"CALAMITY or opportunity? A town decides" (9/1) misses a fundamental point.
Best-guess opinions of farmers, politicians, mining executives and others who oppose or support the coal-seam gas industry really don't matter - underground water systems and the broader environment are not theirs to gamble.
What matters is the solid science around whether CSG has the potential to damage or destroy significant water systems and farmlands that belong to all of us and the fact is, right now, no one actually knows.
Show us one mining company prepared to underwrite the potential environmental damage of their gas extraction operations and I'll show you a company whose share price dives. Relying on the short history of this industry is meaningless -- those who understand the hydrology of our ancient underground water systems tell us it may take decades or longer for any contamination or damage to reveal itself.
The Australian
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