Tag Archives: climate change

August Round Up in Pictures

It’s been a while 🙂 Despite the children being off for the past two months I still managed to do stuff! I suppose the most inspiring climate and energy related event was my trip to the Aran Islands in Galway Bay. I was invited to an update on their energy independence initiative. It was great toContinue reading “August Round Up in Pictures”

The Cost of Inaction & #cattlebubble

How do we budget in the coming years so that we can pay fines for not taking action to reduce our green house gas emissions? Where will the money come from? Healthcare? Education? Welfare? Pensions? They are the burning questions I will take away from the first ever National Economic Dialogue #NED15 held on JulyContinue reading “The Cost of Inaction & #cattlebubble”

Meeting Minister White – April 2015

My proposal is to host a national conversation akin to the ideal community conversation by bringing representatives of all of the national bodies of organisations with branches throughout the country to a workshop together and encourage them to replicate the workshop in communities all around the country.

I emphasised the importance of having the farming community at the table. The fact is that if farmers need to keep their methane emissions high sacrifices will have to made elsewhere and that will take a collaborative approach. It may be that a local anaerobic digester will cut out fossil fuel heating for some area of their town bringing the communities collective emissions down.

Empowering the Disempowered

I left my children on Monday November 3rd before heading to Dublin. When I eventually left Dublin Wednesday morning I drove home with tears streaming down my face. I cried for about two hours. It reminded me of that day in February 2013 when I started writing in rhyme following a realisation that just leftContinue reading “Empowering the Disempowered”

Two very different sides to Planning for Energy Infrastructure

On October 21st I attended two very different seminars on the same issue in the same room. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. One cost €190 or so to attend and the other was free. One was positive and upbeat while the other was oozing negativity and mistrust. The earlier of theContinue reading “Two very different sides to Planning for Energy Infrastructure”

National Energy Policy – Next Phase

Last Wednesday September 24th I attended the launch of the next phase of the National Energy Policy. This was my first event with Alex White, the new Minister at the Department of Communication, Energy and Natural Resources, DCENR. My impression was very positive and I feel he is intent on ensuring this policy can work.Continue reading “National Energy Policy – Next Phase”

Welcoming the debate and stakeholder engagement

This week I attended the Energy Ireland conference. Predictably my agenda was public participation. Almost as predictable is the fact that social or “public acceptance” in energy plans, policies and projects was a big issue throughout the two days with one afternoon workshop being dedicated to “stakeholder engagement”. It got off to a great start when aContinue reading “Welcoming the debate and stakeholder engagement”

What are we teaching our children?

Letter to the Irish Times Editor Sir Climate change – what are we teaching our children? I have 5 children from junior infants through to third year in college. All of them have encountered climate change throughout the course of their formal education. It is very much part of the syllabus from primary school scienceContinue reading “What are we teaching our children?”

Ireland – waking up in 2014 perhaps?

Following on from my posts detailing RTE’s apparent lack of engagement with Climate Change, Prime Time, one of Ireland’s foremost current affairs programmes covered it on Tuesday March 18th. Watching Prime Time last Tuesday felt similar to watching Obama’s speech last summer – I was happy with the acknowledgement. It started with clarification that the entire panelContinue reading “Ireland – waking up in 2014 perhaps?”