Trinity College Dublin participates in first Intervarsity BioBlitz

On 1^st and 2^nd of May four teams of scientists, in four different universities, will race against time to see how many plants and animals can be recorded on their campus in a 24-hour period. TCD is one of four universities taking part in the event, which also includes DCU, NUI Galway and UCC.
But anyone around campus can join in by visiting the BioBlitz Public Lab upstairs in the Science Gallery. The Lab will open at 9.30am on Friday, 2^nd of May and provides a great opportunity to meet the scientists involved and find out about the plants and animals that inhabit the TCD campus. Visitors can join in one of three different plant walks at 9.30 which will survey TCD’s gardens, or find out about bugs, birds and moths at the Lab.
One of the key aims of BioBlitz is to raise awareness about biodiversity. As part of the TCD BioBlitz public engagement programme 4^th class from St. Mary’s Boys school will visit the Gallery for a workshop on pollinators with Green Bee Education (www.greenbeeeducation.com). The class will make nests for solitary bees which will positioned around campus and will be revisited with a primary school class at next year’s BioBlitz.
Students and staff are being encouraged to get involved by raising awareness of Irish wildlife and the BioBlitz event through social media. Different species flyers created by @daveendangered have been distributed across the campus with specific social media contact details. This is an opportunity for everyone to support the BioBlitz and get involved by creating a SpeciesSelfie through e-mail, twitter and facebook.
For more information about the BioBlitz or how you can get involved please contact Dr Rachel Kavanagh at tcdcbr@tcd.ie.

Visit the Science Gallery on Friday, 2nd May to join in the fun.

The BioBlitz is an initiative of the National Biodiversity Data Centre and An Taisce Green Campus.  This initiative is supported in Trinity College by Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research, the School of Natural Science, The TCD Green Committee and the MSc students in Biodiversity and Conservation and Environmental Science.

 Dr Rachel Kavanagh

Recycled Art

The other day, while heavily procrastinating in order to avoid learning about Newton’s Laws of Physics, I came across an image when perusing my Instagram feed that grabbed my attention. The image was created by an artist known as Erika Iris Simmons who specialises in creating art using non-traditional media. This particular piece of art was a portrait of Michael Jackson and was produced using the inside reels of a cassette tape. I was honestly astounded by how recognisable and precise it was but the fact that it was made from such an accessible household item is really what got me thinking.

I proceeded to Google search ‘Recycled Art’ and was, again, blown away by what I found. More masterpieces including a chicken made from egg shells, a collage of a young boy made from newspaper clippings and even a portrait of Barack Obama made from old buttons and brooches greeted my laptop screen. Now don’t get me wrong, I know what you might be thinking. But I can assure you that I am not some kind of an art junkie who finds beauty in everything. The fact I am saying that this type of art is cool is definitely saying something! So, with further examination of the different sources of Recycled Art on the internet, I discovered an article on its benefits which again sparked my interest. I had not realised there were any benefits until I read this article which is my reason for sharing it in this blog post. I feel more people need to become aware of this amazing form of art that has been revealed to me and I’m going to try and expose it to you too while you’re here!

Anyway, in this article outlining the benefits, they talked about how using household items in art is not only

a fun thing to do but it also reduces your energy consumption. So let me ask you this: when you throw something into the bin, do you think about where it’s going? All waste must go somewhere; be it a landfill, incineration centre or a recycling centre. Classic recycling may be better than all waste being dumped into a landfill but that doesn’t mean it has a positive effect on the environment. It still consumes not only space but also man power and money. These types of artwork take all the non-toxic junk and make useful items out of them which gives something back to both the environment and the economy.

But, the prime benefit we can acquire from this is that it saves a lot of energy. The re-production of recycled materials always requires consumption of new resources which in turn, results in more pollution and less resources. By adopting this strategy of reusing household junk, we are minimizing the energy spent on new production which directly impacts positively on climate change.

So, if you’re in any way artistic (or even if you’re not!), why not try dabbling your hand in Recycled Art? It’s fun, unique and most importantly, eco-friendly. I’ll make sure to share a new blog post with you guys showing my attempts. Don’t hesitate to share yours in the comments below. ‘Til next time, happy sustainable living!

Aoife Mullally

Image Sources:

Image 1: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/recycled-art-masterpiece-made-from-junks/

Image 2: http://www.wikihow.com/Live-a-More-Environmentally-Friendly-Lifestyle

Image 3: http://www.corvallisadvocate.com/2013/0131-corvallis-landfill-filling-up/

Dinner’s on me

The food we eat everyday forms a critical component of our carbon emissions. How we get this food and what we do with the waste form the integral part of this problem.While as consumers we have limited control over the agricultural practices, food wastage is entirely down to us. What makes this problem even more dramatic is the fact that food wastage is a completely unnecessary and avoidable in today’s modern world. Coming from an agricultural background and working part time in a local supermarket, I have experienced first-handthe huge wastage that exists among society today.

