Saturday, April 28, 2007

Coal exports

Shelly Beach, 7:30 am. There used to be cows watching trains go by. Now there are crows watching trains of freighters go by. In fact this is not a crow, it's a magpie. The cargo ships you see lined up on the horizon are waiting to be loaded with export coal in Newcastle, two hours north of Sydney. At times there are as many as 40, 50 or 60 ships anchored out there along the coast, waiting to be loaded. The port of Newcastle is the world's largest export coal port. With coal rich and plentiful in the region and Asia's booming need for energy, coal exports are not about to stop. In fact they keep reaching new heights. Who said Global warming? Dirty word, Australia's wealth rides on mining! More info about the port of Newcastle.
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Shelly Beach, 7h30 du matin. Il fut un temps où les vaches regardaient passer les trains, aujourd'hui ce sont les pies qui regardent passer les bateaux. Tous les cargos que l'on voit à l'horizon attendent au large du port de Newcastle un chargement de charbon à exporter. Ils sont souvent jusqu'à 40, 50, 60 bateaux au mouillage le long de la côte en attente de chargement. Newcastle, à deux heures au nord de Sydney, est le plus gros port d'exportation de charbon au monde. Avec un minerai riche et abondant dans la région et les énormes besoins d'une Asie en pleine croissance, l'exportation n'est pas près de ralentir. Qui a dit "effet de serre"? Rabat joie, les mines c'est la richesse de l'Australie ! En savoir plus sur le port de Newcastle.

26 comments:

Janet said...

Ah, the bird's eye view. What a gorgeous photo and composition! You really have artistic talent!

Oya said...

Sally, I am speachless girl...Well done....Other than that, it must have been magical to be there at that moment...

julia said...

Don't hold back! Heap shame on this travesty surrounding coal. I believe 70 ships, is the latest.

Kala said...

Magpie! now there is a word I havent heard in a while - I was in Canada when I first heard that word - there is a story behind the Magpie that I caanot remember but the photo is jus georgous with the ray of light breaking through and magpie in sight

Chuckeroon said...

Fine photo at the end of a fine week of posting (as usual).

Irina said...

I thought it's a human silhouette at first :)

lv2scpbk said...

Beautiful. This is so nice when you see photo captured this way.

Anonymous said...

On the portal I thought this was a person with a baseball cap on. I was somewhat surprised to see a bird or crow. LOL

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Abraham Lincoln
Brookville Daily Photo

Anonymous said...

Intereesting to hear Julia mentioning the "travesty" of coal. Sadly, the real travesty is the legion who rail against coal, etc., but enjoy lifestyles which would be impossible without the ever increasing use of non-renewable resources. The Australiab magpie, by the way, is nrelated to its noern hemisphere namesake, being a remarkably friendly creature, and a wonderful songstress.

DXBluey said...

Natalie - wow. What a great shot and comments.

Definitely one of your best shots I think!

Hope all is great with you.

All the best,

Bluey!

Jilly said...

Fantastic photograph. Fabulous atmosphere and interesting words. Newcastle is actually quite a pretty town, from what I can remember. Perhaps I only saw the good parts...

Chandlermom said...

What a gorgeous picture!

Eric said...

OK, respect! Gorgeous pic.

Peter said...

I must admit that I know hardly anything about Newcastle in Australia. I know a little bit Newcastle in England (..-upon-Tyne)- where I spent a few months on a traineeship - which of course used to be a coal town. I guess that the name of the Australian city is not a coincidence.

Anyhow, your photo of the magpie is excellent! How close were you?

Magpies, there are a lot of stories and legends about magpies.

Yes, the energy problem, coal, oil, nuclear, wind... prosperity, echology... I have no definite opinion, but I feel concerned - as most of us.

Anyhow, I understand there are still a lot of nice beaches around "your" Newcastle, certainly much nicer than those close to the English Newcastle.

Pod said...

well caught madame. beaut shot!
;0p

Gerald (SK14) said...

magpies -- one for sorrow, two for joy is how the old saying goes. We see them often -- I've a photo of eight in a tree and have seen more.

Nathalie -- You are not a winner on my puzzle picture last week but you made an interesting comment. Contact me privately [through the CDPB forum or check the contact page on my www.geraldengland.co.uk site] with your snail-mail address and I'll send you postcard.

DeepBlueSea said...

Norman, coal is a filthy form of energy - why shouldn't we call for it to stop being used? As far as 'enjoying lifestyles that would be impossible...', well, what do you know about how I live? You're being quite presumptious. I and many people I know DO try to do the right thing, in our own little way, while the Australian government, who could do a LOT if it wanted to, continues to deny that we are headed for trouble.
For 30 or more years the tobacco companies denied that smoking caused cancer, despite overwhelming evidence. It's the same behaviour with the deniers of climate change...

Anonymous said...

Dear "Nameless4now", I make nor presumptions about how you live because I'm not psychic, and it's irrelevant anyhow. If you don't understand the role of substituting inorganic for organic resources [which has been rocketing for some centuries now] in bringing about the rising production levels which make modern society so wasteful, I guess it's nor your fault for understanding the connection to which I referred?

So by all means go on calling for whatever makes you feel you're pulling your weight - and continue enjoying the tranquility of cognitive disssonance.

Apologies, Nathalie, but you know that sometimes I find it difficult to ignore non sequiturs.

Kalyan Panja said...

Awesome shot...Simply Superb!

teo mocchi said...

How can somebody say that God does not exist? Wonderful!!!!

Seda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Seda said...

What I like most about this is sunbeams...
Seda
Istanbul Photo

Cergie said...

"Effet de serre" c'est curieux... parce qu'à première vue j'ai vu une silouhette de pingouin !
AHAHAHAH !

Je suis toujours éblouie par ce type de photo avec soleil aux pattes d'araignées...

Maxime said...

Un bien beau contre-jour. Je ne crois pas que la pie compte les bateaux; elle profite plutôt du paysage.
Pour le charbon, il est possible de piéger le CO² dans les centrales, et même de le réutiliser pour fournir de l'énergie. Hélas, ça coute cher, mais avec le temps et quelques nouveaux progrès, le charbon pourrait devenir une énergie propre.

Bel said...

Hehehehehe......I thought that was a person standing on the beach with a cap on!!! Weird what we see isn't it ;o)

Anonymous said...

Très belle photo, merci!
Nous allons bientôt visiter l'Australie, et à travers ce blog, nous avons un avant-gout de notre future visite de Sydney.
MErci beaucoup.