Category Archives: Global Warming
Diesel for transport has run out of road
It has been maddening to see the government walk away from carbon taxes in Budget 2027, while simultaneously jacking up subsidies to dirty liquid fuels and, for good measure, imposing fare hikes on public transport, ie. punishing the very people … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Pollution, Sustainability
Tagged diesel, freight, HGVs, HVO, Irish Examiner, National Transport Authority, rail, SEAI, ZEHDV
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City or country? Oosterwold blurs the lines
I had discussed various aspects of the Dutch approach to energy, food and sustainability in ‘The Lie of the Land’. While it was published in September of last year, the research and writing phase kicked off in late 2023. I … Continue reading
Slaying some persistent myths about ‘rural Ireland’
I was back on the op-ed page of The Irish Times in mid-September with a piece looking at the disproportionate influence of the farm lobby on Irish politics and public life. This followed an Irish Times investigation earlier in the … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming
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Too much and not enough – water woes worsen
Almost uniquely in the western world, Ireland doesn’t charge for domestic water, preferring instead to lump the multi-billion euro cost of water treatment onto the general taxpayer. As our climate warms quickly, even Ireland’s famously wet climate is changing, with … Continue reading
Posted in Extreme weather, Global Warming, Irish Focus
Tagged drought, Irish Water, Liffey, Uisce Eireann
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Ireland needs national food stockpiles – now
It has been a grim year globally for food production. And with a major El Niño building, 2027 is almost certain to be worse again. The globalised food system has worked well for decades in moving stocks around; if one … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming
Tagged Finland, Germany, National Oil Reserves Agency, Nora, Norway, Poland, Russia, stockpile, Sweded, Switzerland, Teagasc
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Slouching towards ruin with our eyes wide open
Bill McGuire is a volcanologist and prolific author who has been ringing the alarm bell on the climate emergency for decades. I filed a review of his latest oeuvre, The Fate Of The World, for the Books section of the … Continue reading
Posted in Extreme weather, Global Warming, Psychology
Tagged Bill McGuire, Irish Times
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When feeding the world is a fact, not a slogan
In June, I took the car ferry to Dunkirk, then drove from there to Amsterdam where I was based for several days of touring and visiting sites in Holland mainly related to their food sector, more specifically the famously productive … Continue reading
We need a Department of National Food Security – now
It’s been quite some time since I pitched an article to The Irish Times op-ed page, despite having been a regular there some time back. The below piece ran on Monday August 17th, under the newspaper headline: ‘The food industry … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Global Warming, Pollution, Sustainability
Tagged Denmark, Irish Times, Martin Heydon, Mette Frederiksen, Simon Coveney, Teagasc, The Lancet
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Stumbling ever deeper into the Pyrocene
I ran the below analysis piece in the Irish Examiner at the start of August, to coincide with Europe’s fourth heatwave of the crazy summer of 2026. Europe is heating at more than twice the global average, for a number … Continue reading
The heat is on: climate-fuelled carnage intensifies
I filed this piece with TheJournal.ie in late July as wildfires swept Ireland and Europe, and particularly in light of ongoing efforts by the current government to stymie climate action by undermining the 2021 Climate Act under the guise of … Continue reading
Taking tea with the President
AN undoubted highlight for me, not just of the last week but of the year, was a Courtesy Call on September 18th to Áras an Uachtaráin to present President Michael D. Higgins with a copy of ‘The Lie of the Land’. … Continue reading
Risky ‘global cooling’ projects mooted
Recording of my Last Word on the Environment with Matt Cooper broadcast on September 11th is below. We began by discussing controversial new plans to cool the global atmosphere artificially, using a range of possible technologies. As I explained, given … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Sustainability, TodayFM
Tagged IPCC, Matt Cooper, Phytoplankton, sea level rise
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Finding out the Lie of the Land
IT’S ALMOST two years since I was approached and commissioned by Penguin to write a book – my first – about Ireland and the climate emergency. While genuinely chuffed to be asked, I did also have something of an inkling … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media
Tagged John Gibbons, Penguin, The Lie of the Land
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The perils of light pollution
Pod of the latest Last Word on the Environment, with Matt Cooper on Today FM, as broadcast on Thursday July 31st is below. We discussed the workings and finances of the hugely popular deposit return scheme for cans and plastic … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability, TodayFM
Tagged aviation, light pollution, Matt Cooper, recycling, Today FM
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