Eco Living, Ahoy Mate!

The idea of living in an 8 by 20 foot steel box is enough to get you a few raised eyebrows and ‘are you mad?’ comments. But what if that box was spacious, homely, fully transportable, cheap, fire and flood proof, fully functional and designed to your own taste whilst keeping your ecological footprint to a minimum? If that sounds a bit better than maybe you are in the market for the latest green home, a converted shipping container.

http://ecovidainternational.com/eco-design-and-construction/
can-you-build-with-shipping-containers-in-spain/

Taking reuse to a new level there has been an upsurge in the use of old, disused containers in to modern, quickly assembled and environmentally friendly homes throughout the globe. It has been estimated that there are up to 24 million containers that will never be used to transport cargo again and not only do these make great temporary homes for those in crisis (they were used as emergency accommodation for people after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia) they also make excellent contemporary office and living space (there’s even one down the road from me being used as stables!). One important aspect is that they are cheap to acquire in the first place. A quick scan of buyandsell.ie shows some for sale for as little as €1,600 + VAT.

The fact that these homes are making use of a discarded material already makes them smart ecologically but many of them have incorporated features to make them that bit more sustainable. Some containers sport solar panels angled on the roof and others have small wind turbines and energy efficient windows. Another eco-friendly aspect it that it takes very little time for the setup of these homes which facilitates less disturbance to nature and also that they are transportable meaning they are not permanent in that area. Timber is also not required in the way that it usually is for many other house builds. One company has designed an ‘ecopod’ container to show just how sustainable you can make them. The ‘ecopod’ has recycled flooring, a solar powered fridge, a compostable toilet, wall sockets and 12v lighting that is powered by the roof mounted solar panel.

http://www.designtopnews.com/architecture-design/greentainer-eco-fied-
container-architecture/

If you think you need to compromise on the design aspect of the house in order to gain all these benefits think again. The containers can be piled high on top of one another, or fused together creating a manipulated masterpiece. They can be changed past the point of recognition or left in their original state bringing an urban renewal feel to the place there are also ones designed to disappear in to the natural background. The architectural possibilities are endless once you remember to think outside the box (a steel one in this case!).

Have a look at the links below if you want to see some globally inspiring uses of containers from skate parks to student housing: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/shipping-container-homes-460309#slide-1

http://ecopods.ca/

Nicole Fagan

Energy saving in public buildings

The Friends of the Earth have suggested that massive cuts in emissions as well as financial savings could be made by adopting more rigorous energy saving in schools, hospitals and other public offices.  It especially highlights buildings that are heated when empty during weekends and leaving computers switched on when not in use.  It estimates that it could save the state 1.75 billion euro over 10 years and  calls for  retrofitting such buildings with better insulation, reducing dependence on air conditioning and using low carbon heating systems. However, small changes can make a difference. A school in Clara in County Clare was able to reduce its electricity usage by 70% by simple actions such as lowering the heating setting on the central heating, using  time switches for heating rooms that were not used all the time, turning off the boiler at night and weekends, and encouraging staff and pupils to close doors and turn off lights.  Plans are already in place by the Government to reduce electricity use in over 10,000 buildings run by central and local government under the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan. It is claimed that the plan has already reduce energy usage by 33%  across the public sector.

More information: Friends of the Earth (2013) ‘Cuts that don’t hurt’. Friends of the Earth , Dublin. 

More information: The Second National Energy Plan launched in February 2013. 

Nick Gray

Mobile phone ownership soars in Africa

Mobile phone usage and using the Internet all have definable carbon emissions and the ownership of mobile phones and especially smart phones is continuing to rapidly rise, and this is also the case in Africa according to a recent article in the Times Higher Education Supplement.

