Slashdot Mirror
Australia OKs Dumping Dredge Waste In Barrier Reef
An anonymous reader writes "Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has approved the dumping of 3 million cubic meters of dredge waste in park waters. The decision has been blasted by environmentalists. 'This is a sad day for the reef and anyone who cares about its future,' said WWF Great Barrier Reef campaigner Richard Leck. 'The World Heritage Committee will take a dim view of this decision, which is in direct contravention of one of its recommendations.'"
25 KM will easily be covered by currents.
Implying that the current flows from the dump site towards the reef?
Implying that things in the water will only go one way?
Along with currents you also have sea life and humans that will also move detritus quite easily.
You might not be familiar with water, but things dumped in the water (especially particulate matter like silt) rarely stays where you dump it.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
And Deepwater Horizon was 77km (48 miles) from shore. This just in: ocean currents move stuff around.
If the shit was not "Waste" before it was scooped up and moved to another spot, then it's still not "Waste".
"Dredge waste" is more commonly called "sand". It is not exactly toxic industrial sludge that they are dumping.
While this is a complex issue, coral health really depends on water clarity and lack of nutrients in the water column. I am mostly worried if this will make the water so murky or even bury the coral. This may be far enough away that it won't make a difference but it needs to be taken into account.
"Don't Panic!"
If the shit was not "Waste" before it was scooped up and moved to another spot, then it's still not "Waste".
"Dredge waste" is more commonly called "sand". It is not exactly toxic industrial sludge that they are dumping.
Sometimes dredge waste is called "silt" or even "mud".
Oh well, the Great Barrier reef will be dead in a few decades anyway from rising sea temperatures, some no real harm done.
The reason they don't dump tonnes of rubble in residential zones is because the land is more valuable as real estate than a dumping ground, and millions of tonnes of rubble takes up a whole lotta space.
Sound logic, I'm an Aussie taxpayer and I think a marine park is more valuable as a breeding ground for fish than a private dumping ground for Senator Clive Palmer's unwanted land fill.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.