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Polish mafia extracting banned coal

Black taxes and blackened skies
DarkOptimism

I've just come home to a worrying vid-clip from a friend at the Multinational Energy Agency. It seems that the Polish government may have stumbled upon a novel way of avoiding their 2010 Climate Accord commitment to phasing out coal extraction.

Of course they're subject to the same tight inspection regimes as everyone else, designed to ensure that the dangerous substance remains untouched in the ground. There really isn't any way a Government could break their agreement without getting into some pretty severe economic sanctions, but it appears that organised crime can.

The Polish Government are officially asking for financial assistance in dealing with some major 'unauthorised' coal extraction, but my source believes they may actually be receiving 'black taxes' for turning a blind eye as the Polish mafia become the only source of cheap fuel for many.

I'd love to dismiss this as rumour-mongering, but it would be a terribly plausible - a terribly *human* - way for us to end our hopes of a livable climate once and for all... in fact I find myself wondering if this has been happening for years, but is only just coming to light.. let's pray not.

It's funny, it all seems so distant at times. Earlier today I was riding the wind home, tasting the salt spray in the air and enjoying a rare beautiful, clear October day after a successful day's barter - all seemed well with the world. Even knowing all I do of what's happening in our world I couldn't help but sing for the joy of it all. Strange how our immediate environment can so transform our emotions... I guess that's quite human too.

Oct 06
Energy,Poland,2010 Climate Accord,Coal,Organised crime,Climate change


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  • futuryst
    Oct 06
    Hmm. Criminal orgs seem so effective in pursuing their agendas from below (in this case alone, overriding the Polish govt, the MEA, and the legitimate interests of billions of people around the world in the process). I wonder if a highly distributed Superstruct could apply that same kind of flexibility to undo the Mafia?
  • DarkOptimism
    Oct 06
    Interesting thought futuryst, very interesting... I wonder what could replace the motivation a criminal organisation generates through money and fear? Certainly we could devise a better network than their rigid hierarchy, which immediately gives us an edge.
  • grayMouse
    Oct 07
    The motivation may be basically the same - personal safety and economic profit. Criminal organizations are used to bypass traditional structures where they are ineffective, or to access services not normally available. Such hypotetical Superstruct could do the same (at least partially, without straying into illegal area). Maybe a form of local skill-sharing? A problem is that to compete with the Mafia, such Superstruct would need a means to defend from attacks on its members (I think a competition would be mainly in the supply-demand area; outright conflict wouldn\\\'t be very productive, or sustainable without external aid).
  • TMLutas
    Oct 09
    Look to the mountains in the US and you\\\'ll find unauthorized mining aplenty. It\\\'s been going on for well over a century so why stop now? Mining somebody else\\\'s property, mining banned substances, there\\\'s not a dime\\\'s worth of difference in technique and results. The large operations are visible via satellite. The smaller ones will go on doing what they need to do to feed their own families.
  • DarkOptimism
    Oct 10
    Bad news TMLutas, bad news. But thanks for the info. Is there then any way we can prevent the burning of the fuels that are destabilising our climate? What would these unauthorised miners need to have in order to stop? Is it just a stable and reliable food source?
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