According to the Department of Agriculture’s websites, 29% of Irelands total national carbon emissions in 2009 came from the agricultural sector while food wastage accounted for approximately 15 million tons of CO₂emissions each year in the UK.  This area urgently needs to be addressed. Working part time in my local supermarket has given a prime insight into the food wastage that occurs there on a daily basis. Date checks have to be carried out on all products on a daily basis. When most products near their expiry date they are marked down in price, however meat and dairy products have to be removed a day before their ‘best-before’ or ‘use-by’ date, resulting in huge wastage. These products are simply thrown in the bin. Similarly, living on a farm has given me an insight into the wastage that occurs before products even reach the shops. Many perfectly healthy vegetables are deemed to be ‘unsellable’ due to their unusual shape or appearance. While food is wasted every day in first world countries such as Ireland, 239 million people in Africa go hungry every year.

Now that we are aware of the problem, what can be done in order to obtain our food in a more sustainable manner? Examples of sustainable initiatives at a nationwide level include:

·         In America, food collecting organizations have been established and collect food from restaurants, supermarkets and cafeterias that would otherwise be thrown out and distribute it to low income families and the homeless. If a similar plan was adopted in Ireland it would significantly reduce food wastage in supermarkets across Ireland.

·         Since the fall of the Celtic tiger in Ireland, there has been a growing trend towards allotment gardening where people can grow their own fruit and vegetables. I was interested to learn during the Living Sustainably course that anything grown in an allotment or garden in season is equal to 0g CO₂e kg^-1.If county councils across Ireland committed to supplying land for allotment gardening, carbon emissions would be significantly reduced.

·         In response to the emissions from agriculture, the Department of Agriculture has committed to a plan of planting new forests and maintaining good forest management in order to counteract CO₂ emissions.

However real change is needed at the basic human level and it is up to each and every one of us to change our consumer habits to ensure a sustainable planet for the future.  By committing to buying only the food we really need, to buy food that is locally produced and in season and by avoiding unnecessary food packaging we can make a big difference to the planet.

 Additional Information can be found on:

·         http://www.allotments.ie/

·         http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/

Paul

Quality v. Quantity: Mindful Living...or Frugality often gets a bad rap.

 Frugality often gets a bad rap.

Why is it that so often living “frugally” is often linked mentally with want, deprivation and hardship?  Mention the word and immediately people conjure up archaic images of teabags drying on radiators, cold showers and penny-pinching, when in reality frugality is essentially a means of achieving a quality lifestyle and fulfilling the needs of the individual in society, whilst leaving minimum negative impact on community, the planet and its resources. Admittedly, the word frugal itself is hardly the most onomatopoeically-endearing of the English language, but it does certainly does lend a solid air of reality which encompasses the essence of what frugal living is about.  For me, being frugal is a means of directing the materials and resources available to me towards a goal which I want to achieve, enabling me to complete such tasks in a less wasteful, more efficient and thoroughly-considered fashion.  In no sense do I consider there to be any level of deprivation; in fact I think cutting the clutter and distraction from ones life allows for greater clarity to shine through, enabling one to visualise plainly what are the real essentials in life and how best to go about maintaining these.  In the overwhelmingly materialistic, consumer-driven society in which we live, more and more excesses of all has lead to a devaluing of quality in favour of inferior quantity.  Here frugality can act as a life raft in the sea of superfluousness, a wake-up call forcing us to examine what matters.  Giving a brief run-down through this topic does not do it justice as by its very nature greater depth of thought is required, but frugal living can be broadly addressed in three main sections:  the why, the how and the outcome.

Frugal living is a sustainable way of life and can be viewed as a way of guaranteeing, to the best of one’s ability, that the life one leads is truly meaningful.  My own personal definition of sustainability would run something like: “Sustainability is the thought process behind mindfully living a considered life, endeavouring to maintain an equilibrium between personal development, integrity, and responsibility, such that the needs of future generations are not compromised through mismanagement of the earth’s resources by present generations.”  Lofty ideals you may think, but unless one strives toward an upward goal there would certainly be no motivation to continue on.  In the case of any goal that requires longevity, soundly-founded motivations need to be established before anything is ventured and frugal sustainability is no different.  We need to ask ourselves “Why should I do this?  What are the benefits to me personally and what are the benefits to the wider community?  Am I ready to accept that my personal decisions can and will have a large impact on those around me?”. If these questions can be answered honestly and solidly there will be sufficient motivational undercurrents to sustain one through the practical implementations of frugal living.  Starting small and incorporating small changes on a day-to-day basis, great success can be accomplished through the setting of many small, realistic and achievable goals. 

