ON THE ISLAND OF IRELAND
Summary of agency and organisation reports. Updated first of each month.
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Putting a Price on Nature: Internalizing the Costs of Exploiting Natural Resources
If businesses continue to exploit our common natural resources, such as water, air, biodiversity, then we need to make them pay us for that exploitation
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Shale gas is not a “game changer”
Recently, in a speech entitled “Decisions on fracking will be based on scientific evidence” before the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), DCENR Minister Pat Rabbitte …
PAST 1 Jun 2013Why the Precautionary Principle Is Critical: European Environment Agency’s Report on Late Lessons from early warnings
a cumulative, convincing demonstration of the critical need for the precautionary principle
1 May 2013Agriculture Dictates Ireland’s Climate Policy: The Government’s Climate Bill and the National Economic & Social Council Report
The Irish government recently published its long-awaited climate bill and at the same time launched a report by the National Economic & Social Council …
1 Apr 2013The Rough Road Ahead for Biofuels: Report by Greenpeace, BirdLife Europe, T&E, and EEB
Report on how Europe can effectively meet its current renewable energy target in transport without the need for harmful biofuels.
1 Mar 2013Ireland’s Climate Adaptation Strategy: The Emperor Has No Clothes On
At the end of 2012, the Irish government published its National Climate Change Adaptation Framework…The report says almost nothing concrete about adapting.
1 Feb 2013Sustaining Water Use in Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland (NI) Freshwater Taskforce issued a report, “From Source to Sea” that sets out a 10-point action plan for sustaining water use in NI
1 Jan 2013Carbonification, or How We Are Condemning Ourselves to Hell Because of Our Lust for Carbon
There seems to be a perverse relationship between the number of negotiations for a global deal on climate change and the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The more people meet to talk about climate change, the more hot air is blown into the atmosphere.
30 Nov 2012The European Commission’s Three Studies on Fracking: On Risks, Climate Impacts, and Market Possibilities
The European Commission (EC) commissioned three studies of the impact of unconventional gas, primarily shale gas, extraction on environmental and health risks, on climate change, and on EU energy.
4 Nov 2012How Can 70% of the Population, That Live in Cities, Survive Climate Change: The European Environment Agency Report on Urban Adaptation
Every four years the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues a report on the status of the environment in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). In June it issued Ireland’s Environment 2012: An Assessment (IE2012).
1 Oct 2012Ireland’s Environment in 2012
Every four years the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues a report on the status of the environment in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). In June it issued Ireland’s Environment 2012: An Assessment (IE2012).
1 Sep 2012Should We Starve or Burn: The Heated Competition Between Food Production and GHG Emissions
On Friday July 13th I headed from Donegal to Dublin to attend a session of the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) on “The Great Debate on the battle to feed a changing planet.”
31 Jul 2012International Energy Agency’s Golden Age of Gas and Golden Rules on Fracking
In an unfortunate choice of title, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has weighed in on the fight over fracking with its report …
30 Jun 2012The Irish EPA Preliminary Assessment of Fracking: A Good Start but a Long Way to Go
The Irish EPA issued a report on Fracking: Current Knowledge and Potential Environmental Impacts, in early May 2012 …
30 May 2012New York Plans to Frack, The Public Reacts: Implications for Fracking on the Island of Ireland
In earlier issues of this magazine we published an Article by Jim Morris on “The Pennsylvania Experience With Methane Extraction, or Fracking,” and a Report on “Fracking in New York: accidents, spills, releases, ETC,”
1 May 2012Some Lingering Air Problems in Northern Ireland
Water containing human waste, industrial waste, and runoff from roads, and how it is treated, is hardly an inviting subject for polite conversation, and …
28 Mar 2012Waste Water: The Urban Status and Implications for Rural Communities
Water containing human waste, industrial waste, and runoff from roads, and how it is treated, is hardly an inviting subject for polite conversation, and …
1 Mar 2012Ireland’s Proposed (and so far inadequate) Answer to Septic System Problems
To handle waste from private households, Ireland depends on some 400,000 septic tanks spread across the countryside. Scotland has only 100,000 septic tanks and …
1 Feb 2012Fracking in New York:
accidents, spills, releases, ETC
In the last issue of this magazine we published an Article on “The Pennsylvania Experience With Methane Extraction, or Fracking” by Jim Morris. For …
15 Jan 2012Exploration of Pathways Towards a Clean Economy by 2050: How to Realise a Climate-neutral Netherlands
Many different scenarios are possible for a low-CO2 energy system that delivers an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It is certain …
2 Jan 2012Bogland: An Assessment
The message of a recent report on bogs in Ireland is unambiguous: bogs are critical resources for the Irish people, and the protected bogs …
1 Nov 2011Fuel Poverty in Northern Ireland
Close to fifty percent of all homes in Northern Ireland (44%) are subject to “fuel poverty” because the people cannot afford to keep …
3 Oct 2011Smart Meters and Meter Readers
In the old day, not quite gone by, meter readers were employees of the utility who came by once in a while to …
1 Sep 201180% of Energy by 2050 from Renewable Sources
The Working Group III of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued, in May 2011, a Special Report on Renewable Energy …
1 Aug 2011The UK National Ecosystem Assessment
The United Kingdom National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) provides some helpful thinking about our natural resources. The UK NEA is the product of 500 …
1 Jul 2011Transport Policy in Ireland: Real and Imagined
The entire transport sector accounts for about 25% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the European Union, second only to the energy sector. …
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