Ten thousand safe, healthy trees will be felled near the centre of Graz, Austria in October 2017 to enable construction of a 5‐km sewage/rainwater storage pipe along the river Mur. Many are 10‐20m tall and 50‐100 years old.
The storage pipe is “necessary” because of a dam and hydroelectric plant (Murkraftwerk), currently under construction downstream of the centre. But the new hydro is a white elephant. Austria already has plenty of electricity. National generation capacity is 23 GW of which 12 GW is sustainable. Peak consumption in winter is only 10 GW. In winter when the river is slow, the new plant will produce only 4 MW, equivalent to 2‐3 windmills.
With every felled tree, Graz is breaking its own tree‐protection bylaws. These emphasize the importance of trees for local and global climate, biodiversity, aesthetics, and public well‐being. In the 21st century, it is never justified to clear the equivalent of a square kilometre of forest in a metropolitan area‐‐regardless of the reason.
Sustainable, efficient sources of energy are urgently needed to mitigate climate change. A project that permanently changes or destroys ecosystems is neither “green” nor “sustainable”. You don’t save the climate by clearing a forest!
This outrageous destruction of nature is an international scandal and should be shut down. 10,000 treesa, large number of animals and plants that depend on them, with the ecology of the free running Mura river should be preserved for future generations.
Sign these two petitions and share it between friends and family:
Petition addressed to: Siegfried Nagl, Mayor of Graz, Austria: Don’t axe 10,000 trees!
Petition addressed to the Roman Catholic Church: Raising the voice against the destruction of environment and nature in Graz by the Mur power station
Futher information:
rettetdiemur.at and
murxkraftwerk.at