Avoiding procrastination is a definite requirement for living the frugal lifestyle, but once this reality is accepted as a hitherto-unrecognised benefit, the sky’s the limit for the creative ways in which frugality can be lived out, making your time, money and resources work hardest for you.  From practical applications such as reducing waste in the home, buying less consumer goods and increasing productivity by utilising goods to the very end of their product-life, to more fun and unique approaches such as going on self-imposed spending ‘diets’, enjoying frugal freezer-food meals and trying out ‘Meatless Mondays’.  Certainly we must realise that there is no one magic-bullet, simplistic route to achieve these goals, but we need to take every small avenue available to us, making numerous small changes.

The outcome of embarking on the frugal living path is that it allows for greater personal freedom.  Less “stuff” means a reduction in time and energy consumed whilst absorbed in (or perhaps burdened with) said “stuff”. We are afforded more time to reflect and think on our life-goals.  We are mindfully conscious of what we are doing and why we are doing it.  Savouring experiences and enjoying simple pleasures are incomparably more fulfilling than rushing through a series of tick-the-box life goals set up on a scale belonging to the Joneses.  Paring back the excess allows us to appreciate all the more how rich we really are – after all, our attention is no longer divided in multiple different ways but rather we are free to focus and enjoy the delights of a smaller number of better-curated occupations.  Each of us are the cultivator of our own person and our personal development, which in turn is amplified and combined with that of others to create the societies in which we live.  We have the right to enjoy this, but more importantly we have the responsibility to do so - not only for our own sakes’ but for the sake of our fellow man and frugal living is a powerful way to do so.

Aoife Beglin

https://twitter.com/Nickgraytcd

Carpooling: The Drive to Green.

It was the summer of 2010; myself and a friend were on a trip of a lifetime inter-railing around Europe. For those of you who have never inter-railed, an inter-rail pass is a train ticket for EU members allowing you to travel between countries in the EU over a period of time.
Inter-railing is an experience to say the least. Leaving aside the crazy nights out, the sun, sea, historical sites and the people you meet along the way. You can often arrive in new location tired, hungry, and bagged down and with no idea of where you’re staying, or what you’re doing.

It was this mixed bag of emotions which we were carrying when we were hurled off an overnight train in Stuttgart mid journey from Munich to Paris. The train had been double booked, they had no record of our reservations, and no sympathy for the tired tears that ran down our grubby faces – Off we stepped at 3am into Stuttgart. We desperately needed to get to Paris on time –but how? Despite the lack of customers one solitary café remained open despite the lack of customers. This Café introduced us to a Danish girl who was fluent in English and German, she kindly helped us to look up tickets for the next train, and at two hundred Euros each we quickly resigned to the fact that we were doomed.   Seeing our reaction the Dane stepped up her game and introduced us to the Mid- European phenomenon of Carpooling.

The majority of us have heard of people sharing lifts to work or school in order to save; time, money and of course the environment. This goes a step further. We found a website advertising free spaces in a car which was travelling from one destination to another, each passenger pooled their money together to pay for the petrol. So there we were at 4.30 am calling a strange number arranging a lift to Paris from Stuttgart and by 7 am we were in a car with four other people! By pooling together we saved the money and the environment through more efficient use of petrol as it would take the same amount of petrol to take one of us from Stuttgart to Paris.

Carpooling evidently means more people in a one car, this means less cars on the road, this can directly lead to less pollution; Less air pollution, noise pollution, less carbon emission, less greenhouse gas emission. Evidently carpooling is a major and direct step towards a cleaner and greener environment.  When we arrived safely in Paris we wished our fellow commuters a nice trip and parted ways. For a simple 30 euro each we made an economical saving of 170 euro each, in comparison to the alternative train ticket, while simultaneously saving the environment.

Although many people have questioned the safety element of ‘getting in a car with a stranger’ this carpooling idea could easily be adopted to the business sector of Ireland with many people making trips from Dublin to Galway or Cork on a daily basis it would be a safe and easy way to save the money and the environment to simply set up a business carpooling community and drive towards green.

Jane Farrelly

Environmentalism: the good, the bad and the ugly.

As an environmentalist – well, perhaps an amateur environmentalist - I would like to believe that I am part of a respected community, one which has directed the environmental movement upwards so that the earth and its billions of inhabitants can live in peace and harmony, thus satisfying my inner-hippy.  Idealistic as this may sound, the majority of activists have helped in some way to propel environmentalism to new heights.  Unfortunately, on occasion, the agents of environmentalism prove to be their own worst enemy, undermining the very cause for which they stand and representing a detrimental force in the environmental movement.

It’s 1974, and the Indian ‘Chipko movement’ catches the nation’s heart; a group of innovative peasant women demonstrate such courage and initiative that they inadvertently inspire worldwide action to be taken at the grassroot level.   Was this a step forward for environmentalism? Most definitely.  However, with the vibes of Woodstock and the ‘swinging sixties’ still ringing in the air, it did not take too long before these proactive pioneers were stripped of their glory, and instead faced a harsher identity as hippy ‘tree huggers’.  As the hippy subculture and the environmental movement grew in tandem, mainstream society grew increasingly intolerant and wary of such radicalism; suddenly, all environmentalists, as brainwashed ‘greenies’, were the outsiders, and a new wave of environmental scepticism and  anti-environmentalism surfaced.

