Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!
I like how you capitalized BILLION..when 60 BILLION tons of CO2 really isn't THAT MUCH.
Here is some perspective:
The natural decay of organic material in forests and grasslands, such as dead trees, results in the release of about 220 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
Volcanic activity releases between 130 to 230 megatonnes of carbon dioxide each year
In 2008, 31.8 gigatonnes of CO2 were released from fossil fuels worldwide
One gigaton is equal to one billion tons
Now, I am not saying that 60 gigatonnes of CO2 is negligible, because I am sure it would have some sort of impact, however, according to the research on chuitna, it seems to me that the 60 gigatonnes estimate that you are referring to is not 60 gigatonnes being released by the mine itself, but by companies, power plants, etc, using the coal. Since that is the case, it is obvious that there is a demand for coal that needs to be met in one way or another. By protesting this mine, the most likely outcome is that another mine will be built somewhere else, perhaps in the United States, perhaps in Chile, perhaps in India. Stopping the construction of this mine won't mitgate the problem, it will just relocate the source of the problem. Rather than protesting the man that is just going to make money by supplying the demand, why not protest the companies that are actually going to be using the coal?