New Coalmine Approved

[DNBU]

Apologies if there’s been threads about this already, but reading about Michael Gove approving plans to open the UK’s first coalmine in 30 years in Cumbria has floored me.

How is this long term thinking? What about investing in renewal energy jobs?

My AIBU being; the gov don’t care about the environment or long term sustainable jobs - AIBU?????

This is why I fully support the stop oil protesters. I can't do anything because of my personal circumstances but noone is listening and they are doing everything they can to be heard as far as possible staying within the law

You are floored? Are you always floored so easily or is this an exception. Here is something to really floor you. China has recently opened 14 coal powered energy stations and is opening another 27.

How are you going to make steel without coal ?.

And we've just fucked any hope of moral leadership on this.

Ooohh moral leadership. That will go down well with the people who lose their jobs in the steel industry in the midst of the deepest recession if coal isn’t available.

But hey hi, as long as you feel all moral.

Have a look at how much energy has been generated for the grid from renewables in the last couple of weeks.

Barely any wind and short days. We need fossil fuels as the tech is nowhere near ready to switch us all to renewables despite the greenwashing.

Ssshhh, don’t ask practical questions like this. The power of environmental outrage is enough to fuel a steel plant.

Well it's quite probable that by the time the mine is up and running uk steel making won't be using coal anything like as much

Coal free by 2035

Because unlike the government the steel industry knows it needs to decarbonise

I am really concerned about the environment. I know we are a high energy usage house (large property with outbuildings) and so we’ve invested in solar and we heat mainly using wood from our own land. However we need to be realistic. Our country is not set up to run from renewables. We simply can’t do it. The technology is not there and the infrastructure isn’t there.

this is a different type of coal but unfortunately we do need to face the reality that net zero is unrealistic at the moment. People are not buying into it. Yes they’ll stop using plastic straws and cling film and rant about glitter on cards but they won’t do the big stuff that puts them out in any way.

It’s not about feelings and morals.

It’s about having a liveable planet, clean air and a government that leads on new climate technologies and feigns even a tiny bit of interest in expanding sustainable energy developments.

It’s also about not lagging behind other countries in moving onwards from fossil fuels, and being competitive in the future.

There is a new emerging technology to develop steel without coal, using hydrogen I believe.

It’s practical to be looking into new sustainable methods, where the technology already exists.

Exactly this!

Surely the OP's point is that the money intended for the coal mine could be put to better use in getting the UK's renewables industry up to speed. With proper investment, it has so much potential. And many more jobs could be created than in dying industries like coal.

Sadly I think it's needed.

I'm excited about the new nuclear plant they're building 5 miles from my house. That's not sarcasm I am genuinely very pleased. But it won't be up and running for 20 years. Yes we need more investment in stuff like that but what do we do in the meantime? Spend 20 years with affordable energy costs and hope Putin doesn't switch i

Who told you it’s a dying industry? Have you looked recently at how much a China produces and exports.

Threads like these just show how everyone is an environmentalist these days without knowing very little about anything.

Yes I only believe in burning coal if it’s been imported

Eloquently put.

Read in an article this morning that the steel industry won't need coal anymore soon.

"Steel industry expert Chris McDonald estimates that, at best, they will use less than 10% of the output of the mine and, by the mid-2030s, none at all.

That means the new mine will export virtually all the coal it produces."

www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63892381

If that is true than this is an insane idea.

Hmm not sure I agree really purely because I don't see what is being achieved by glueing yourself to valuable art works and causing people to die by blocking and closing roads so ambulances can't get through. Doesn't get people on side

Ignorant bullshit. What about tidal power, tides go in and out every day last thing I looked.

Either the world gets its head out of its arse pretty damn quickly or we are all cooked.

The coal isn't for electricity production but for steel making. And steel making is decarbonising.

At this precise moment in time hydroelectric is producing 0.8 percent of the Uks power.

Its not even close to being a viable alternative to fossil fuels so I am not sure who is ignorant?

Token attempts by a few people to change their behaviour are pretty pointless when the rest of the population are doing stuff like this.

vm.tiktok.com/ZMFbAQR4S/

Has everyone on this thread signed up to the more expensive green tariffs (not the ones that are just greenwashed or carbon offset which is a massive con)
Has everyone stopped flying?
Has everyone ditched their cars and decided to cycle everywhere?
Has everyone paid for solar panels?
Has everyone stopped eating red meat?
Has everyone stopped buying imported products?
Has everyone decided that from now on they will only buy second hand clothing?
Has everyone stopped using the internet servers that store their thousands of junk emails?
Has everyone invested in super insulating their homes?

No. because people only do the little things that don’t inconvenience them too much.

As I said upthread I spend a lot of time thinking about and trying to achieve environmental aims. I’m still realistic about this. We’re simply not ready as a society.

Insane. The British steel industry says it won’t use more than 10% of the output of the mine and by the 2030s won’t need it at all.