Now don’t get me wrong, the sentiments and proactivity of these particular environmentalists must be admired, but considering that the media loves so much to highlight the more bizarre of their escapades, I cannot help but feel that they have somewhat compromised the validity of the word ‘environmentalist’.   More often than not, that word conjures up stereotypical images of long-haired, psychedelic pacifists who drive around in Scooby-Doo-esque vans solving environmental crimes, making the activities of all environmentalists easy to automatically dismiss.  The more visible efforts of many extreme or radical environmentalists have jeopardised the efforts of others, whose invisible work goes unacknowledged and unappreciated.                      

This controversial form of radical environmentalism, whether successful or not, threatens to slow down the pace of the environmental movement, but little else.   Is this annoying?  Yes.  Is this dangerous? No. What is dangerous, however, is the ever-growing threat of eco-terrorism, which is rapidly embracing its identity as the new ‘religion of environmentalism’.  According to the FBI, these environmental fundamentalists can claim responsibility for over $300 million worth of damage caused within a relatively short period of time (between 2003 and 2008).  The ‘fear factor’ which they have sought to (and regrettably, successfully) establish has made use of vandalism, tree spiking, arson and bombing, leaving one wondering how exactly they can call themselves ‘environmentalists’ if they are so readily willing to destruct the thing for which they fight.

These fanatical ‘eco-warriors’ live up to their name as they engage in battle, whether against the survival of

our own species in ‘the voluntary human extinction movement’, or as members of the infamous ‘earth Liberation front’ which, in the past, has topped the FBI’s domestic terror threat list.    The indirect consequence of such detrimental action is the further depletion of respect for environmentalists and their field of study; by taking such drastic steps towards environmental sustainability, this set of radical environmentalists achieve the opposite of what they believe in and prevent environmentalism from reaching its true potential. 

As environmentalists, we must not presume that all acts on behalf of the environment should be supported.  While the majority of us are good, it goes without saying that the world of environmental protection has experienced it fair share of bad and ugly alike.

Conor Grehan.

More than just a pretty face? Yes, a sustainable face!

Mother Nature always knows best. But for those of us who what to enhance what she has given us, there’s makeup. And thank God for that!  Yet, I wonder, what cost is the environment paying for our beautifully made up faces? The answer, it appears is a high one.

Most common makeup brands produce their products using a concoction of various different artificial chemicals such as parabens and petrochemicals. In particular, parabens have been shown to have very worrying effects to A) humans and B) fish that they come into contact with. It is a little known fact that up to 60% of the makeup that you put on your face is absorbed in to your body. So much for beauty being only skin deep!

It is therefore unsettling that chemicals, such as parabens have been shown to affect hormones and mimic estrogen in the human body, especially since excess estrogen has the potential to cause breast cancer [1]. Once off your face, these chemicals can then enter the main sources of lakes and rivers etc. This can be detrimental to the marine life of these waters and cause permanent damage to ecosystem. In fact, parabens have been shown to cause male fish to be transformed into ‘intersex fish’ – male fish with female characteristics. Mother Nature would not be impressed.

The next concern I have with makeup is its packaging. The packaging is often made of non-biodegradable plastics. So where does it all end up? The answer is a landfill site. Landfill sites are the horrible spots on the face of this planet. And concealer is not the answer! In fact, beauty products make up approximately a third of landfill waste [2]! Finally, the way makeup is manufactured can have a huge carbon footprint, not to mention the carbon cost of sending these products to the consumers world wide.

So what is the solution? The obvious answer is to go au natural and just forget about makeup all together. Realistically, however, this is never going to happen. And thankfully it is possible to look good and allow the environment to look good too. There are brands out there that sell natural cosmetics, such as Futurenatural. Its founder, Emma Pezzack, promises that the makeup she sells is made with 100% natural ingrediants and is sold in recycled packaging [3]. Once finished with your products you can then recycle them. Origins retail store accept empty cosmetics containers for recycling, regardless of the brand. The best part is that you get rewarded with a free sample of one of their high-performance skincare products in return.

To further reduce the carbon footprint of your pretty face, you should choose a brand the manufactures its products in an efficient way. Apparently, Eastman GEM technology is the way forward. GEM technology is better than conventional manufacturing processes in that it uses enzymes and closely controlled manufacturing conditions to produce its cosmetics. This in turn reduces unwanted by-products, consumes less energy and can lead to a 52% reduction in CO₂ emissions. ‘The beauty is in the process’ [4].  So behind the pretty picture, there is an ugly truth. Makeup can cover up your flaws but it can create flaws in the environment. So, if you want to continue looking fresh-faced and beautiful well into the future, there is a need to evaluate what’s in your makeup bag. And remember, sustainable is always beautiful!

