Thousands Protest Felling German Forest to Expand Coal Mine

[saidsimplesimon]

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2018-10-06/thousands-protest-felling-german-forest-to-expand-coal-mine

Thousands Protest Felling German Forest to Expand Coal Mine

Thousands of environmentalists are protesting the expansion of a coal mine in western Germany a day after a court blocked the felling of an endangered forest near the site.

Oct. 6, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of environmentalists are protesting the expansion of a coal mine in western Germany a day after a court blocked the felling of an endangered forest near the site.

The mood Saturday at Hambacher Forest near Cologne was celebratory as thousands expressed relief over the court's temporary halt to the clearing of Hambach Forest.

The Muenster administrative court issued a temporary halt Friday after an environmental group argued the forest deserves protected status because of the bats that live there.

Energy company RWE wants to expand its adjacent lignite strip mine. The standoff between police and protesters — some of whom have camped for months in tree houses — has made the ancient woodland a cause celebre for environmentalists.

[defacto7]

1. "the forest deserves protected status because of the bats that live there"

The forest deserves protected status because of the trees that live there.

[saidsimplesimon]

2. I agree, people need oxygen.

[NNadir]

3. The German policy on bats is that they don't matter a wit.

Neither do the nearly extinct red kites. Red Kites

Germany is an officially anti-nuke country, and the hell paid by avian species matters not a wit to them.

Of course they're digging coal. They're all "renewally."

The same people, I guarantee you, protesting the digging of coal are the very same people who caused the coal to be dug.

I'm so old that I actually recall a time that being an environmentalist referred to protecting habitats and saving natural spaces. Indeed, John Muir founded the Sierra Club because of his disgust with respect to the Hetch Hetchy dam.

That ain't the Sierra Club now.

Today, being an "environmentalist" refers to turning natural spaces into wind industrial parks.

Go figure.

[defacto7]

4. Thanks for the link concerning the Red Kites.

I almost burst out laughing reading the "measures" that may help protect this creature except that it's pathetic. So 54% of their activity is within 1000m of their nest if I remember correctly. First, I'm sure those birds will check with the developers to make sure they're not nesting outside of the parameters necessary for safety as well as keep a strict 250m buffer at all times though I have no idea what the other 46% will do. As far as their 90.1km daily exercise the birds will simply have to restrict themselves to 1000m circles. Am I being absurd? Maybe a little, but the measures that may.. may I say, minimise conflicts seem considerably more absurd.

Personally, I vote for the trees, bats, red kites and all other forms of non human natural life to remain untouched rather than for humans digging the hell out of the earth and swatting the hell out of the sky for the sake of powering an extra iPad. We really are a failed species if our goal in existing matches the definition of a virus. It doesn't have to be that way. D7

[pscot]

5. Shutting down their nukes

was Trump level stupid. If you dig down I'd wager the coal companies had a powerful role in that decision.

[NNadir]

6. I don't know about coal, but former German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder signed with Gazprom...

...immediately after leaving office.

He used to rule Germany, now he oversees Russian Energy Companies

Schroeder was a big player in the nuclear phase out.

I am seeing, around the world, among better educated people at least, some realization that nuclear energy, while certainly imperfect, is far better than all of its alternatives. This is certainly the case among many serious thinkers about energy; although some antinuke idiocy remains even in the ivory tower.

I personally feel that opposition to nuclear energy is so absurd as to border on insane.

However, insanity is very popular these days; maybe it's all the mercury and lead that's been released by coal plants over the last century.

Happily, engineers and scientists continue to plug along with new designs for nuclear power plants. If we ever embrace sanity again - probably a mixed bet - the information will be there (hopefully).

Have a nice Sunday afternoon.