Published by jamiehenn, July 6th, 2010
It’s not just the beaches in Louisiana that are at risk because of dirty energy.
Right now, in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, locals are in a David vs. Goliath fight against a 300 MW coal fired power plant. The proposed site for the plant? A pristine strip of beach on the edge of a rainforest that overlooks the Coral Triangle, one of the world’s most bio-diverse marine environments.
There hasn’t been a worse spot to build a power plant since the infamous Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos tried to build a nuclear plant next to an earthquake faultline at the base of a volcano in the 1980s.
If the coal plant is built, it will have a devastating effect on Borneo’s environment and local communities.
The surrounding rainforest is home to several endangered species, including elephants, orangutans, and the world’s 40 remaining Bornean rhinos. Sulfur dioxide pollution and acid rain could damage this pristine ecosystem, while transmission lines threaten to cut directly through the rainforest.
Discharges of chlorine and sulfates from the plant threaten life in the ocean, as well. The Coral Triangle just off the cost of Borneo is home to 75% of the known species of corals and is a key natural resource for local fishing communities. Those communities may also be forced off their land by the construction of the plant.
Red more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-henn/pollution-in-paradise-coa_b_637108.html
