Chain Reaction is the national magazine of Friends of the Earth Australia. The latest edition has a feature on the campaigns against coal and coal seam gas (CSG).

Articles include:

RATCH-Australia Corporation propose building 68 wind turbines to generate up to 228 megawatts of zero-carbon electricity. The $350 million project would:

Generate enough electricity to power 80,000 homes annually.

RIO DE JANEIRO (BRAZIL) – On June 19, 2012, on the eve of a key United Nations Summit due to take place June 20-22 in Rio De Janeiro [1], Friends of the Earth International launched a new report exposing the increasing influence of major corporations and business lobby groups within the UN. [2]

“Governmental positions have been increasingly hijacked by narrow corporate interests linked to polluting industries and business sectors seeking to profit from the environment, the climate and the financial crises,” said Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International.

May 22, 2012 Media release
Environment Defenders Office – Environment Victoria – Friends of the Earth

Green groups have expressed disappointment that the joint parliamentary committee report into ‘greenfields’ mineral developments has failed to deliver a moratorium on further exploration for coal and coal seam gas.

“While the minerals industry got some of the fast tracking they had hoped for, the report has certainly not delivered them everything” said Friends of the Earth campaigns co-ordinator.

MEDIA RELEASE 11 May 2012

Today the Brisbane magistrates court supported the efforts of Gladstone local Mark Discoll in his stand defending the destructive dredging of the Gladstone Harbour in the Great Barrier Reef.

On the 14 March 2012 Gladstone local Mark 'Potts' Driscoll boarded and stopped one of the controversial Gladstone Harbour dredges. Mr Driscoll took action to defend the Great Barrier Reef and Gladstone Harbour from the destructive dredging caused by Queensland's coal seam gas industry.

Among the many commentaries on the budget, here’s our two cents’  worth as the budget relates to renewable energy and climate action.

First, the big item is that the diesel fuel tax rebate for off-road use has remained. Had this been scrapped or altered, it would have of course raised a lot of revenue from the main users of off-road diesel vehicles: miners and farmers.

MEDIA RELEASE Thursday 12 April

Rural and urban Alliance calls on State Government to ban new fossil fuel projects

Victorian government wants more coal – the community wants farmland and clean water

Media Release

27 March 2012

The Queensland Land Court today recommended that the Wandoan coal mine proceed despite concerns raised by Friends of the Earth about the impacts of burning coal. Friends of the Earth, in a unique challenge to the mine's approval, argued for the outright refusal of the mega coal mine based on climate change impacts.

MEDIA RELEASE
Date 14 March 2012

Activists Halt Dredging in Gladstone Harbour

Marking the last day of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee visit to Australia protesters descended on Gladstone Harbour and stopped dredging. Mark (Potts) Driscoll chained himself to the harbour dredge Razende Bol and Rotterdam boat, shutting down the controversial development of the Coal Seam Gas LNG port facility on Curtis Island in Gladstone Queensland.