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Thread ID: 115851	2011-02-06 20:01:00	Pike River open cast mining ?	Digby (677)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1175789	2011-02-07 02:06:00	One nuclear bomb should do it ! Or thousand Taleban suicide bombers!	Digby (677)
1175790	2011-02-07 02:10:00	What about the Frogs and snails. The greenies will be chaining themselves to trees.	CliveM (6007)
1175791	2011-02-07 02:25:00	What's the bet if there was a rich supply of oil under that rock it would probably be a different story?	Marnie (4574)
1175792	2011-02-07 02:30:00	What's the bet if there was a rich supply of oil under that rock it would probably be a different story? Yes. The whole debacle wouldn't have happened in the first place, as you don't need to dig tunnels and put people underground to drill for oil. Seriously though, I don't believe it would be any different, it's really only the greenies who cause problems with this kind of thing. You should see the hoops the guys down at Stockton have to jump through to mine coal opencast.	wratterus (105)
1175793	2011-02-07 02:58:00	You folks talk of 'greenies' as if they are some kind of criminal group.....	qazwsxokmijn (102)
1175794	2011-02-07 03:01:00	IMO they just about are.	wratterus (105)
1175795	2011-02-07 03:19:00	There's always two sides to a story man. Open cast mining is a one off, once you open up a dirty big hole in the ground like that it would be permanent (well, not permanent, cause over perhaps thousands of years it will recover, but relative to our lifetime it's permanent). The loss of the ecosystem would also affect huge areas surrounding the open cast mine. There will also be undoubtedly unforeseen problems, big and small, that once the mining companies are done with it, without a signed obligation they will just leave the government (the taxpayers; ie us) to deal with it. That's what had happened with numerous mines in America. Granted most were metals and minerals mines, which when they were closed kept leaching pollutants into local rivers and streams, requiring a permanent maintenance that costs the taxpayers year after year after year. Ducks, snails and insects did I hear anyone say? You know of the theory that says, if you go back in time, and squash one bug, you could possibly change history? Well, just think of this like that, but less drastic. There was this bug in America, its name I can't remember off the top of my head, which was threatened. Then the government released massive funding to save it. Many were outraged - 'Jesus man, for a mere insect, you're releasing millions of dollars just to keep its measly existence in our backyards?'. Well, turns out these insects control the pest insect populations (ie, ants, flies). Without this endangered insect, pest insects will be an especially huge annoying problem every year. Moral of the true story is you should protect even the littlest things because they are there for a reason......they keep the balance of the ecosystem as they are a part that makes the ecosystem what it is. Think of the food web, because essentially that's what it is. I'm definitely not an expert on mining, but I always want to get facts from both sides before hastily jumping onto a bandwagon.	qazwsxokmijn (102)
1175796	2011-02-07 03:32:00	That's true - I guess it's down to each person to decide how much they value the ecosystem in a particular area before taking a a side. At Stockton, they do this (www.coalnz.com) and this (www.coalnz.com)...it's unreal the effort and cost that goes into keeping the ecosystem there as undisturbed as possible. They have to do that, or they would not be allowed to mine at all. I imagine similar requirements would be in place if Pike River went opencast, or for any new open cast mine for that matter.	wratterus (105)
1175797	2011-02-07 03:34:00	If some greenies chained themselves to some trees, hand me the plunger! Its only a small area, not the whole west coast!	Digby (677)
1175798	2011-02-07 03:39:00	At Stockton, they do this (www.coalnz.com) and this (www.coalnz.com)...it's unreal the effort and cost that goes into keeping the ecosystem there as undisturbed as possible. They have to do that, or they would not be allowed to mine at all. I imagine similar requirements would be in place if Pike River went opencast, or for any new open cast mine for that matter. I personally would be happy with that. Although of course there will need to be transparency and constant third-party assessors coming in often to check they really are doing what must be done. That said, there will also be hard-line 'greenies' that will oppose any sort of mining, won't listen to any reason, and will spit at you for saying 'I wanna mine'. You just have to remember to separate THEM and the sane 'greenies' that would like to protect natural assets that is shared by everyone, for the good of everyone, even if the majority fails to see it as an asset.	qazwsxokmijn (102)
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