Page 3 - Off Coal News Today

But that outspokenness would soon get him in trouble. in fact, as well see in a moment, it would get him poisoned. the pressure to break south africas dependence on coal has been building for years and yet, south ofjohannesburg, machines the size of apartment blocks still scrape at the earth to expose more rich seams. south africa is addicted to coal. right now, 85% of all the power consumed in this country comes from burning this stuff — thats compared with less than 2% in somewhere like the ...

Difficult and very dangerous. were heading to a town called emalahleni. the word itself means "place of coal". if you want to understand south africas energy crisis, this is a good place to start. the town is surrounded by mines and by criminal gangs fighting for a slice of the coal industry. with us in the car, a local guide wary of being identified. so were coming just to the edge here of what is an illegal mine, an illegal coal mine? yeah. im just going to go around the corner here — is tha...

We hear gunshots. gunshots. even they are fighting amongst themselves. the different gangs? yes. we need to be careful, then. yes. because theres so much money at stake... yes. ..that they will kill for it. theyll do that. lets see if we can try and talk to one of the truck drivers with the coal, once theyve left this area. is it quite a dangerous business to be involved in? yeah, sometimes it is because you dont know whether the mine is illegal or legal. and then, you take your truck to that mi...

In coal country. when she struggles with breathing, its very hard cos shell be quiet, she wont eat, she wont talk, she wont do anything. official information about pollution levels here is curiously hard to get but leaked studies suggest this province is among the most polluted places on earth and that the coal industry is killing thousands of people every year. my wish is they have to cancel the coal so that we can breathe clean air. do you think they will? they must. they must cancel the coal ...

Its... sobs. for me, i cant even explain the feeling inside. and its been long talking about this but it doesnt come up into terms where i can swallow it. its painful. so, nothing changes? nothing changes. but change might be coming. south africa is big and sunny. it has vast wind and solar potential. and western nations are now backing something called a just energy transition — an $8 billion plan to help wean south africa off coal. we have a vast, abundant energy source freely available to u...

And massive corruption, criminal gangs ready to kill anyone who tries to stop the looting. i was shaking badly. i was literally lying like this and i started gasping for air. a mixture of cyanide and sodium arsenite. today, south africa still gets almost all its power from burning coal. its a lethal addiction. its killing us. this coal is killing us. the answer, to many, is a green revolution. but can western money and pressure help south africa embrace renewable energy? or is the rot here simpl...

So, the system is, ithink, rotten to the core. and dangerous? yeah, absolutely. but stolen coal is only part of a much bigger problem. spread across this province are a dozen coal—fired power plants. they look like ships that have run aground. were now driving to one named tutuka. a huge plant. but today, its barely functioning, brought to its knees by years of mismanagement, looting and sabotage — like this fire caught on camera at a nearby plant. the sort of scams that have been going on a...

Needed to produce. that has a direct impact on poor people who lose jobs, who cannot work, who cannot earn money. and poverty kills. poverty leads to young people not getting the education they deserve and so forth and so forth. at that level, i think this is treason. why treason? well, thats what were going to try to find out. were just heading out ofjohannesburg now and almost immediately, we are in coal country. you can see the coal—fired power stations on the horizon and you can smell the ...

Many people will lose theirjob. theyll lose their job if the coal was closed down, the coal mining stopped? wed lose ourjob. and then, theres the politics. plenty of seniorfigures here are sceptical, to put it mildly, about the very idea of abandoning coal. youve been described as a coal fundamentalist, as a bit of a dinosaur, somebody whos obsessed with coal. yes, they call me all sorts of things. �*coal fundamentalist�* and �*fossil fuel dinosaur�*. do you recognise that? i take those ...

Back and help the people of georgia and benefit georgia. >> walkers campaign says they are spending seven figures to spend the ad in hopes to oust raphael warnock. president biden just announcing $20 billion to weekend indonesia off coal. >> president biden: we hope to mobilize $20 billion to support indonesia efforts to reduce emission and expand renewable energy and support workers most affected by the transition away from goal. >> carley: special forces veteran jim hansen joins us now, we hav...