Tag Archives: Green Party

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 , , , , | 1 Comment

Ambitious climate programme agreed by Irish political parties

My analysis piece for DeSmog UK was published on June 17th, as the parties concluded negotiations on a new Programme for Government. Ironically, while receiving much positive coverage internationally in terms of the degree to which the PFG is seen … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coronavirus an appetiser for what climate breakdown has in store

The piece below ran on Thejournal.ie in early May, and to my surprise, made quite an impact, with over 83,000 views, 142 online comments and thousands of tweets and reposts on social media. Thejournal.ie is now very much part of … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Pollution, Psychology, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Political disconnect from environmental reality remains

When it came to climate and environmental issues, the political parties’ manifestos were a mixed bag indeed. On a positive note, these issues have moved from being almost universally ignored as recently as the 2016 election, to being front-and-centre in … Continue reading

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

Climate Change is (Sort of) Affecting Ireland’s Election

My pre-election analysis of where the parties stood on the climate issue was published on Desmog.uk. LAST MAY, Ireland was among the first countries in the world to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency. In September, over 20,000 students took … Continue reading

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

Nine years later, and deeper in debt

It’s nine years to the week since my first posting on ThinkorSwim went live – on the last day of November 2007. It was, in many ways, a different world. The mood was radically different too. For starters, the Greens … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Hogan’s U-turn on climate is short-sighted and damaging

Below, my article as it appears in today’s Irish Times: WILL THE real Phil Hogan please stand up? On June 16th last, responding in the Dáil to questions from Sinn Féin’s Martin Ferris on whether climate change legislation was being … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Blowing up a political s**t storm

Fintan O’Toole is, for my money, the most insightful commentator on Irish life, and has been for years. Like any of the rest of us,  he has his hobby horses, and I’ve often been disappointed that he rarely turns his … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sceptics | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A fair wind for renewable energy sector?

The Green Party seems to have snatched an unlikely victory at the weekend – they somehow maneuvered themselves from being pinned between the proverbial rock and a hard place and wriggled free with party unity intact and a hatful of … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments