By Tim Saunders on
Olivia Newton-John is the latest Australian celebrity to take on the mining industry over the way they extract natural gas from below the earth’s surface.
“As a long-time advocate for the environment, I am greatly concerned about the continued health of Australia and its people,” she wrote in The Sunday Age newspaper last week. "That is why I am horrified to learn of the extensive plans for coal seam gas and shale gas exploration here. Until recently, I was unaware of the hidden dangers lurking in this so-called clean natural gas exploration…
“In America, some of the chemicals used in these operations are suspected to be cancer-causing agents. There have been reports of serious health and environmental damage from these mining practices…
“We should be demanding our politicians call a halt to coal seam mining and fracking until we know what harm these chemicals will do to our water, our soil, the air we breathe, our animals, our trees, our rivers, and our food chain for generations to come.”
Olivia joins Cate Blanchett in speaking out against the practice of franking to extract natural gas.
Read Olivia’s entire op-ed piece here.
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