Megan Pendred

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References:

[1] http://toxicbeautyblog.com/dangers-of-parabens/the-problem-with-parabens/

[2] http://blog.myskin.com/insights/beauty-and-the-environment-–-the-cosmetic-impact/

[3] http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/fashion-beauty/green-cosmetics-460407

[4]  http://www.eastman.com/Company/GreenProcess/Pages/Overview.aspx

Re-educating the Family

 “Aaahhhhhhhhh….”. The exasperated sigh of a man whose eco-friendly advice falls on deaf ears. As a student of geography I find myself more aware of the current and developing problems associated with the environment in modern life and attempt to do what little I can do (without going completely out of my way, I’ll admit I’m not fully dedicated to the cause) to alleviate some of the stresses I personally inflict upon the environment. The little things such as short showers, flicking the light switch off, ensuring the recycling is done properly and plugging out all unnecessary plugs. As you can clearly tell, I’m not claiming to be the most eco-friendly person that’s ever lived but I’m certainly putting an effort in.

I have tried to instil some of these morals to the rest of my family but they either love to ignore my increasingly persistent advice or simply choose to do the opposite of what I’ve suggested. Each family member has their own bad habits that they just refuse to break. My sister and I have had more fights over her leaving the shower running for 5 minutes, with no one in it, simply to “warm it up” as she says. Apparently it’s different to when I take a shower because when I do it warms up in a matter of seconds. She also is a fan of leaving lights, TV’s and stereos perpetually on. Sometimes I feel that my only job in the house is to turn objects off after her. My Mam seems to have a particular disliking for the recycling. No matter how many times I show her that cardboard, tins and types of plastic go in to the green bin, I’ll still find the aforementioned objects in the kitchen bin when I’m throwing something (within the right category) into it. My Dad has a particular attachment to his car and has been commuting to work for it in years. I can’t remember the number of times I’ve told him to start using public transport at the very least and he has stoically ignored. This is the one place I’ve seen improvement however as one day, out of the blue, he bought himself a decent bike and began cycling to work and has kept it up since. Up until that point I felt my mission of attempting to “green” up my family was futile as no one listened but if I could convince my dad to make a pretty dramatic switch, I feel the rest is within my reach too. I understood, to a minute degree, what it felt like to be an environmentalist in the world we live in today. The majority of your advice is being ignored, simply for convenience purposes, but occasionally you can get through and make a difference. No matter how insignificant it may seem, a drop of water still changes the level.

Andrew Garland

My Carbon Cycle

The daily commute is something most people dread. Living in Glenageary and spending 5 days a week in college in the city centre, I spend approximately 90 minutes a day on buses (if I’m lucky and dodge the traffic!) which amounts to a whopper 450 minutes a week sitting on an over-crowded bus listening to other peoples music bleeding from their headphones. It’s time I loath to waste, but it’s not just time that I’m wasting.

My bus journeys make me accountable for about 20km of CO₂ production weekly! Inspired by the clearing of the rainclouds and the signals that we may actually begin to experience something resembling Spring, I set myself what seemed like an achievable task: to forgo the buses for a week and instead cycle to college for the week. It seemed like a win/win situation: I’d be using a carbon neutral form of transport and I’d be saving on bus fare. “Why doesn’t everyone do this?” I asked myself as I set off on a crisp March Monday morning.

“Why doesn’t everyone do this?”

About an hour later, as I arrived panting into college, feeling like my legs were about to burst into flames, I found the answer to my own question: This is hard! Every tweak we make to our lives to make them more sustainable requires us making sacrifices.

I believe, in the developed world we are so accustomed to a plethora of amenities and indulgences which work their way into becoming part of our day-to-day lives. Removing even the smallest of these from your routine, is a huge shock to the system. It’s a change that can take a huge amount of adjustment to our daily routine and an element of sacrifice. Therefore, people living comfortable, perhaps financially sustainable lifestyles just simply can’t be bothered. Why go without when making a sacrifice which results in decreasing your carbon footprint puts extra strain or discomfort in your life when the benefits cannot be immediately seen?

It is an uphill battle that environmentalists face: convincing those so consumed with the present that they are directly contributing to the destruction of our future. The allure of immediate gratification is hard to compete with, however we must persevere and accept that seemingly small individual sacrifices now amount to huge collective benefit in the future.

This is a lesson I’ve heard many times, but only really rang true with me when I decided to make a personal sacrifice for the good of the environment in which I live. Taking the bus was by far the easier, passive option. But I had to ask myself, can I afford to knowingly be that selfish and not feel guilty? The answer was no. I’ve persevered with the cycling with some exceptions here and there (there’s no accounting for torrential downpour!) and have willingly made an achievable sacrifice for the greater good. Not to mention the bus fare I’m saving!

