Climate Crisis: New South Wales is bearing the brunt of global warming, so of course it has approved a massive coal mine expansion

Australia has been finding out the truth behind global warming over the last couple of years, with wildfires, floods and storms bringing damage and displacement. New South Wales has been heavily affected by these extreme weather events.

Unlike everyone else though, the State's planning authorities haven't put two and two together and reached four. How else can they justify providing planning approval for Whitehaven to massively expand its Narrabri coalmine in the north-west of the state?

The decision means that Whitehaven will be able to operate the mine until 2044, rather than closing it in 2031 and will result in a 50% increase in the amount of coal produced by the mine. That coal will result in around half a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

The planning commission's justification for the decision? That almost all of the coal will be consumed outside Australia. Presumably making the emissions somebody else's problem and having no impact or concern for Australia in general and New South Wales in particular.

Once again Australia has been guilty of putting economy over the environment. Whitehaven employs around 500 people at the site and spends upwards of $50m in the local economy. That inability to balance local economic needs with global environment impact seems to be a curse which afflicts Australian politics and politicians. And the people who keep voting them in.

Once again, in the face of the failure of government to address global environmental security, it falls to the individual to take action to drive a bottom up change in behaviour. A policy which can only be effective if enough people care.

Even now I'm not sure they do.