Category Archives: Agriculture
Violent words beget violent actions
By and large, Ireland is a tolerant country, spared the worst excesses of polarisation that have blighted post-Brexit Britain and the US after Trump. There has, however, been a creeping slide towards ugly extremism in the last couple of years, … Continue reading
Biosphere buckling under weight of human pressures
Rapid population growth has seen another billion humans added to world population in just the 11 years since 2011. In tandem with dramatic economic growth and accelerating climate change, these are placing unbearable pressures on the biosphere, foreshadowing a near … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged contraception, nitrogen, overpopulation
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No national security without food security
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 CCAC, Charlie McConalogue, Chatham House, dairy, Livestock, Primetime, tillage
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Do we care enough about nature to bother saving it?
This piece ran in the Business Post in early May, inspired at least in part by the devastating fires that swept many of Ireland’s uplands yet again this Spring, an annual ritual, it seems, that comes around with depressing regularity, … Continue reading
Climate hoofprint of ruminant agriculture under spotlight
The Farming Independent sought two contrasting views on the merits or otherwise of continued expansion of Ireland’s dairy herd, so I contributed the below, wearing my hat as a volunteer member of An Taisce’s climate committee. This article was published … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Irish Focus, Pollution
Tagged Dairy emissions, methane, Teagasc
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Where greenwashing meet brainwashing
The piece below appeared in mid-December on the investigative website, DeSmog UK. I wanted to shine a light on the subtle agri-industrial marketing machinery which is cranking out ever increasing quantities of material aimed at the youngest and most impressionable … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biodiversity, Global Warming, Irish Focus
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Agri emissions plan a roadmap to nowhere
In the absence of action, the next best thing is to look busy, and Ireland’s agri-industrial sector and its many boosters in politics and the civil and public service have elevated this frenzy of inaction to something of a performance … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Economics, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Irish Focus
Tagged AgClimatise, Dairy emissions, Teagasc
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Stirring up tensions between farmers and environmentalists
This piece appears in the current edition of Village magazine. As a rule, I steer clear of articles focusing on individuals, preferring when possible to stick to the issues rather than personalities. Given the central role of RTÉ presenter Damien … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics
Tagged Countrywide, Damien O'Reilly, IFA, IFJ, RTE
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Close, but no cigar: Climate Bill comes up short
My report on expert reaction to the eagerly awaited Climate Bill was published for a British audience on DeSmog UK in mid-October. A DRAFT climate change bill designed to put Ireland on a path to net zero emissions has been … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged Andrew Jackson, Climate Bill, DeSmog UK, Diarmuid Torney, John Sweeney, Sadhbh O’Neill
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Green in name, but not in nature
Despite huge ongoing investment of both political capital and marketing euros in selling the message that Irish agriculture is green, climate-friendly and sustainable, it still keeps on running into the knotty problem that this simply isn’t the case. Recent comments … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biodiversity, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged agriculture, Bord Bia, EPA, Irish Wildlife Trust, Origin Green
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‘Our relationship with nature is broken’
The below piece ran on TheJournal.ie in late September. It was inspired by a combination of the surreal imagery emanating from the western US and the release of the 2020 Living Planet Report, which chronicles ever sharpening declines in planetary vital … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species
Tagged Insectageddon, Living Planet Report
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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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Meat & dairy sector turns to chemical industry PR playbook
Below, my article as published on the investigative website, Desmog UK on October 4th. Ireland’s meat and dairy industries have been feeling the heat, both from a public turning increasingly towards vegetarian and vegan options as concern over the environmental … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Pollution, Sustainability
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