Fire Earth

Earth is fighting to stay alive. Mass dieoffs, triggered by anthropogenic assault and fallout of planetary defense systems offsetting the impact, could begin anytime!

Posts Tagged ‘china coal consumption’

Beijing Entombed in Smog

Posted by feww on December 5, 2011

Hundreds of flights canceled or delayed at Beijing Capital International Airport, as hazardous smog buries Beijing

Thick fog worsened by air pollution has again buried Beijing forcing  the closure of dozens of highways and cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – December 5

[December 5, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,563 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

  • Beijing, China. Thick fog worsened by air pollution has again entombed  Beijing forcing the closure of dozens of highways and cancellation of hundreds of flights.
    • “As of 2 p.m. Monday, 207 inbound and outbound flights were canceled at Beijing Capital International Airport, while 126 were delayed for at least one hour,” a report said.
    • “Readings by the U.S. Embassy, which measures inhalable particles of 2.5 microns, have described the pollution for days as ‘hazardous’,” according to Reuters.
    • “On Sunday night, the U.S. Embassy’s index topped its ceiling of 500, and it was 356 on Monday afternoon, a reading that was still considered ‘dangerous’.”
    • According to the municipal environmental monitoring center, Beijing’s air pollution index (API) was between 150 and 170 on Monday, a level regarded as ‘moderate’ by Chinese standards, Xinhua reported.
    • Highways in the provinces of Shandong and Hebei, and Tianjin municipality, have also been closed due to poor visibility, the report said.


Lianhua Bridge in downtown Beijing, China, [14:00? ] Dec. 5, 2011. (Xinhua/Fu Chunrong). More photos …

    • China is World No. 1 CO2 Polluter; the US follows closely. [See Report]
    • China’s Air Pollution Deadliest in World. [See Report ]
    • Pollution kills 750,000 [2.5million] people in China every year. [See Report]
    • According to the World bank statistics, China has 16 of the 20 most polluted cities on earth!

Other Global Incidents

  • Peru. The Peruvian President, a former army officer, has declared a state of emergency following mass rallies against a major mining project in Cajamarca region, northern Peru.
    • The protests, which began 11 days ago, have led to violent clashes between police and demonstrators, leaving dozens of people injured.
    • The project plans to divert water from four lakes high in the Andes to reservoirs used for gold-mining .
    • The local peasants and local officials in Cajamarca oppose the project due to water shortages in the region, as well as the fear of pollution associated with mining gold.
    • A drought since late summer has affected the region (population: ~ quarter of a million), which is Peru’s main dairy and livestock hub, forcing water rationing since August.
    • The Conga gold mine project, worth 4.8 billion dollars, is operated by the US-based Newmont Mining.
    • The mine sits more than 4,200 meters high in the Andes, about 1,000km north of the capital Lima.

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Another Oil Leak Nightmare Made in Australia

Posted by feww on April 4, 2010

Serial No  1,533. If any posts are blocked in your country, please drop us a line.

Australia Scores Yet Another Double Whammy

Chinese-registered bulk coal carrier runs aground Great Barrier Reef leaking oil.

Shen Neng I, a 230-meter (754-ft) ship on its way to China, ran aground on a shoal on Saturday, with 950 metric tons of heavy fuel oil on board, officials said, Reuters reported.


Oil is leaking from the Chinese bulk coal carrier Shen Neng I, about 70 km  east of Great Keppel Island April 4, 2010. Credit:Maritime Safety Queensland/Handout/ via Reuters

The authorities said patches of oil had been spotted in the water, near where the ship ran aground.

“Early morning flights over the carrier show a small number of oil patches about two nautical miles southeast from the ship. To date there has been no major loss of oil from the ship,” Queensland’s state government said.

The  ship was carrying 65,000 metric tons of coal from the port of Gladstone in Queensland to China.

Anna Bligh, Queensland Premier,  was concerned the ship could  break up. This time, her fears are fully justified. It would take a miracle for the ship NOT to break up!

“We are now very worried we might see further oil discharged from this ship,” she was reported as saying.

“It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts,” said Patrick Quirk, general manager of Maritime Safety Queensland.

By far the most prophetic comment, however, came from Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert, who reportedly  told the Australian Associated Press: “We can be certain that this is a sign of things to come.”

“We are outraged that no marine pilot is required on ships between Gladstone and Cairns,” he said.

“A year ago, Moreton Island, yesterday Great Keppel Island, next year — who knows where?” Herbert said referring to two of Australia’s oil pollutions.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef, world’s largest coral reef system,  is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland,  northeast Australia. It’s made up of nearly 3,000 separate  reefs and about 1,000 islands that extend over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) covering an area of about 350,000 square kilometers (135,000 sq miles).

The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s, the world’s, marine and climatic life insurance policies.


This nadir true-color image was acquired by the MISR instrument on August 26, 2000 (Terra orbit 3679), and shows part of the southern portion of the reef adjacent to the central Queensland coast. The width of the MISR swath is approximately 380 kilometers, with the reef clearly visible up to approximately 200 kilometers from the coast. If you retrieve the higher resolution version, a zoomed display reveals the spectacular structure of the many reefs.
Source: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR . Click image to enlarge. Full-Res (JPEG): PIA03401.jpg (414 kB)

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ)

MSQ general manager Patrick Quirk said the ship was badly damaged on its port side (left side).

“We are still very concerned about the ship. It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts,” he said.

The Double Whammy?

Just imagine the combined impact of a massive oil spill and humongous avalanche of toxic coal on the fragile reefs, and marine life…

Just how much more dirty energy before you say enough is enough?

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Posted in Australian Coal, Capricorn Conservation Council, Great Barrier Reef, oil spill | Tagged: , , , , , , | 6 Comments »