers of irony.
