Category Archives: Irish Focus

Postings with a specific Irish angle

The 1.5C danger line draws ever closer

Posted on May 10, 2022 by John Gibbons

I contributed the article below to TheJournal.ie in mid-May to mark the publication of a worrying new report from the World Meteorological Organisation. Tried to stress for the umpteenth time that physics is indifferent to the many political, economic, social, … Continue reading →

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Turf wars signal betrayal on climate action

Posted on May 1, 2022 by John Gibbons

The bizarre and pointless recent ‘turf wars’ are a throwback to an Ireland many of us thought was gone forever. The scramble by politicians to outdo one another in capitulating to a handful of industrial turf cutters and their noisy … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Psychology | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Can we reimagine a better, safer world?

Posted on April 5, 2022 by John Gibbons

It sometimes feels like our collective inability to respond to the global climate and ecological emergency is first and foremost a failure of imagination. We are conditioned to see the world the way it is, and can easily assume there … Continue reading →

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Food and energy insecurity mean double trouble

Posted on March 27, 2022 by John Gibbons

The long-banished spectre of food insecurity has returned to Europe for the first time since the 1940s. I wrote the below piece for the Business Post in late March which looked at the intersection of energy and food security in … Continue reading →

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EU decries attacks on Irish environmental defenders

Posted on January 30, 2022 by John Gibbons

The well-worn narrative emanating primarily from the Irish agri sector and amplified by a cohort of vocal rural TDs is that, despite being the true custodians of the natural environment, they are being constantly “demonised” by over-zealous environmentalists, animal welfare … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Irish Focus, Media, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Things are Looking Up as climate crunch hits funny bone

Posted on December 26, 2021 by John Gibbons

It will come as no surprise to regular ToS readers to learn that the biggest ‘story’ of the 21st century, or perhaps 66 million years of Earth history, is the rapidly unfolding climate emergency and simultaneous global mass extinction event, … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Psychology, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Confronting consumerism for a safer future

Posted on December 18, 2021 by John Gibbons

Among the many challenges we face this decade is how to achieve radical decarbonisation in a way that does not entirely alienate the public. This is no mean challenge. After all, we are all bombarded with constant advertising and promotional … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Psychology | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

No national security without food security

Posted on November 10, 2021 by John Gibbons

We often hear about Ireland’s supposed role in “feeding the world”. The reality is altogether different. Despite the hype, domestic food insecurity is a very real concern in the difficult decades ahead. I explored this issue in detail in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biodiversity, Global Warming | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The library of our living planet is burning down

Posted on November 5, 2021 by John Gibbons

Shortly before the COP26 climate conference began, another global conference, this one on biodiversity, known as COP15, took place in Kunming, China. My piece around the global biodiversity crunch ran in the Business Post in late October. THE NATURAL WORLD is … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Irish Focus, Pollution, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No time to lose as climate clock approaches midnight

Posted on October 25, 2021 by John Gibbons

This article was published in the Irish Times in late October, just days before the start of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. AHEAD OF the upcoming UN’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, many countries are now revising their nationally … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Latest chapter in one man’s journey into climate obscurity

Posted on October 15, 2021 by John Gibbons

This piece ran in Village magazine in mid-October, tracking the latest moves by Ireland’s climate denier-in-chief in his continuing mission to spread doubt on the science of climate change and the help stymie effective climate action. OVER FOUR decades ago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish Focus, Sceptics | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Which part of ‘Code Red’ don’t we understand?

Posted on August 25, 2021 by John Gibbons

The publication of the first working group report (physical sciences) of the IPCC’s keenly awaited AR6 report in mid-August came against the backdrop months of genuinely alarming extreme weather events across multiple continents, from killer floods in Europe and China … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Climate emergency ‘widespread, rapid and intensifying’

Posted on August 15, 2021 by John Gibbons

I was asked by TheJournal.ie to write a reaction piece to mark the release of the first part of the IPCC’s new climate report in early August. I also recorded an Explainer Podcast with TheJournal.ie later in August. JUST HOW … Continue reading →

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Feeling the heat, then seeing the light

Posted on August 5, 2021 by John Gibbons

The story of RTÉ’s Damascene conversion on climate coverage has continued to gather pace. Below is a piece I wrote for the Business Post in early August explaining the background and context. AS THE STATE broadcaster, RTÉ occupies a special … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Winds of (climate) change finally blow through Montrose

Posted on July 31, 2021 by John Gibbons

I filed the article below for DeSmog, the international website specialising in climate denial and disinformation, in late July, in the wake of the sudden about-turn within RTÉ’s senior management over its climate coverage. IRELAND’S NATIONAL broadcaster has publicly apologised … Continue reading →

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