Stephen Lehane

The Self-Powered House

 With sustainability becoming the latest buzzword to infiltrate itself into our workplace, education system and media, isn’t it about time we took a serious look at in our homes? The increasing emphasis on our need to provide a cleaner, more green future for our children has lead to advancements in technology that have made renewable energy sources readily available for household installment.

Despite the technology being available and an apparent thirst for more sustainable solutions towards energy, we only see these techniques employed on the governmental scale and rarely on the individual household scale. Why is this? Is it cost, practicality, maintenance or some other reason?

Micro Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are generators that are installed on the top of a mast that harness energy from prevailing winds. As expected as wind speeds increase the amount of energy generated also increases. This mans that appropriate wind speeds are required for this renewable energy technique. The lowest wind speeds needed to generate energy is a reliable 3m/s (6.7mph) wind with the maximum wind speed being 15m/s (33mph).

Any energy created by the wind turbine will be consumed initially by the household property. If the household is unable to consume all of the energy then the excess energy created will be spilled back into the grid. The household will then be paid for each kWh exported to the grid.

Costs

The price for your excess energy can vary but currently in Ireland the rate is 19c/kWh for the first 3000 units and then 9c/kWh thereafter. There is currently no tax relief for wind turbines but a scheme maybe introduced soon.

The cost for the smallest 1kw tower is €5,334 rising to €22,643 for the much larger and productive 5kw tower. There is also cheaper DIY and special offers to be found on wind turbines. It is of course important to remember that once the unit is installed the energy is free.

More information on costs can be found at: http://www.windturbines.ie

Maintenance

The working life of the best quality wind turbines is 20 with annual maintenance check-ups. However, due to the nature of the generation damage can occur after the first strong storm.

The average time needed for an investment in an average size turbine is between 10-12 years, there are however, many factor affecting this such as maintenance, damage, power production and demand.

Solar Panels

Another common and accessible alternative to wind turbines is solar panels. Traditional household solar panels will be attached to the residents south-facing roof. There are A 6m² solar panel can produce the energy equivalent of a 3kW immersion heater running for 2.5 hours each day, even in Irelands overcast climate. Solar panels work off radiation emitted from the sun and so can still generate power despite overcast skies. This allows Irelands climate to be as productive as Paris and 70% of the Mediterranean coast.

The two main types of solar panel instillation are those of photovoltaic panels and active solar water heaters. The solar water heaters reduce energy bills and carbon footprints along with producing a constant supply of hot water. The photovoltaic panels are like the wind turbines and provide a source of electricity directly to the house and connected to the grid for spill over. The payment for the spill over energy is the same as mentioned above.  

Costs

The costs of solar panels vary from product to product due to size, quality, power generation and lifespan. At the lower end of the scale a 20 tube water heating system would currently cost €3,300 and photovoltaic systems starting from €3,910.

There are currently government schemes in place to assist with the instillation of solar panels in Ireland calculated at €250 per m² installed up to a maximum of €1800.

More information can be found at: www.eirgreen.com

Looking Forward

These two renewable energy schemes on scratch the surface of systems available at the household level today. Hopefully with increased awareness of these systems and continued government grants we will see a marked increase in the uptake of systems such as these.

Charlie Blakemore

Sharing is caring

Image

We all know that using public transport is more environmentally friendly than driving your own car alone, but it is also often more costly, time-consuming and inconvenient. So to make life easier, but still make a difference, we should share; share the car, and share the journey.

Public transport options are vastly more environmentally friendly than private transport options. But if we simply share the journey, then emissions are similar to public transport:

·         Car (medium-sized) with driver and two passengers (40g CO₂/passenger km)

·         Car (medium-sized) with driver and single passenger (60g CO₂/passenger km)

·         Taxi (medium-sized) with two passengers (80g CO₂/passenger km)

So with simply adding a passenger or two to our car/taxi journey we can greatly reduce the carbon footprint per passenger, even sometimes surpassing public transport options.

The idea of carpooling for the daily commute has been around in popularity since the 1970s but popularity faded over the years due to the fall in gas prices, lack of flexibility in routes/times, and lack of reliability among participants. However nowadays it seems to be making somewhat of a comeback, facilitated by the internet and mobile phones.

Dynamic carpooling takes advantage of smartphones` GPS to determine the route, match up drivers and passengers and use social networking for establishing trust and accountability. A number of popular websites exist globally and in Ireland to enable the success of dynamic carpooling: carpooling.ie, zimride.com, erideshare.com.

But instead of sharing just the journey, how about going one step further, and also sharing the car itself? Sounds crazy, right? Well we`ve all been doing this for years already, whenever we go on a holiday abroad and hire a rental car. Only this time, we hire the car for our commute/shopping trip/weekend away.

