Category Archives: Sustainability
Sleepwalking across the climate ‘Red Line’
As of three years ago the Earth was already committed to rise of global mean temperatures by 2.4°C. This is the shocking conclusion of a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). This is … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Sustainability
Tagged albedo, Arctic, Biodiversity, climate change, deglaciation, EU, glaciers, IPCC, Northwest Passage, WWF
2 Comments
Labouring under some misconceptions
What has meat go to do with climate change? At first glance, not a lot. But dig a little deeper and you’ll soon find that the sharp increases in meat consumption in the last decade or two is a major … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged agriculture, CO2, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, emissions, IFA, IPCC, Labour, meat, Sherlock, Tuffy, vegetarian
4 Comments
Getting the green message out is no Picnic
I gave the eco credentials of the Electric Picnic an enthusiastic write up in Thursday’s Irish Times column, describing it as “probably one of the most impressive environmental showcases ever assembled in Ireland”. The theme was taken up later that … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged Cultivate, Duncan Stewart, Eamon Ryan, Electric Picnic, festival, Irish Times, John Gibbons, Rethink Tank, Sunday Times, Today FM
3 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
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
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
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
Food shortages come home to roost
It’s been said that a recession is when your neighbour loses his job; a depression is when it’s your job that goes. This comes to mind as reports have been pouring in over the last while about soaring food prices … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Sustainability
Tagged China, climate change, food crisis, hunger, poverty, Wal-Mart
6 Comments
