ON THE ISLAND OF IRELAND
Analysis and opinion on environmental issues. Updated first of each month.
Latest from COMMENTARY
Aoife O’Grady, “Is the ETS dead? If so, should we be glad?”
In a move that may sound the final death knell for the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS
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The Myth of Natural Gas and Other Fossil Fuels: We think we need them but we really don’t, and recent studies dispel the myth
A recent report from the United States shows that New York State can produce all its energy needs from renewable sources without any natural …
PAST 1 Apr 2013Aoife O’Grady, “Irish planning: is there a way back from catastrophic failure?”
There has been a catastrophic failure of the planning system in the Republic of Ireland
1 Apr 2013Continuing Risks for Pregnant Women From Breathing Polluted Air
Transport emissions continue to expose vulnerable populations to adverse health impacts, including pregnant women and a recent comprehensive, international study has examined the risks to pregnant women from exposure to air pollution.
1 Mar 2013In Wall Street Journal op-ed, Bjorn Lomborg urges delay with misleading stats
Bjorn Lomborg’s latest op-ed in the Wall Street Journal displays a brand of doublethink that has become his trademark. He switches between recognizing climate change and its risks, to rejecting the need for meaningful action in the near term.
1 Feb 2013Aoife O’Grady, “Irish Presidency of the EU: Missing an Environmental Agenda”
1 January 2013 will be the first day of Ireland’s six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU … Environmental concerns, however, appear to linger low on the list of concerns.
1 Jan 2013Patrick Mc Cabe, “Return of the sea: Designing Dublin’s new coastal defences”
The form of Dublin Bay at over 22 km is a fascinating dance of shifting mud, moving coastlines, sequences of constructed sea defences and hundreds of reclamation projects.
30 Nov 2012Will Steffen, Johan Rockström, Robert Costanza, “How Defining Planetary Boundaries Can Transform Our Approach to Growth”
Our planet’s ability to provide an accommodating environment for humanity is being challenged by our own activities. The environment—our life-support system—is changing rapidly from the stable Holocene state of the last 12,000 years … to an unknown future state of significantly different conditions.
3 Nov 2012Aoife O’Grady, European Union attempts to tackle carbon market oversupply
The European Commission’s department for Climate Action (DG CLIMA) has proposed changing the timing of auctions for its Emission Trading System (ETS), the world’s first and largest international scheme for the trading of greenhouse gas allowances.
1 Oct 2012Mark Keenan, Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers: A crosscutting international instrument for advancing sustainability
Modern industrial society alters the biosphere and causes environmental degradation in significant ways and Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers(PRTRs) offer a mechanism capable of providing periodic and reliable data on releases and transfers of pollutants.
1 Sep 2012Aoife O’Grady, The Future We Want? Report from Rio+20
Twenty years ago, leaders and representatives of over 170 countries gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the 1992 Earth Summit.
31 Jul 2012Christopher Hopson, Dispelling the myths – let’s tell the truth about wind farms
Rarely a week goes by without another falsehood being peddled about the wind industry
2 Jul 2012Frank Convery and Yvonne Scannell, Fracking and Local Credibility in Ireland
When elected members of local authorities are faced with the possibility of a transformative development in their areas, they have two choices …
30 May 2012Michael Collins, The Ringaskiddy Incinerator and Integrated Environmental Assessment; The Dots Not Yet Connected
From being a small fishing village on the western side of Cork harbour, Ringaskiddy village is now both a substantial ferry port and a …
1 May 2012Tom Jones, OECD, PRICING WATER
Water pricing is becoming more widespread, with the dual aim of expanding supply and encouraging more responsible use.
Anything scarce and in demand commands a …
Joe Nocera Is Still Wrong and “Very Unfair” About the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline. McKibben, Hansen and I Explain Why.
Editor’s Note: Below is a Blog posted by Joe Romm on an ongoing debate with Joe Nocera, a New York Times business columnist, with …
1 Mar 2012The White House And Tar Sands
Tar Sands Action organized a civil disobedience sit–in at The White House to oppose construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline that began …
1 Feb 2012Equity: the next frontier in climate talks
In 1992, when the world met to discuss an agreement on climate change, equity was a simple concept: sharing the global commons—the atmosphere in …
2 Jan 2012Policies and measures to promote sustainable water use
Most countries have water resource management plans that address both supply and demand.
In EU, the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) is based on the idea …
The Pennsylvania Experience With Methane Extraction, or Fracking
By population, Pennsylvania is the six largest state in the U.S.A. By area, it actually ranks only thirty-third. However, it contains some of the …
1 Nov 2011Energy Efficiency and the ‘Rebound Effect’
Throughout almost four decades of societal progress in getting more work out of less energy, those who deny the promise of energy efficiency have …
1 Oct 2011The ethics behind environmental action: why worry now?
Why worry about doing right or wrong when it comes to the environment?
A recent survey showed that the vast majority of Irish people consider …
Why a high-carbon investment bubble could be the lesser of evils
The alternative – that there will never be enough political will to halt emissions – is the really scary prospect
This week has seen a …
Forests and their forgotten communities
In May 2008 a helicopter flew over unexplored parts of the Amazon in Acre State in Brazil, near the country’s border with Peru. Onboard …
MSc Climate Change Class 2010-2011, Adapting to Climate Change: The urgency and some challen7ges to begin
Our response to the challenge of climate change will shape our future in many different and crucial ways. Adaptation is about realizing the impacts …
1 Jun 2011“The European Union Common Agriculture Policy in 2020?”
I.Introduction
After an extensive consultation exercise, in November 2010 the European Commission issued a paper on the options for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy …
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