The release of a Senate report into a Commonwealth water trigger marks another chapter in a debate that has simmered and bubbled for 30 years in Australia.
The report recommends that the main Commonwealth…
People are right to be worried about how thoroughly coal and gas’s affect on water is being assessed.
cobalt123/flickr
There has been an acceleration in the number of coal seam gas and mining proposals approved in Australia.
Since 2010, eight projects have been given the green light in Queensland alone. All projects have…
Monitoring radon could reveal whether coal seam gas extraction is messing with the soil’s structure.
Jeremy Buckingham
Two recent peer reviewed studies on opposite sides of the globe have shed light on how monitoring of earthquakes and determining greenhouse gas emissions from the coal seam gas (CSG) industry may be connected…
Yes, we need energy, but sometimes it’s OK to say “no”.
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
Fracking is utterly transforming the global energy industry. It has opened up new energy reserves by making it economically viable to extract natural gas from coal seams and shale formations. As a result…
Take care! The precautionary principle can only go so far without data to rely on.
Jeremy Buckingham
Yesterday, the Federal government issued new recommendations for methods to estimate emissions from conventional gas and from coal seam gas production. So what did we learn?
The proposals seek to refine…
The debate around the Keystone XL pipeline represents concern over the environmental effects of non-conventional fossil fuels.
Flickr/shannonpatrick
In the US, extraction of non-conventional fossil fuels is booming. Investment in extra-heavy and heavy oils, oil shales and sands, tight oil and gas, shale gas and coal seam gas is taking off as companies…
We still don’t know what impact the chemicals used to extract coal seam gas have on our health.
Greens MPs
Last night’s ABC Four Corners program, Gas Leak!, highlighted worrying flaws in the approval and monitoring processes for coal seam gas (CSG) developments of state governments in Queensland and New South…
Better protection for and public consultation on CSG’s effect on aquifers is good news.
Kate Ausburn
The Federal Government has moved to exert greater control over coal seam gas mining projects which are currently largely in the hands of the states.
Under the proposed new rules if a coal seam gas project…
Can on-field adulation translate to off-field trustworthiness?
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Darren Lockyer knows a thing or two about conversions, having banged hundreds between the posts and over the crossbar during his rugby league career.
He retired on a high in 2011, having captained the…
As CSG development races ahead in Queensland and NSW, even supporters want to make sure the industry is safe and well-regulated.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
With the debate increasing over coal seam gas (CSG) exploration, and all sides claiming the moral high ground, how do you find out what the community really thinks about the issue? Well you could do what…
Many Australians are concerned about whether coal seam gas extraction will affect the quality of their water.
Jeremy Buckingham MLC
Community concerns over unconventional gas (shale and coal seam) mining in Australia are increasing. These concerns relate to water and air pollution, land usage, fugitive emissions and to inadequate assessment…
The earth’s crust might be our most valuable resource yet.
prawnpie/Flickr
For centuries, the shallow parts of the earth’s crust have provided us with fuels to burn in our fireplaces, foundries and generators. Now, as we try to break free from our reliance on some of the dirtier…
A coal seam gas production well between Tara and Chinchilla, Queensland.
Jeremy Buckingham
Concerns about the unconventional gas industry’s environmental impacts have been around for some time. The major issues are its effect on surface and groundwater, and growing evidence of greater-than-anticipated…
CSG is new on the scene, but lessons we’ve learned from older land-use conflicts could help us out.
Tony Markham
In 2011, the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (ACEDD) asked Dr John Williams, former Chief of CSIRO Land and Water Division, to review the science on coal seam gas. John’s report…
Victoria’s economy relies heavily on agriculture – we need protections in place before we let coal seam gas exploration into farming land.
Krstnn Hrmnsn/Flickr
Coal seam gas mining is rapidly expanding beyond the eastern basin states. The Inquiry into Greenfields Mineral Exploration and Project Development in Victoria recommends the Victorian Government establish…
Anti-CSG campaigners – including Lock the Gate’s Drew Hutton – believe bubbles in the Condamine River have been caused by mining.
AAP
The extraction of coal seam gas (CSG) appears to be a simple exercise – drill bores, pump the water out and gas flows away. While this is technically true, many of the environmental risks are nowhere near…
There’s a lot of opposition to CSG mining in NSW. Will Marrickville’s moves to stop it encourage other councils?
AAP
Earlier this week, Marrickville City Council in suburban Sydney blocked an attempt to mine coal seam gas on privately owned land in the inner-city area of St Peters. The Council imposed a condition on…
Under the new regulations, exploration at Pilliga would still have gone ahead.
Kate Ausburn
In NSW the last 12 months has seen a quantum leap in the government focus on coal seam gas (CSG).
In December 2010 the then-Labor NSW state government introduced a moratorium on gas well fracking. They…
How Queenslanders vote may affect parts of the Great Barrier Reef such as Heron Island.
AAP/Heron Island
Queensland is different from other states in that it only has a lower house. In other states minor parties achieve representation in upper houses — and therefore have a role in government — through proportional…
UNESCO is reviewing whether more needs to be done to preserve the reef’s heritage listing.
AAP
Obtaining a World Heritage listing for a national asset is a source of great pride for any country. The Taj Mahal (1983), Borobudur (1991) and Uluru (2007) are examples where countries have obtained the…
A new national partnership agreement could allay a lot of CSG worries, if the states sign up.
kateausburn/Flickr
A new national agreement designed to protect water resources from coal seam gas extraction and coal mining could offer a level of protection so far unseen in Australian environmental legislation. Any states…
Queenslanders don’t like coal seam gas, but a smart government could change all that.