By paying a nominal annual fee and then per-mile rates, 24/7 access is granted to a fleet of cars parked in various spots all over a city. The beauty of the scheme enables customers to only pay when they actually use their vehicle; no insurance, VRT, road tax, NCT are payable by the customer. In fact, privately owned vehicles tend to only have a 5-10% utilization rate anyway, so why would you pay so many extra charges to only rarely use your car?

In addition, not owning a car might make us actually consider our transport choices and choose the most efficient means available. We could end up walking, cycling or taking the environmentally friendly public transport options if they are accessible to us, and only resort to the use of a shared car when we absolutely need to, thus reducing costs and CO₂ emissions further.

Some of the more popular carsharing companies include gocar.ie and zipcar.com. Customer feedback indicates that up to 15 privately owned vehicles are taken off the road per shared vehicle, either when customers decide against purchasing cars in the first place, or from selling their car. This amounts to a substantial saving in the CO₂ emissions that arise from the production of motor vehicles in the first place (via sourcing of raw materials, or manufacturing).

Finally, whether we choose to carpool or carshare, the net result would be a decrease in cars on the road, thus reducing emissions, traffic congestion, and parking demand, allowing us to commute cheaper, greener, quicker and more stressfree

In the end, we all have choices to make that will affect our wallets, but also the planet we live on. So if we truly want to start thinking and acting in a more sustainable manner, choosing to share is one way of showing we care.

COLM DUFFY

Reduce your carbon Paw print: Tips for greening up your pet



I can be green too!



In 2009, a couple from New Zealand, Robert and Brenda Vale, wrote a book called ‘Time to Eat the Dog?’ in which they discussed the devastating effect that being careless with how you care for you pet can have on the environment.  According to the book, the carbon paw print of a pet dog is double that of your standard SUV, making man's best friend the environment's worst enemy. Other pets targeted were hamsters, which were compared to a plasma television, and goldfish, which actually burn energy equivalent to two cell phones. With a few small changes to how you care for your animals, you can help reduce your carbon footprint by reducing their carbon paw print.

1: Adopt Pets

There are plenty of lovely pets just waiting in animal shelters to find new homes. As well as doing good, by adopting you are also reducing the demand for pets from mills, which have large carbon footprints due to their use of low-grade food (the production of which has high carbon emissions).

2: Recycle and Reuse

Lend a helping hand. Instead of binning your old toys, beds and accessories when your pet grows out of them (or just tired of them), drop them up to your local pet shelter. Not only is this better for the environment but you will also be helping out very worthy charities. You could also swap old pet accessories among your neighbours or friends who are also pet owners.

3: Pick up Waste

Instead of using plastic bags to pick up your dog waste, opt for biodegradable bags that break down in about a month – a lot better than the 1500 years it takes plastic to degrade. If you have cats, think about switching to an organic, plant-based litter.

4: Walk to Walks

Why drive your dog around to bring them for a walk? Look for parks and open spaces nearer to your house to reduce emissions. If you need to drive, try to carpool with other dog owners.

5: Buy them Green Goods

These days, eco-friendly pet accessories are everywhere. When buying your pets toys, look for toys made from recycled materials or sustainable fibres such as hemp. You can also buy hemp collars and leads, which are much better than the more common plastic or leather. You can also get beds made from organic materials or recycled PET bottles. Failing this, use old towels or cushions to make your own eco-friendly pet bed.

6: Be Careful about Food

When buying pet food, opt for higher-quality foods, which have used sustainable methods and are conscious of their carbon footprint when producing it. Take the time to read the labels on all pet food packaging, and look for foods that do not contain synthetic ingredients or chemically altered natural ingredients. Buy chicken and rabbit flavours over beef, which will also lower your pet’s carbon paw print. As well as this, try your hand at using up scraps of old food and vegetables to make your own dog treats. You’ll save money and also reduce your waste by using up odds and ends and not having excess packaging from store-bought goods. When you are buying pet food, buy in bulk to reduce the packaging.

Ailbhe Smith

Maybe creating an army of mini Eco Warriors can help?

Image by Art Revolution

The picture says it all, we talk so much about leaving a better planet to our kids, that we forget about leaving better kids to this planet. With our climate recently becoming more and more unstable, there seems to be a lot of concern and general talk about the environment. Phrases like ‘global warming’ and ‘sustainable resources’ are appearing more frequently in the media, so much so that we no longer take much notice of these articles.

Should we really be paying more attention to these issues though? Becoming desensitised to these common phrases isn’t going to make the problem go away now and it never will. It is our responsibility, whether we wish to acknowledge that fact or not, that this is our planet and what happens to it and its vital resources is down to us. But what can we actually do?

