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Coalintheuk.org is a new
interactive map that allows users to see the full
scale of planned mines and coal-fired power stations. It lets users zoom from a country-wide
view of the UK coal industry to detailed close-ups of individual mines and
power stations in seconds.
Available at coalintheuk.org, the map shows the full scale of plans for
new mines and coal-fired power stations. It maps proposed opencast coal mines
seeking to extract 60 million tonnes of coal from over 50 separate sites. The
map also shows in detail the six proposed new power station sites and 19
existing coal-fired power stations.
There is a clear contradiction
between the Government's 80% target for emissions cuts and investment in new
coal on the scale shown on the map. With industry and Government telling us
carbon capture and storage is at least twenty years away, this maps shows that
the 160 million tonnes of carbon dioxide released by burning this coal would
not be captured.
Secretary
of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, will decide in coming
months whether to approve a controversial new coal-fired power station at
Kingsnorth. The coalintheuk.org mapping shows 58 new planning applications for
opencast mines have been submitted since the beginning of last year.
Coalintheuk.org
will compile information from the coal industry, local planners and the growing
number of local campaigns against coal, providing a running commentary on the
battle over whether new coal infrastructure is built.
While
attention has been focused on the decision at Kingsnorth, over the past year
and a half local authorities have approved more than 24 new opencast mines,
many of them on Greenfield
sites, and 16 expansions of existing mines. coalintheuk.org joins
the dots between mines and power stations, and lets you see what's going on and
get detailed information about the growing opposition to these sites.
This
website is a powerful new tool for climate change and community campaigners to
chart their successes in halting coal expansion, and will provide a barometer
of how successful we are in stopping the coal industry from taking this country
to the brink of an ecological catastrophe.
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