Mine Antarctica?? (2 Viewers)

[_dhj_]

This morning whilst checking my email, i noticed an article on ninemsn titled "Mine Antarctica, says Barnaby Joyce"
It reports that Joyce says that Australia should mine the natural recources of Antarctica before anyone else does. This will be on "Australian Story" tonight on the ABC.
I would like to point out to everyone that Antarctica's recources are not abound enough as he would like to think and would not be economically viable. To mine Antarctica would also destory the last untouched ecosystem. It would be like the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
Instead of thinking of mining unsustainable resources, why doesn't Joyce help find alternatives to fossil fuels or try to help public schools and hospitals.
If people wanted to mine Antarctica, it would've already been done.

Not that it's economically sound to do (if you take the environment into account ), but I wouldn't be surprised if Antarctica is mined in the not too distant future.

 

[Aznpsycho]

Aznpsycho, do me a favour. Google "albedo".

Antarctica plays a vital role in reflecting short wave radiation from the sun, back into space. It is one of the Earth's largest reflective surfaces.
Whether you give a shit about global warming through greenhouse gas emissions is irrelevant, I personally think the Koyoto agreement is a hunk of shit, and there is not an ounce of proof to show that reducing carbon dioxide emissions will reduce global warming.
HOWEVER, there is proof that by reducing global albedo, it will have a dramatic impact on the temperature of the Earth.

If you don't care that the Earth is warming, and that the ecosystems we know today are reducing rapidly, then you're a fuckhead.

We have oil on our own land. Why do we need to go and fuck the last untouched place on Earth? So we beat everybody else? Good fucking excuse.

Funny that - I do think Global Warming is linked to Carbon emissions from fossil fuels, yet I think your argument is bunk. Mining does not produce massive amounts of excess heat energy - so it's not going to turn Antarctica into a melted slag. In fact, seam mining takes up a disproportionately small amount of space compared to, say, agriculture. The main problems with mining is toxic tailings and other wastes, and Antarctica doesn't have much of an ecosystem to worry destroying biodiversity. Most of the biodiversity is in the coastal regions (.ie. fish, birds), but there is little but lichens and mosses in the interior.

I realise now that I'm taking this discussion slightly far, and that at this point in time, it is not even close to economically viable to mine in Antarctica. It's not even the near future, more like the far future where resources are very scarce (though, at this point, society's made a bit of a mistake), and the technology exists to extract these resources from under the kilometre or so of ice. So far, everything is merely political, and there is no problem with that. Besides, do you really think that Australia will claim exclusive rights to the place? We'll probably compromise with the US or China.

Once it is viable to do so, then go ahead.

Also, it never helps your case to refer to others, in a debate, as 'fuckheads'. Outside this subforum, then go ahead.

 

[katie_tully]

If you don't care that the Earth is warming, and that the ecosystems we know today are reducing rapidly, then you're a fuckhead.

I didn't refer to anybody in the debate as a fuckhead. Read again. I refered to anybody who dismisses global warming as a threat, as a fuckhead.
kthx

 

[LynH1326]

I know i'm probably just repeating what has been said, but:

1 - there is biodiversity on antarctica and in the waters around it. Antarctic fish (that are already overfished by morons!),whales, various varieties of lichens and frost-loving plants, seals (lepoard seals... scary!), penguins, krill. it is also a migration area for migratory sea mammals.

2 - no matter how they try to reduce the environmental impact, there will always be envirnomental consequences, and even the smallest disruption always kills off something.... especially waste from the mines that seem to pollute it has to go somewhere!

3 - the polar ice caps are a major part of all the environments. it cools the ocean currents and helps in weather patterns.

4 - the treaty is not recognised by everyone. also by my knowledge its only gives right to scientific research that has no impact to the environment.

5 - do you now how many ACTIVE volcanoes there are on antarctica? this means that the continent is unstable. digging holes and tunnles is doomed to failure from both earth tremors and thick ice sheets, also glaciers pose a problem. (need we have to repeat such things as the Tasmanian mine collapse or those in america? that happened to have no one alive because of it.... even though they gave the false hope by saying to the media that they were ok)

I'm sorry, i do not agree with mining something that is so fragile and fearce. If Joyce had a love of Antarctica, he would understand this.