Latest from ieBLOG
How Much Shale Gas Is There on Island of Ireland, Really? Here’s why that’s a critical question
As the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and Northern Ireland (NI) assess the possibility of allowing fracking for shale gas on the island of Ireland, …
1 Feb 2014Talking About Climate Change Targets: Temperature Rise vs PPM vs Carbon Budget
Why carbon budget makes sense as a climate target
1 Jan 2014Extreme Weather and Climate: Ever the twain shall meet
What’s behind recent and other extreme weather events
1 Dec 2013Does talking about “carbon budgets” have somewhere to go, or nowhere?
Last month, in ieBLOG, we looked at the IPCC 5th Report on climate change and in particular its pronouncement that to hold global warming …
1 Nov 2013Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Report: Up Yours
If you thought that global climate change negotiations could not get more difficult, you haven’t seen anything yet. If you thought that the fossil …
1 Oct 2013Are Sinn Fein & DUP selling out Fermanagh to fund UK Exchequer with fracking revenues?
Possibly. If so, here’s how they can do it. In Northern Ireland (NI), the Crown Estate owns the subsurface mineral rights or assets, such …
1 Aug 2013Northern Ireland’s Planning Bill and “economic development”
In Northern Ireland (NI), the Planning Reform Act 2011 provided for the reform of planning policies in preparation for the transfer of planning powers …
29 Jun 2013Shale 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 …
1 Jun 2013The 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 …
1 Apr 2013Submission to Governments’ Proposed Fracking Study
The policy implications of fracking need to be addressed through this research programme along with the narrower technical elements of fracking.
8 Mar 2013Climate change and flood risk in Irish cities as mapped by European Environment Agency (EEA)
“Eye on Earth,” an online mapping tool from the EEA, shows the mean percentage of each European city covered with impervious surfaces such as …
1 Mar 2013US Governmental Accountability Office declares that climate change is a “high risk” area in need of major reform in Congress
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been, since 1921, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the US Congress. The GAO maintains a program …
17 Feb 2013Smallholder family farms beat out industrial agriculture and GMOs
In the last Post on ieBLOG we wrote about “Is Ireland’s Grass-Fed Family Farm Headed Towards Industrialisation?” In a recent posting on Huffington Post …
6 Feb 2013Is Ireland’s Grass-Fed Family Farm Headed Towards Industrialisation?
Maybe Not, But There Are Other Problems In an article in the Irish Times, Breda O’Brien discusses some of the factors driving low quality …
1 Feb 2013US EPA illegally fails to regulate methane emissions
Under the Clean Air Act, states have the right to sue EPA over alleged legal failures but it must first give EPA a 60-day …
24 Jan 2013Implications of Proposed New Fracking Study by Governments on the Island of Ireland
The governments in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and Northern Ireland (NI) are jointly undertaking a research project to assess the environmental impacts of …
12 Jan 2013International agreement to reduce short-lived climate pollutants spells danger for Ireland
At the UN climate change talks in Doha, Qatar, little has been accomplished to control carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but in a parallel action …
7 Dec 2012Even Americans Seem to Be Getting Some of the Messaging on Climate Change
A recent report from Yale University Project on Climate Change Communication shows that a growing majority of Americans say the President and Congress should …
13 Nov 2012Barry Commoner, May He Rest in Peace: 1917 – 2012
Barry Commoner died Sunday September 30 at the age of 95 in New York. The New York Times front-page obituary first read, “Saw an …
2 Oct 2012Harvest 2020
There is little doubt but that rain-fed, grass based agriculture is the most sustainable form of food production.
12 Jul 2012Hold landowners liable for damages from any fracking
If you lease your land for fracking, you should pay for any damages to your neighbors’ water supply and any injuries to their health. …
9 Jul 2012Wind farms and local control (and implications for fracking)
Most surveys support the notion that the general public is widely in favor of wind farms as sources of renewable energy, and a way …
2 Jul 2012