Twelve years ago, on this day, April 14th, 20014,
The mining industry appeared to have all it needed for a decent online campaign: a new website, chest-beating media statements and one of those fancy Twitter hashtags, #australiansforcoal. What it got in return was merciless mockery.
The Minerals Council of Australia, which is backed by mining companies including industry giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, launched Australians for Coal on Monday, as part of a PR campaign which will include TV advertisements and, naturally, political lobbying.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 398ppm. As of 2026 it is 428ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The broader context was that the mining industry had been trying to get people to love it for a very long time indeed, publicity campaigns, sponsorship of things like the TV programme Against The Wind with Jon English school textbooks, etc,
My personal favourite is 1991’s “Mining. It’s absolutely essential.”
They were going to launch one against the carbon tax in 1995 but in the end they didn’t need to. Then they had geared up in 2008-9 and again in 2010-11, to confuse people and to scare people against bringing in a carbon price.
The specific context was that this is the same year as Peabody, Advanced Energy for Life.
What I think we can learn from this is that mining companies and fossil fuel companies spend loads of money to get you to like them and to think of them as responsible corporate citizens. Perhaps the most clever and devious of these was the Mobil “advertorial” adverts.
What happened next: Well, as you’ll see, the MCA was relentlessly mocked, and I think realised that it was not so wise to present such an inviting target.
Meanwhile, any rational human being who understands the Keeling Curve and the history of resistance to anything to reduce the steepness of that curve, will feel despair and dread.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
April 14, 1964 – RIP Rachel Carson
April 14th, 1989 – 24 US senators call for immediate unilateral climate action