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https://theconversation.com/half-a-century-ago-the-great-barrier-reef-was-to-be-drilled-for-oil-it-was-saved-for-a-time-262710>
"At the end of the 1960s, there was every expectation the Great Barrier Reef
would be drilled for oil.
The first gas well had been drilled in Victoria’s Bass Strait in 1965 and oil
was discovered soon afterwards. Queensland wanted to follow suit. In 1967, the
state’s entire coastline was opened to oil exploration.
In August that year, conservationists began fighting to save the reef. Public
opinion strongly backed their campaign. Even so, victory was by no means
certain.
But in 1975, a national marine park was declared over the Great Barrier Reef,
banning oil, gas and mining.
The reef had been saved – for a time. Fifty years later, the Barrier Reef, like
coral reefs across the globe, faces the far larger threat of climate change.
It can be easy to look back at history and think what happened was inevitable.
But events could very easily have gone down a different path."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
