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Greenpeace slams Cypress coal mine approval

Monday 21 June, 2004, Auckland: Greenpeace today condemned the decision to give Solid Energy's Cypress coal mine the go ahead, on the west coast.

Cypress coal mine is yet another nail in the coffin for the climate. How many extreme weather events like Feburary's storms do we need until decision makers realise that our climate can't tolerate a continued reliance of fossil fuels like coal?

February's storms cost New Zealand over $265 million. Last year's European heat wave and drought cost 35,000 lives and 13 billion pounds worldwide. These are the real costs of climate change but our decision makers seem to conveniently forget it.

The Government can not on the one hand acknowledge that climate change is a real problem and then on the other allow more coal mines like Cypress and to continue to allow energy decisions to be made totally disconnected from their climate impacts.

We need an energy strategy for New Zealand that will lead to a sustainable energy system, but not at the expense of the climate or the rest of the environment.

Ends

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Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

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