Reduce, reuse, recycle? Yet another common phrase often recited in response to questions about protecting the environment, which has lost its meaning for a lot of us. What about education as an answer? Education never seems to be brought up in relation to protecting our planet. We only end up learning about environmental issues when we already have bad habits in our daily lives. Driving to the shop that’s less than a mile walk away, throwing out plastic bags instead of reusing them or bringing your own bag shopping, leaving the tap running when brushing your teeth or washing up after dinner and buying way too much food in the weekly shopping, thinking that you’ll eat it all. Sound familiar? We all do it. We get to this age, living on this planet, using its resources without care like they’re never going to run out, purely because we have never had cause to worry before and because we didn’t know the bad effects our behaviour can have on the environment. It’s not down to ignorance that a lot of us young people have such environmentally unfriendly habits; it’s down to a lack of proper education around the topic.

Maybe if we had been better educated about the environment and its decreasing resources from when we were little, we would have different habits and different views now, at this age. It wouldn’t be a case of having to try and change how we live; more that we grew up being contentious, saving resources and trying to protect and appreciate the environment around us. I don’t mean to try and turn kids into mini eco warriors; I mean to better educate them earlier about what’s actually going on in the environment. What are the resources we need to be worrying about? Which resources are running out and what are the more sustainable options? Maybe try and make things like recycling and water conservation normal everyday things rather than a bonus, which is how they’re seen now.

Maybe if parents stopped worrying about infections and cuts and bruises and threw their kids outside during the summer to enjoy nature and have fun outdoors rather than letting them stay stuck inside playing with plastic toys and expensive electronics which are causing even more damage to the environment. Maybe if nature actually meant more to us from when we were little, we would be more bothered about getting out and doing something about environmental issues rather than sitting inside reading about and talking about global warming and sustainable resources on our smartphones and laptops.

Katie Smith

Photo reference:

http://www.anonymousartofrevolution.com/2012/09/we-talk-so-much-about-leaving-better.html#!/2012/09/we-talk-so-much-about-leaving-better.html

Posted 24th September 2012 by Art Revolution

Labels: Anonymous Art

What the Horsemeat Scandal has Taught Us

 I have no problem eating horsemeat, however, what the recent horsemeat scandal has taught us, is that we can no longer take for granted what we are actually eating or where exactly it is coming from. Not only has this investigation raised questions into both the regulation and traceability of the meat industry in Europe, but it has also highlighted what a globalised and mechanised system the modern food industry is.

Following the discovery by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland that Horse DNA was contained within a third of all tested frozen beefburgers and ready meals, a large-scale enquiry was carried out into the origin of these meat products. The enquiry quickly spread to the UK where products such as frozen spaghetti Bolognese sold in supermarkets including Aldi, Tesco and Findus were found to include 100% horsemeat. It was subsequently discovered that the meat supply chain could be traced back through 8 different companies, located in different countries of Europe including Cyprus, Romania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France.

For me, two main aspects have arisen from this scandal. Firstly, in an article written in ‘the Guardian’, it was highlighted that economy beefburgers (cheap, industrialised burgers) are legally allowed to consist of only 47% beef, the remainder made up of protein additives, fat and water (A fact that surely makes the idea of a 100% horsemeat burger suddenly sound a lot more appealing). Secondly, the distance that food is now travelling before it even gets to our plates, a figure that is certainly not decreasing.

In terms of sustainable living, the farm to fork distance is perhaps the most significant aspect that needs to be tackled. In the UK alone, one in four heavy goods vehicles are in fact carrying food. Considering how many tonnes of CO₂ emissions could be saved each year if less food was transported such long distances, it is clear to see the potential this area has for drastically reducing our carbon footprints. In the USA this problem has actually worsened. In 1997, the average distance travelled by food stood at 6760 km. However, by 2004 this figure had increased to 8240 km.

By making a greater effort to source local goods as well as promoting seasonal diets, we can not only radically cut down the distance which our food is travelling, but also ensure that a higher level of traceability and quality is delivered for all food products. This will also help in both augmenting the local economy as well as decreasing our carbon footprint. The problem with this ideal however, is ultimately cost related. Although it is much cheaper for us to consume food products bought in supermarkets, the true environmental cost of this practise is often overlooked. The sad reality is, that when faced with a decision of spending a little extra on a locally sourced, 100% Irish beefburger, we will usually choose the cheaper, lower quality option sourced from far afield, attached with a substantial carbon footprint.

As it is simply not economically viable for many people to source the generally more expensive local or even national goods, the government needs to take a more active role in creating incentives for people to buy local. Unfortunately, the irony is that the government itself lacks the money to fund such programmes. Unless the general population recognises the importance of buying local, it looks likely that our future consuming habits will continue to seek out the cheapest option.

Patrick Moss

Reference: 

Lawrence, F. (2013) Horsemeat scandal: the essential guide. The Guardian. 15^th February. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/15/horsemeat-scandal-the-essential-guide [accessed 02/04/2013]