Category Archives: Energy
LNG at Shannon: selling our future down the river
Below, my article as it appeared on DeSmog.uk on May 15th. ENVIRONMENTAL groups have united in opposing a massive new terminal that would receive fracked gas from the US in a protected area on Ireland’s west coast. They fear … Continue reading
In deep water: Naughten approves major offshore oil drilling plan
Below, my story, as it appeared a few days ago on DeSmogUK: IRELAND’S first minister for Climate Action, Denis Naughten, quietly signed off this month on the Druid/Drombeg exploration field off Ireland’s west coast which is eyeing an estimated five billion … Continue reading
Ulster says hoax: a short history of the DUP and climate denial
Below, my article as it appeared on DeSmog.uk over the weekend, in the light of the extraordinary decision by the Tories to throw in their lot with Ulster’s not-particularly-Democratic Unionist Party. ============================ Theresa May’s general election gamble has seen a … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics
Tagged cash-for-ash, DUP, RHI, Sammy Wilson
2 Comments
Lights out for Earth Hour? Save your energy
Dreamed up as a PR stunt by an ad agency 10 years ago, Earth Hour has become surprisingly succesful. This is, I suspect, because it’s long on tokenism and photo opportunities and desperately short on actual resolve, sacrifice or meaningful … Continue reading
Flights of folly at Dublin airport
Fallout from the recent Brexit vote may prove something of a gift for the Dublin Airport Authority’s (DAA) ambitious plan to have a second runway built and ready for business by 2020. The huge cloud of economic uncertainty now parked … Continue reading
Choosing to fail: Prof Kevin Anderson interviewed
Prof Kevin Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester and deputy Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, is one of the world’s best known and most influential – and outspoken – climate specialists. … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Energy, Global Warming, Sceptics
Tagged IPCC, Kevin Anderson, Tyndall
13 Comments
“Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten us into!”
Coalition partners Fine Gael and Labour are fast becoming the Laurel and Hardy of environmental regulation, with chaotic, contradictory and just plain wrong statements emanating from the government parties as they attempt to talk their way out of their shambolic … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
Tagged Alan Kelly, diesel, Enda Kenny, VolksWagen
2 Comments
Obama turns up the heat on climate change denial, inaction
It has been a long time coming, but it was – just about – worth the wait. Last Tuesday, President Obama finally put climate change front and centre on his critical second term agenda. It was perhaps apposite that he … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Media
8 Comments
Science does not support rigid anti-nuclear stance
Below, my article, as it appeared in this Thursday’s Irish Times. To date, it has attracted over 180 comments on the site, with a strong pickup on both Facebook and Twitter. Having grown accustomed to having the online discussion of … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear
21 Comments
Myths and mischief-making in renewable energy reporting
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 emissions, Energy, GWPA, Pat Rabbitte, RTE, wind farms
7 Comments
Doom with a view? Trap tightens on our diminishing prospects
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 doomer, Michael Smith, Sustainability, Village
9 Comments
Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will
Any lingering sense, however slight, that humanity could shake itself from its collective somnambulation in time to arrest the coming twin ecological and resource catastrophes was finally snuffed out this month in Durban. Here, the nations of the world in … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Economics, Energy, Global Warming, Media
Tagged Canada, Chris Martenson, Crash Course, David Korowicz, Durban, Feasta, Kyoto, Tar Sands, Vesuvius
11 Comments
The devil or the deep blue sea – our nuclear conundrum
Twenty five years ago, in the early hours of April 26, 1986 a botched safety test led to a massive explosion at one of the four nuclear reactors at Chernobyl in Belarus. This was the world’s most serious nuclear event … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Sustainability
Tagged cancer, Chernobyl, Fukushima, nuclear, radiation, thorium
9 Comments
More power to us if we choose nuclear option
Time to shake the ‘drill baby, drill’ debate on Ireland’s energy future up a little? here’s my piece in today’s Irish Times OPINION: Instead of seeking partners to exploit hoped-for offshore fossil fuel resources, Ireland should consider building some medium-sized … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Sustainability
Tagged Fintan O'Toole, Fukushima, Irish Times, nuclear, radiation
17 Comments
The decline and fall of the Human Empire
Below is my article, as it appears over four pages in the current edition of ‘Village’ magazine: Doomsday cults are as old as human civilisation. The Bible is a rich sourcebook for ‘End Times’ enthusiasts, who pore over Iron Age … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Economics, Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sustainability
Tagged Armageddon, CO2, Peak Oil, Village
13 Comments
