Category Archives: Global Warming
Not Evil, just Cynical
Climate scepticism is good business indeed. Especially if you’re a struggling film maker anxious to make a quick name and buck for yourself. An Irish duo, Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney are the latest to hop on the bandwagon with … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming
5 Comments
Thumbs down for Top Gear
The TV license currently costs €160 a year. That money allows RTE to deliver its public service commitment, including expensive programming such as Prime Time that, were cost and crude ratings the only consideration, might be ditched in favour of … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged fuel, Prius, RTE, Top Gear, TV3
4 Comments
Taking the Mick on aviation and climate change
A week ago my column in the Irish Times dared to suggest that maybe, just maybe, dirt cheap aviation à la the Ryanair model (now aped by our former national carrier as well) is perhaps not the world’s best idea … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged Aer Lingus, airport, aviation, cheap flights, emissions, EU, KLM, Michael O'Leary, pollution, Ryanair, subsidy, travel
6 Comments
Whatever you do, do nothing
And so the G-8 Summit draws to a close in Japan. This Group of Eight major nations somehow manages to exclude from membership both India and China, which between them account for more than a third of humanity, as well … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Irish Focus
Tagged Bali, Bush, climate change, G-8, Japan, John Gibbons, Kyoto, Oxfam
3 Comments
Only treehuggers need apply?
Once upon a time, the phrase ‘green’ implied wide-eyed extremism. You know the types, living in the trees in the Glen of the Downs or rolling in the mud at some bizarre eco hug-in festival in deepest rural Roscommon. Yes, … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged DDT, Gaia, green, Irish Times, John Gibbons, organic, science, Sustainability, UCC, William Reville
10 Comments
Still singing the same sad old song
Denial is a powerful thing. Climate change deniers these days are, like the polar bears, an endangered species, as wave after wave of science fact gradually washes away the last stubborn traces of our excuses for inaction. Of course, there … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics, Sustainability
Tagged climate change, Gibbons, Lomborg, Myers, Neligan, sceptics
8 Comments
A big step backwards for Europe
And so the electorate has spoken. It’s a resounding ‘huh?’, with misunderstanding and misinformation carrying the day by a 9% spread. The clearest message to emerge even at this early stage is that Lisbon has split along class lines, with … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus
Tagged Bali, Copenhagen, Kyoto, Libertas, Lisbon, referendum
9 Comments
Weaning ourselves off the fetish of growth
A cynic, according to Oscar Wilde, is a person who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. He could have easily been talking about economists. It’s hard to open a newspaper or turn on the radio these … Continue reading
Soaring oil price sinks iconic Hummer
Nothing says vulgarity or hubris quite like a Hummer. Clocking in at an average of 13 miles per gallon (21.7 litres per 100km), they are no longer the biggest monstrosity on the roads these days, if you really want to … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Sustainability
Tagged CO2, Hummer, Peak Oil, petrol, SUV
2 Comments
If you care about climate, Lisbon matters
What is it about us Irish and referenda? One minute the national discourse is rattling along as usual, and the next, there are swarms of (previously unheard of) groups popping up out of the woodwork to warn us of the … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus
Tagged Chavez, climate change, Coir, EU, Gormley, Iraq, Libertas, Lisbon, Treaty, Venezuala, Youth Defense
5 Comments
Water shortages add to list of critical pressures
With oil prices steaming towards $130 a barrel, CO2 emissions climbing relentlessly, food shortages and major commodity price hikes hitting the world’s poor, “the last thing anyone needs is another crisis”, according to the current issue of Business Week. But … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Sustainability
Tagged Australia, biosphere, China, CO2, shortage, water
4 Comments
On a wing and a prayer
Airlines are forever telling us that aviation is just a teeny weeny contributor to greenhouse gases, nothing to be bothered about really. The figure of 2% of total emissions being attributable to flying is frequently quoted in defence of our … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged Aer Lingus, aviation, carbon, CO2, emissions, pollution, travel
3 Comments
Minor drama over Major Emergencies
A number of years ago, a Fianna Fail junior minister, Joe Jacob got himself into a right tangle in an interview with RTE’s Marian Finucane. The subject was Ireland’s preparedness in the event of an incident at Sellafield. The minister … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged emergency, iodine, Joe Jacob, Marian Finucane, Sellafield
2 Comments
