HOW DIRTY IS YOUR COAL MINE?

Forget the Carbon Tax and the family roast, the Association recently got out the calculator to find out  what impact the Charbon Coal Mine is having on our atmosphere.

Charbon is an apt name for this carbon polluter -a high altitude mine located between Kandos and the tiny town of Clandulla on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. It was established over 50 years ago to fuel the local cement works but has now expanded greatly, producing 1.3 million tonnes of coal each year. Most of this is sent by train to Port Kembla for export to Asia.

When combusted, this releases 3.12 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere which is the equivalent of adding just over 2 million new cars to the roads!

If you add all the diesel fuel they use to dig up the coal, that's a lot of greenhouse gas pollution.

Now Centennial Coal will have to pay a tiny percentage of their profits to the government for the privilege of fouling our airways. It's doubtful that this will be a disincentive for them but whichever way, we are the ones who pay with a degraded environment.