AAP
Three little words strike fear into the heart of at least 40% of Queenslanders: coal seam gas. These three seemingly innocuous words have managed to divide a state, and become the hottest topic in the…
Shutting down shale gas is a short-cut to reducing emissions.
alienscapes/Flickr
In the US, as in Australia, debate about the merits of alternative gases has been heated. In the US the contentious gas is shale, rather than coal seam. But at least one source of conflict is the same…
Coal’s heyday is coming to a close, but is gas a long-term solution?
Guy Gorek
The past few years have seen the rapid expansion of the coal seam and shale gas industry. Combine this expansion with the recent introduction of a price on carbon here in Australia, and you end up with…
The Federal Government’s draft energy white paper outlines a future where Australia still depends on fossil fuels.
AAP
The release of Australia’s draft energy white paper has outlined a future where Australia continues to be largely dependent on fossil fuels, embraces uranium and expands existing deregulation and privatisation…
If we’re going to talk about how safe CSG is (or isn’t), we need to look at the full picture.
AAP/Origin Energy
The Mineral Resources Rent Tax passed through the House of Representatives last week, but not without negotiations with the Greens and independent MPs.
Perhaps the most significant outcome of negotiations…
Farmers have been shocked to find coal seam exploration companies can enter their property.
kateausburn
All over Australia, landowners are fighting to keep mining companies off their property.
From the Darling Downs to the Liverpool Plains, farmers have been locking out coal seam gas extraction companies…
Understandably, farmers get worried when they think their water is under threat.
Phil Schubert
There are many good reasons why the general public, and in particular farmers, are concerned about coal seam gas (CSG) extraction. There are major gaps in our knowledge about the future impacts of CSG…
It could take years to learn more about the impacts of CSG, but can we afford to wait?
AAP/Alan Porritt
By Malcolm Cox, Queensland University of Technology
Independent MP Tony Windsor has said he won’t back the government’s Mineral Resources Rent Tax unless more is done to make coal seam gas mining sustainable.
He has called for $200-400 million annually…
Is enough being done to analyse industry’s effects on the environment?
howardignatius
The Queensland port city of Gladstone has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately.
Fish and other marine life have been infected by a strange parasite that seemed to make the leap to humans…
Fishing has been banned in Gladstone while authorities try to determine what’s killing marine species.
robstephaustralia
Several individuals have required medical attention after a mystery disease appeared to spread to humans from fish in waters near Gladstone, Queensland.
Fishing bans are currently in place and local residents…
Coal seam gas mining can create 5 million litres of “produced” water per well.
Jeremy Buckingham MLC
Last week, the Federal Government’s National Water Commission (NWC) delivered its third biannual assessment of the national water initiative (NWI). And for the first time, the NWC is looking seriously…
The debate about coal seam gas drilling in Australia is intensifying, amid calls from The Greens to further investigate its emissions profile.
So what is the emissions profile of coal seam gas? How does…
Farmers are worried about their land and water, but governments want their gas.
AAP
Food security and energy security are paramount to the survival and growth of Australia. Food security so that we may feed ourselves (and a hungry world), and energy security for transport, heating, lighting…
Debate is intensifying over the extraction of coal seam gas, particularly in NSW and Queensland. Farmers are protesting over safety concerns and threats to the country’s food security.
The Greens and…
The movie Gasland galvanised the public on the dangers of fracking.
Gasland
Fracking. It’s a hotbed of controversy that spans our increasingly energy-hungry globe.
The French have turned their back on it. Permanently. And now the NSW government has temporarily frozen the use…
Is all the fuss over coal seam gas warranted?
Lock the Gate/Flickr
In collaboration with The Drum, The Conversation is giving statements made by public figures the fine-tooth-comb treatment they deserve.
Today, a new energy source, and its dangers:
“Coal seam gas is…
There’s more to natural gas than Gasland.
lilicomanche/flickr
Senator Christine Milne has declared coal seam gas to be “a disaster for Australia,” and there’s much concern in the community about its effect on the environment.
Some of this concern stems from horror…
Coal seam gas drilling exposes us to chemicals we know nothing about.
AAP
Coal seam gas is indeed a potential disaster if present attitudes and lack of regulatory control prevail.
An important part of public health is to enact precautions based on potential impacts.
The CSG…
Poor regulation overseas has set the stage for disaster.
AAP
The last week has seen the Australian coal seam gas (CSG) industry come under increasing scrutiny. Triggered by a gas explosion in the Darling Downs in Queensland, and legal action against BHP in the US…
Much coal seam gas water sits there going to waste.
SkyTruth/flickr
The Coal Seam Gas (CSG) industry constitutes an interesting opportunity for Australia. We could get a lot of positive things out of CSG. But it does produce a lot of “waste water”: if things go badly…
Coal seam gas drilling threatens our most arable land.
«Jonny Boy»/flickr
Coal seam gas has been touted by some as the answer to our addiction to dirty coal. It’s marketed as a “transition fuel” that will ween us off fossil fuels as we move to renewable energy.
But the process…
In a coal-abundant nation trying to go green, coal seam gas drilling offers us a cleaner source of energy.
But there is a draw back.
Many coal seam wells will require fraccing and the community is concerned…
