Wales sitting on £70 Billion shale gas bonanza!

LEFT: Could this be what our countryside will be turned into?

A Shale Gas mine in the USA










Eden Energy of Australia, who are in partnership with the south-Wales based Coastal Oil and Gas Ltd, released a report that estimated that there could be £70 billion of shale gas underground in south Wales.
see story here




The Map below indicates the Area (red) as in the Vale of Glammorgan between Cardiff West and Swansea and the lower reaches of the Rhondda.




































If the go-ahead is given then the value of the Gas on the world markets would be the quivelent of 7 years of Westminster funding to the Welsh Assembley.




HOWEVER: There are many complex investigations (political, environmental and economically) which will obviously need to be considered first. Also, 2 major questions above all need clarity:


1. Who Ownes the Gas - is it the people of Wales, the UK Government who still controlls our Energy laws - or the gas companies???
see news report by First Minister


2. What are the dangers of Shale Gas?
click here

The Great Barrier Reef

Sustainable Management of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
The worlds largest CORAL REEF (over 300,000 square kms).



The Great Barrier Reef is situated off Australia's, Gold Coast (NE) around Queensland. It is a popular tourist, research and fishing region used by over 7 million people each year.

As a result off this, the reef is under threat!!



Sustainable Management Strategy

In order for people to continue to use and enjoy the reef, the Australian Government has set up a management protection program to ensure the reef can be enjoyed by future generations (sustainablity). However, can the recently voted "Best Tourism Destination in the World" and the most fragile ecosystem on the planet work in partnership?



They have divided the reef into several ZONES which have varying levels of protection. see map.
The video below also evaluates the effectiveness of the Zoning Strategy.


















Pupil Task: See worksheet
1. Identifty where in the world the Great Barrier Reef (and other reefs) are located
2. Describe the different types of coral reefs and how they may form
3. Describe the range of ways the GBR is used and how this effects the economy of Australia
4. Evalaute the effectiveness of the sustainable management scheme zoning strategy that is used.