Australian farmers protest Ambre Energy

Australian farmers protest Ambre Energy, the company that's in the permitting process to export coal through an Alcoa-owned facility near the Port of Longview, WA. The existing Longview operator, Chinook Ventures, has come under fire for hiring non-union workers on the docks and failing to follow laws that protect the Columbia River from toxins. Ambre is operating in Longview under the name Millennium Bulk Terminals.

Queensland farmers are locking their gates and refusing mining companies access to their land in an escalating campaign driven by environmental and health concerns.

Earlier this week, farmers in the Felton Valley vowed to lock out Ambre Energy representatives from carrying out exploration work for an open-cut coal mine.

A grim new documentary, Gasland, documents the effects of gas extraction on American families, including tap water so laden with flammable substances you can set it alight.

It also links gas activities to dead animals, polluted water and people with neurological damage and abnormally high rates of cancer.

From the Brisbane Times