Anyone with some sensibility would understand that there are people of all persuasions in any population. Unfortunately in Queensland, the mining industry is king. It truly is despicable, I do agree. That is not the case in, say, Tasmania, where the environmental movement has enough power to veto most anything which has the potential to damage the environment. In any case, we live in a global society. Australia is but one of many, many countries who need to clean up their act. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of innocent victims of events such as these will continue to be, from both poor and rich countries alike. Stop pointing the finger and start doing something to make a difference. Like voting in decent politicians in your country of citizenship and like donating to victims of natural disasters, using your brain to decide whether you feel a particular donation is likely to make a positive impact. By the way, I really do agree with FriendlyLurker, below. But there are real people (and animals) involved. And also, as FriendlyLurker points out, Queensland is a massive coal exporter, which implies that export sites are every bit as willing to burn that coal. This is not a problem that lies solely with Queensland - it's a problem that lies with most countries on the planet. Producers and consumers are all responsible for continued use of coal.

but weren't they nonprofit back then?