Officials in Abbot Point, Australia plan to open a coal mine about 100 miles from the northeastern town. The mine may produce 66 million tons of coal a year and has the potential to create jobs in a declining economy, but receives a great deal of opposition as it calls for the production of large amounts of fossil fuels that may compound to the preexisting climate change. The coal from this region alone would release 700 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, which is as much as the entire country of Germany releases as emissions. Carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping greenhouse gas that is created when the combustion of fossil fuels combines carbon and oxygen through the burning of a hydrocarbon in oxygen. As a long-lived gas that remains semi-permanently in the atmosphere and does not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature, this gas is described as “forcing” climate change. Carbon dioxide traps the heat and energy from the sun’s rays in the atmosphere and cause the planet to begin to warm which affects the overall climate. Energy arrives from the sun in the form of visible light and ultraviolet radiation which the Earth emits as infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere capture some of this heat, then emit it in back to the Earth’s surface. Through this, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases keep the Earth’s surface about 33°C warmer, and excess of these gases can lead to drastic climate change.

The opening of the coal mine and the burning of fossil fuels can lead to both local and global consequences. In Australia, the change in climate can further damage the Great Barrier Reef by altering the ecosystem through changes in temperature. Also, the mine will make farming more difficult as one farmer states that it will drain too much of the groundwater in the region. Global effects of this mine include sea level rises by almost four feet within the next century, and stronger hurricanes. In addition, warmer climates can cause the artic to become ice-free and alter entire ecosystems, extend the growing season through warmer temperatures, and even increase the occurrence of droughts and heat waves. In the U.S., in the northeast, fisheries, infrastructure and agriculture are at great risk from heat waves and heavy downpours. In the Northwest, changes in the timing of streamflow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Ocean acidity in this region poses threats to many ecosystems and organisms. In the south and Midwest, water supplies will decline and decrease agricultural yield, which poses a threat for feeding a growing population. Water supplies will shorten in some areas while flooding in the Great Lakes may lead into nearby cities.

 

 

Williams, Jacqueline. “Australia Debates: Does a Warming Planet Really Need More Coal?”The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/14/world/australia/australia-adani-carmichael-coal-mine.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=21&pgtype=sectionfront.

 

“Global Climate Change: Effects.” NASA, NASA, 3 Aug. 2017, climate.nasa.gov/effects/.

-Rasman Rayyan