Category Archives: Sustainability

Species Extinction, loss of biodiversity

Ecological Ponzi scheme ignores natural capital

Posted on April 29, 2013 by John Gibbons

Below, my article, as it appears in today’s Irish Times: AT THE weekend, I took a load of junk from the garden shed up to the local recycling centre. Use of the Ballyogan facility costs €30 per car. Of course, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Economics, Global Warming, Sustainability | Leave a comment

World’s oceans drowning in plastic sludge

Posted on April 17, 2013 by John Gibbons

Below, my piece from the latest edition of ‘Village’ magazine. If you haven’t done so yet, dash out and buy it. Village is among the last vestiges of the non-corporatised media still standing in Ireland. It deserves, demands, our support. … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Sustainability | Leave a comment

How climate change is destroying the Earth

Posted on March 3, 2013 by John Gibbons

A picture, they say, can be worth a thousand words. I was contacted recently by a group of volunteers who design and research material to help communicate climate change to the general public. They suggested the infographic below might be … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Media, Sustainability | 4 Comments

The human race is almost run

Posted on February 12, 2013 by John Gibbons

Below, one of my articles from the current edition of ‘Village’ magazine…. ‘Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule’ – Friedrich Nietzsche I like people; indeed, some of my best friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Psychology, Sustainability | 7 Comments

Myths and mischief-making in renewable energy reporting

Posted on August 31, 2012 by John Gibbons

I couldn’t have claimed to be Ireland’s greatest fan of wind energy. Not because I don’t think it’s a good idea – it is – but rather, my concern is whether it will ever be deployed on a scale sufficient … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

It’s a race to the bottom – we’re winning as the oceans die

Posted on July 9, 2012 by John Gibbons

To me, nothing says summer down-time quite like finding a shady spot on a warm day and settling in for a great read. This year, I had the good fortune of picking two exceptional books – ‘The Ocean of Life’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Media, Sustainability | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Life on Earth now under threat as never before

Posted on June 7, 2012 by John Gibbons

Below, my opinion article, as it appears in today’s Irish Times: WHEN WE put our mind to it, it’s amazing what we can learn to forget. Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 hosted one of the most important international conferences … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Media, Sustainability | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers: A crosscutting international instrument for advancing sustainability

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Mark Keenan

The current global ecological situation is perilous to humankind. Accumulated releases of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are causing climate change and eco-toxic releases are significantly impacting the environment and human health. Global eco-systems and resources are in decline. There is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Doom with a view? Trap tightens on our diminishing prospects

Posted on May 15, 2012 by John Gibbons

In the current issue of ‘Village’ magazine, editor Michael Smith has explored at length and in some depth the array of formidable challenges that humanity (and all other species on Earth) face in the years and decades ahead. It’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

A warning from history

Posted on March 23, 2012 by John Gibbons

It’s almost 20 years since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. This led to the ‘Rio Declaration’ and its 27 Principles, signed up to by the nations of the world amid much pomp and posturing. Later that year, a group comprising … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Sustainability | Leave a comment

Media throws in the towel on coverage of climate change

Posted on January 24, 2012 by John Gibbons

Below, my article, as it appeared in last Thursday’s Irish Times (and fair play to the IT for running a piece that is openly critical of its own editorial policy in this area; that’s the true mark of a serious … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Weird weather is our ‘new normal’

Posted on January 13, 2012 by John Gibbons

The folks over at TheJournal.ie asked me to do an OpEd on the ever weirder weather that is now featuring in pretty much every other news bulletin. Turns out that this is one seriously busy website. The posting has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Media, Sceptics, Sustainability | 9 Comments

2011 – another year of living dangerously

Posted on December 22, 2011 by John Gibbons

It’s been one hell of a year for the planet, with the meteorological and climatic record books being re-written and in some cases, thrown away. This year ushered the concept of the ‘new normal’ into being, as US scientists simply … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Sustainability | 7 Comments

Population surge difficult to halt and almost impossible to reverse

Posted on October 31, 2011 by John Gibbons

My article, as it appears in this morning’s Irish Times: Today, just like every day for the last 50 years, around half a million babies will be born. Every 16 days or so, the equivalent of the population of Ireland … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability | 22 Comments

“We are earning the scorn and condemnation of history”

Posted on October 21, 2011 by John Gibbons

He’s hardly a household name, but US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (a Democrat representing Rhode Island) delivered a quite extraordinary 23-minute speech last week on the floor of the Senate – the speech we hoped, back in the heady days of … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Sceptics, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments