Author Archives: John Gibbons
Sweden points way towards a lower carbon future
My debut contribution to The Business Post was published in early July on the paper’s Comment page. In the last year or two the Business Post has significantly upped its coverage and focus on environmental topics (reporter, Daniel Murray did … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Energy, Global Warming, Sustainability
Tagged Business Post, carbon tax, Kevin Anderson, nuclear, Sweden
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Better late than never for Irish political action on climate
My take on the Programme for Government and why I think it represents a real opportunity to break the decade-plus logjam on meaningful climate action was published in late June on Thejournal.ie THE BATTLE FOR the hearts and votes of … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Arctic, Energy, Irish Focus
Tagged emissions, Extinction Rebellion, Green Party, Paris Agreement, politics
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Ambitious climate programme agreed by Irish political parties
My analysis piece for DeSmog UK was published on June 17th, as the parties concluded negotiations on a new Programme for Government. Ironically, while receiving much positive coverage internationally in terms of the degree to which the PFG is seen … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Irish Focus
Tagged Catherine Martin, CCAC, DeSmog UK, Eamon Ryan, Green Party, Holly Cairns
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Long day’s journey into the ecological abyss
My review of Mark O’Connell’s ‘Notes from an Apocalypse’ was published on Cassandra Voices in May. It’s an intriguing, engaging and often hilarious read, leavened with plenty of graveyard humour. If, like me, you’ve been staring into the fast-approaching ecological … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Psychology, Sustainability
Tagged Mark O'Connell, Preppers, Refugees
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Coronavirus an appetiser for what climate breakdown has in store
The piece below ran on Thejournal.ie in early May, and to my surprise, made quite an impact, with over 83,000 views, 142 online comments and thousands of tweets and reposts on social media. Thejournal.ie is now very much part of … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Pollution, Psychology, Sustainability
Tagged Coronavirus, Green Party, IPCC, pandemic, Paris Agreement, WMO
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In climate emergency, BAU is the road to unmitigated ruin
In early May, my first post appeared on The Currency, a business-oriented subscriber-only website launched by journalists Tom Lyons and Ian Kehoe and specialising in in-depth reportage. It’s not where you might typically expect to find a fairly downbeat assessment … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Economics, Global Warming
Tagged Coronavirus, economics, extinction, Insectageddon, Living Planet Report
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Approaching the Precipice
My review of ‘The Precipice’ by moral philosopher, Toby Ord appeared in The Irish Times on May 1st. It’s an intriguing exercise, with Ord estimating humanity at having a one-in-six chance of becoming extinct by the end of this century. … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Sustainability
Tagged extinction, Nuclear war, The Precipice, Toby Ord
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Earth Day – 50 years later, and deeper in ecological debt
This is piece ran on Cassandra Voices on April 22nd, the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Earth Day in 1970: FIFTY years ago today, more than twenty million people took to the streets in towns and cities across the U.S. … Continue reading
Shattering the illusion of control
Below, my piece for Greennews.ie, published on March 26th, just as the grim reality of the Coronavirus pandemic was finally hitting home in Ireland: ========== Right now, millions of people around the world are waking each day with a sensation … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species
Tagged Coronavirus, Covid-19, Zoonotic
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Climate change making a tough situation worse in sub-Saharan Africa
Though it genuinely feels like a couple of years, it is in fact only a number of weeks since I returned from a working trip to Zambia towards the end of February. The main purpose of the visit was to … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming, Sustainability
Tagged Africa, drought, Kariba Dam, Self Help Africa, Zambia
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Political disconnect from environmental reality remains
When it came to climate and environmental issues, the political parties’ manifestos were a mixed bag indeed. On a positive note, these issues have moved from being almost universally ignored as recently as the 2016 election, to being front-and-centre in … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus
Tagged Election 2020, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein
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Climate Change is (Sort of) Affecting Ireland’s Election
My pre-election analysis of where the parties stood on the climate issue was published on Desmog.uk. LAST MAY, Ireland was among the first countries in the world to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency. In September, over 20,000 students took … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming, Irish Focus
Tagged Election 2020, Frank Mitloehner, Green Party, IFA, Sinn Fein
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Mitigate, Adapt, or Suffer – stark choices in Election 2020
Below, my article, as it appeared on Green News on January 24th, ahead of Election 2020. GENERAL ELECTION 2020 must be the ‘Climate Election’. As the global climate and biodiversity emergency deepens, it is surely inconceivable that Irish politics can … Continue reading
Out of the frying pan? A tumultuous decade draws to a close
The hottest month ever recorded on Earth occurred in July 2019, during what has been yet another year of record-shattering extremes. France was hit this summer by two ‘once-in-500-year’ heatwaves in rapid succession. Expect extreme weather to dominate the 2020s. … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Media, Psychology
Tagged Amazon, Climate Strike, Greta Thunberg, JOCCA, Lorenzo
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