The Coal Question


  • Photographer
    Kemal Jufri
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Company/Studios
    Freelance
  • Date of Photograph
    November 2012

Indonesia is the fifth largest coal producer in the world today and as of 2009, is the second largest exporter after Australia. This archipelagic nation only uses approximately 13 percent of the coal it produces for domestic consumption and the remaining 87 percent is sold to the rest of the world. Coal powers 41 percent of the world's electrical supply. This led to the dramatic increase of world coal demand, which in turn prompted the industry to grow in leaps and bounds. However, irresponsible coal exploitation results in adverse impacts and comes at the expense of human health, environmental degradation and global climate change -- a high cost to pay when alternative energy is a cleaner, safer and healthier option. Indonesian Borneo, home to some of the world's last remaining ancient forests forming part of what is known as the "lungs of the earth", continues to experience forest destruction to make way for coal mining quarries. In Indonesia, where open-pit mining is predominantly practiced, coal leaves an irreparable trail of destruction in its chain of custody from extraction to burning. The story of coal is a tale rife with destructions and misery rooted in irresponsibility.

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