Today, an important victory was won for environment when Gunns Ltd’s Pulp Mill project in Tasmania, Australia was denied funding.

ANZ, which was the source of funding of the $2 Billion dollar project (yes, $2,000,000,000), cut funding today as it recognised the toxicity of the project on the environment the inhabitant around the area. For those of you who don’t know about this, the Pulp Mill in Tasmania has caused a lot of environmental problems in the area. Let’s take a look at what the Pulp Mill does for the environment:

• Consumes millions of tonnes of logs each year
• Clears native forests
• Pollutes the air around the area
• Contributes massivley toward greenhouse gas emissions
• Releases organic and inorganic toxins into the Bass Strait

Now, you may think this seems a bit like me heralding doom and gloom, but it is very real and it’s affecting people around this area in unexpected ways.

• Nearby farms have been shutdown due to toxins in the area
• Forests have been consumed and many animals’ habitats have been lost - notwithstanding those of endangered species
• Respiratory diseases have increased, resulting in illness and even death of many people in the area
• The pristine environment of Tasmania has been tarnished as the quality declines
• Fisheries are put out of business as toxins leak into nearby bodies of water which harbour fish

There is a lot more to this case than I will cover here. SO I recommend you check out the Tasmania “No to Pulp Mill” website. Thankfully, since the funding has now been cut, things should recover. Let’s just hope the scarring of this pulp mill will not continue to impact the residents and habitats of those living down in Tasmania.