Australian protest against Coal seam gas mining, page 1

In austrralia over 3000+ people are protesting against Coal seam gas mining due to the enviromental impacts it could have and much more dangers that could arise from such opperations, it seems that these mining tycoons cant get enough! just the other day on ACA there was a special on Chevron and the damage they had done in the Amazon, this is getting out of control! here are some external articals for anyone to look into further:

3000 protesters march against coal seam gas mining
BY SHANNON TONKIN
17 Oct, 2011 04:00 AM
One of the Illawarra's most serene and tranquil landscapes was used to deliver a noisy message to the NSW Government yesterday.
About 3000 protesters took to Sea Cliff Bridge to voice their opposition to coal seam gas mining as part of a national campaign

Police closed off Lawrence Hargrave Dr between Stanwell Park and Clifton from 11.30am to 1.30pm.

The protest came ahead of this morning's NSW Planning Assessment Commission public meeting hearing community concerns over Apex Energy's proposal to drill a 16th bore hole at Darkes Forest.

Apex received approval two years ago to operate 15 bore holes but has yet to act on the consent.

The crowd marched across the bridge to Clifton.

Chevron must pay for Amazon damage: court
The oil giant said it has already cleaned up its pollution in Ecuador
Sarah ChildressSeptember 20, 2011 13:22

Who made this mess? (Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images)Ecuadoreans should be allowed to collect $18.2 billion in damages from Chevron to clean up oil pollution in the Amazon rainforest, a U.S. court has ruled.

It’s the latest chapter in an ongoing fight between indigenous groups in this small Latin American country to seek damages related to oil pollution on their land.

Here’s the backstory.

Indigenous groups in the small Latin American country say that Texaco, a company that has since merged with Chevron, dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into pits and rivers in Ecuador in 1972 and 1992.

The waste, they say, seeped into the soil and killed their crops, and contaminated the water, leading to cancer and birth defects. In this BBC story, one man said he had grown up having to bathe in a river where black oil floated on top. They had to use soap to clear away the oil and then bathe with what they hoped was clean water underneath.

About 30,000 local residents from different Amazonian tribes brought the lawsuit.

Chevron says that Texaco cleaned up the mess it had made, investing $40 million in the 1990s. Texaco at the time signed an agreement with the Ecuadorean government that said it would be cleared of further responsibility.

Any further damages, Chevron says, should be handled by Ecuador’s state-run oil company or the government itself.

A Chevron spokesman explained, telling the BBC that:

Texaco had "operated admirably" and blamed Ecuador's state-run firm Petroecuador for any ongoing problems.

"The oilfields in question have been solely operated by the government of Ecuador's own oil company Petroecuador for the last 20 years," he said.

"Petroecuador has a deplorable environmental record and Chevron is getting blamed for actions in a country that we've never even operated in."

So the debate has been bandied about in the courts. In February, an Ecuadorean court said Chevron should pay. That was appealed. Then a New York judge said the company didn’t have to. Then, a New York appeals court said they did.

Now, they’re waiting for the final decision from Ecuador. Both sides say they're waiting for justice