Date: December 22, 2023Author: Editor, cairnsnews 19 Comments
By TONY MOBILIFONITIS
THE people at the Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF) put it a lot more politely, but to call the management of that big mining corporation silly twats is fully deserved for people who want to capture a harmless gas, turn it into a liquid and then pump it into Australia’s biggest water aquifer, the Great Artesian Basin.
The idea is a stupid as those large machines that capture CO2 from the atmosphere because environmentalist fanatics who attend COP28 and such forums think there is too much of it in the atmosphere. In fact CO2 is only about 416 parts per million of atmospheric gases, or 0.04%.
This article from Colombia University explains why CO2 is an absolutely crucial part of the atmosphere because it creates the greenhouse effect that protects all life on earth, but which has been demonized in recent times by claims that increasing amounts of CO2 will make the greenhouse effect send us into an eco-catastrophe not seen since the days of the dinosaurs.
But anyone with half an ounce of critical thinking capacity knows very well that social engineering is the “science” behind climate change hysteria. The usual suspects, the globalist powers-that-be, are using climate fear mongering to herd unthinking sheeple into the WEF’s Great Reset/UN Agenda 20-30 model of a compliant and poor citizenry under the absolute control of “green” technocrats.
But we should mention that CO2 is also an industrial gas that has many good uses such as being pumped into greenhouses to boost plant growth, which is exactly why dissident scientists like Prof. William Happer of Princeton, who are not on the green payrolls, say that CO2 being in plentiful supply in the atmosphere is a good thing – even at much higher levels than at present.
Meanwhile the Queensland farmers are not the only industry and community voices calling for the carbon capture and storage project be abandoned. The project would see liquified CO2 injected into a water producing aquifer (the Precipice Sandstone) within the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) by Glencore subsidiary the Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation Pty Ltd (CTSCo).
The QFF have done their figures and note that the GAB, one of the largest underground freshwater resources in the world, generates approximately $13 billion in value to the national economy every year and is a vital resource for 180,000 people, 7600 businesses and 120 towns. That’s a huge output for such a small population.
The basin water is not only heavily relied upon by agriculture but is also the lifeblood of multiple industries and rural communities. “The biodiversity supported by the GAB is incredible and the environmental value of this natural asset immeasurable,” the QFF notes.
“Whilst CCS processes are emerging globally as a potential tool in contributing to reduced emission targets, research shows that the application of CCS within a usable water resource is unprecedented globally. Other examples globally show CCS being used in conjunction with poor quality, heavily saline formations and depleted oil and gas reservoirs.” (What a tragedy that the QFF feels obliged to give its assent to “emission targets”, but that’s corporate politics for you.)
The big problem, of course, is a matter of simple chemistry. Liquid CO2 is acidic and the environmental impact statement for the project notes that once injected the corrosive fluid will quickly cause a 10,000 fold increase in groundwater acidity which will dissolve aquifer rock and release heavy metals like arsenic and lead into the aquifer, with the potential to pollute other existing water supplies.
QFF CEO Jo Sheppard said the proposed trial was the first of its kind involving the GAB and there were genuine concerns over the lack of scientific evidence underpinning the project. Such evidence would be needed to give any level of confidence that this water-producing aquifer and the GAB would be protected in such a process.
“The idea of injecting what is essentially industrial waste into a usable water resource as valuable as the GAB is extremely alarming and surely must evoke the precautionary principle as outlined in environmental law and requirements to protect future water contained within the Water Act 2000.”
Under the Environmental Protection Regulation 2019, section 41, an activity involving direct release of waste into groundwater must be refused if the authority considers the waste is likely to result in a deterioration in the environmental values of the receiving groundwater.
“The geological formation of the Precipice Sandstone is regionally significant and described by experts as a high-quality GAB aquifer. It is also the source aquifer for springs and supports numerous groundwater dependent ecosystems and the proponents themselves have identified the significant environmental values of the groundwater,” Ms Sheppard said.
The QFF expects a decision will be made in relation to the revised project EIS in February 2024, depending on the assessor’s satisfaction on the information that has been provided during the process.
“Given the importance of the GAB, the agricultural and community uses of the Precipice aquifer, it is difficult to understand why a trial of a waste disposal project would even be contemplated in this site. We understand that carbon injection is usually done into hyper saline groundwater or former gas reservoirs which are not used by other parties as a water source. The injection of CO2 into a water supply aquifer is unprecedented,” Ms Sheppard said.
Cairns News would suggest to Ms Sheppard that she fully familiarise herself with the real global green agenda, which is essentially depopulation – especially of rural areas. Because both the QFF and the National Farmers Federation are beholden to global corporate influence they play the “responsible green citizen” game which will lead them up the garden path to Klaus Schwab’s dystopian Great Reset with insect protein and soy milk for the masses instead of “unsustainable” lamb, beef, pork and dairy products.
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