Life after coal campaign
Community Alerts, Mdu Tshabalala, Free State, Vaal, Sebokeng, 2019/03/13
Boom and Bust in the Waterberg.
gW Report 2018
Life after Coal Campaign: gW, FoESA,ELA & CER. – PUSH BACK COAL
Contributors:
2 individuals who wrote to the World Bank Inspection Pannel during the Medupi and Kusile loan.
CoResearchers:
Dr.V Munik; Mr.D Hallowes
Political Ecology and immense political influence played a big role, provided with the history of apartheid. Living in South Africa is fortunate and hope, considering living in the end of Fossil Fuel era.
Waterberg water source being Mokolo River, has now turned to a sand river. When Mokolo River was built sand was calculted, therefore the use of it was necessary. The Waterberg residents was behind the mountain, Limpopo River used to connect people coming from different part of the continent during 15th century. Thougn people have been living in the area for a long time.
Coal discovery was in 1920 by farmers whom were helped by explorers. In 1970s with pressure from government, Iscor was running out of coal and led to exploring of new coal field, later Eskom was forced to be built on the coal model basis. Iscor and Eskom were deliberately desingned to be coal dumps. When Matimba Power Station was built, the Conservative Party did not want another ‘Soweto like’ township instead they built Marapong right in the heart of a coal dump.
Medupi under construction, build by experts and well organised people, though the power station showssymptoms of badly organising. Continuous borrowings to the international equipment and experties will further affect tax payers in the future. Eskom oversight of future enegy demand is reperitive, i.e. Majuba has a similar defects when it was built in the early 80s.
Oil Coorperations knew in the early 70s about climate change, but did not want to keep it public knowledge. Science have always predicted climate change, while public forums only developed the convention in 1992.
Medupi was not completed on time, and with current different types of problems.
With a 10yr comparison, the boom did not increase employment but it increased unemployment StatsSA index, and it will further more become worse.
Matimba CO2 index p/a 22 733 225 t/a
Medupi CO2 index 30 000 000 t/a
COMBINED 52 733 225 t/a, finding the power stations operating in tge Waterberg Area.
i.e Medupi FGD affects the SO2 and NOx
Alarming is that the baghouse is yet dysfunctional.
Phase2 of Lesotho Highlands, is expected to be the feedlotof Medupi. Currently the VaalDam is feeding more than 70% of the industries in the country including residents, through pipeline system the water is supposed to rich Lephalale. Boom3 is yet to unfold and unsurity of funding for water schemes. Thereis not enough water for these new developments, even so tge current river schems are under threat due to industrial pollution. All mega projects have claimed all the water in Mokolo Catchment.
Boom3 projects being coal mines are still over estimating the amount of water in demand.
Rail expansions are delayed, i.e. phase1
From the Waterberg Area down to Ermelo and further down to Richards Bay.
In 2012 Sasol had started abandoning their coal2gas projects.
Thaba Metsi is 1 IPPs wich succeeded the funding phase, though the banks are only niw starting to pull out of coal investments.
Burning coal isthe major impacts on climate change. Wolrd Wide the coal practice is being advocated against and strong consensus that climatechange effects arr escalating, and every human biengs are affected, the environment and food security.
Q&A
-Jobs are needed throughout the country, Electricity prices are unaffordable, steel is also expensive. But we don’t want pollution- how will balance be brought to seeing these developments serving their right purposes.
-Money cannot be a problem, 10%growth?
-4th industrial revolution is here but how do we move forward, are there clinical studies that serves as proof that people are dying of coal impacts?
Answers:
-Jobs @ 10% is never going to happen. Based on old economic regim ther is enough evidence that tge transition is moving slow if not at all.
-minerals complex has been there for centuries, unemployment is nit yet a developmental issue rather tge issue that speaks to how we do things. The foresaid economic devwlopment is not yet dealing with INEQUALITY M; POVERTY and JOBS
Modeling tools at the least costs comes from renewables.
The statistics that are mostly made, don’t really reflect lives of people on the ground, talking about gdp growth.
-health problems are so old i.e. in the Highveld- gemeral health statistics in Mpumalanga is not well documented, the government never had a plan for communities loving next to coal fired power stations, yet the problems may not be on statistics rather the problems also lie with the government.
Ques
-life after coal is possible, we were raised with industrial jobs as an alternative. We don’t enough schools teaching environmental curriculum for young children, it needs to start in the ECD IS IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE TO YOUNGER GENERATIONS ABOUT NATURAL MINERALS NOT ONLY COAL OR FOSSILS BUT INCLUDED IS WATER AND VEGETATION. The debate in Middleburg on basic income grants.
– Government had partnered with a private company building a power station using waste to energy. How saafe is the practice taking considerations of other similar projects that are happening globaly; how do we invest again and learning from the past. Should push back coal happen does it mean that the ecological impacts will reduce or remain on par where they wer left?
-How important are recomendations being part of the report, so to speak to change for the people on the ground.
– Comparing life after coal, The Highveld is a case scenario to draw lessons from i.e. sink holes, old waste heaps, polluted rivers amd air, etal Destruction of the Highveld a gW report.
Answers
– Basic income grant is a need for everyone.
Factional politics are mostly a creation from ward councillors.
-Waste is a big issue, gW is working close with SAWPA. ZERO WASTE; WASTE-2-ENERGY if done on an incineration method then it is an unsustainable way of handling waste. Landfil gas is worse and complicated. And if waste is not minimised from footprint it will remain there for yrs of decomposition or corrosion. 70% impacts of negative impacts will result into 70% of cause reaction. Beyond marginal climate change impact into temperature change there will be servere measures to live and adapt with.
-It is upto communities to bring up solutions and going forward. There needs to be a different economic systems to be put into places. The need for specialised Health Care, Proper Education and
Welfare. The current economic systems are not working for the majority of the people.
– A big build up of renewables will lead to huge local demand to manufacture equipment and tools for installations therefore leading to more job creation.
-Eskom Ash Resources is not properly used.
-Limpopo is blessed with a vast range of birds, but there are no bird tourism routes here