The economy of Africa has grown by 5% per year for the past 10 years and is predicated to continue to grow faster than any other continent over the next 5 years.  The growth of mobile phone ownership in Africa has soared as a consequence from 25 million in 2001 to 650 million in 2011.  Ownership rates are close to the global average with 86% of the planet’s population having a mobile phone connection.  The highest ownership rates in Africa are the Cote D’Ivoire at 93%,  Senegal 90%, South Africa 90%, Egypt 90%, Ghana 88%, Cameroon 86%, Nigeria 82%, Tanzania 80%, Uganda 79% and Kenya 71%.  In sub-Saharan Africa there are 40 mobile connections for each land line connection.  However, Internet penetration is poor and expensive with average current penetration only 15.6% compared to 83.6% in the UK, although this varies widely falling to just 1.2% in Somalia. The full article can be accessed here.

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

A Greener Trinity Ball?

Trinity Ball is clearly the most anticipated and famous night in our college calendar. With 7,000 students eagerly awaiting this prestigious event, the logistics and running of such an event are often forgot about. With all the hype, it is easy to forget about all the emissions caused by such an event. The hundreds of lights, world class sound systems and the five different stages all contribute to what can only be imagined as a rather large contribution to Trinity’s CO2 emissions. In this blog I will examine a number of eco-friendly festivals and see whether their initiatives could be implemented for the Trinity Ball.

World-renowned music festivals such as Glastonbury and Coachella have become famous, not only for the festival itself, but due to their ability to provide a rather eco-friendly and sustainable festival. They have both adopted a “no trace policy”, which ensures any waste generated at the festival is optimally recycled. Coachella has also become famous due to its solar powered DJ booths. At Portugal’s bi-annual Boom Festival where “biodiesel, solar and wind energy powered 25% of the festival, sustainable bamboo construction techniques literally took center stage” . However it is clear that these festivals are on a much, much larger scale than that of Trinity Ball.

So what could be done at Trinity Ball? Small and creative ideas can be implemented to help reduce its carbon footprint. Something that I feel could be easily implemented is that off providing only organic food produce at the number of food stands. Another idea that could be introduced is one that is similar to what was in place at the former Oxegen music festival. There aim was to reduce the amount of plastic cups that were used at the festival. A pint of beer at Trinity Ball costs 5 euro. My suggestion would be to charge the five-euro for your first pint, and if you return with the same plastic cup, your next pint would see maybe a euro reduction in the price. This would encourage people to keep their plastic cups rather than flinging them on to the ground. This would, I feel, have a significant impact on the amount of waste reduced. Changing the energy sources to a more eco-friendly source would also be a viable option available to the organisers of Trinity Ball. Even something as simple as a pledge by the organisers to ensure that all of the waste is taken care of with the highest diligence is something that would make for a greener festival.

Even small steps towards a greener ball will be something that would be met with great enthusiasm not only by the organisers but also by the college as a whole. If anyone has any other suggestions, big or small, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Kevin Mateer

Water, water everywhere...?

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not known for my water conservation awareness. Growing up on an island with seemingly endless water has left me somewhat detached from the reality of the need to conserve water. To be honest, I’ve always found that we have too much… constant rain, rivers, canals, lakes, and, of course, the Atlantic Ocean. However, the recent media coverage about upcoming water charges and the need to conserve it left me thinking, what if I could no longer simply turn my tap to get the water that I needed; no longer run to the local shop to buy it?

The very thought of this is completely alien to me. Not to be able to turn on the tap to brush my teeth, no water to heat my house, no 15 minute shower in the morning, no water to cook or to make tea with, no water to wash my dishes or clothes, and above all else, no water to drink. But, like I said, we’re an island country. There’s water everywhere. So I thought of where I could go to collect water. A canal runs just behind where I live, but rather than fight off rats, and getting tangled in old bicycles and trollies, I had to think of some cleaner options. It soon dawned on me that this was not a simple task. Any sources of water I could think of were tainted by urban life. Polluted, dirty water was all I could find. Either that, or undrinkable sea water.

Assuming that there were no clean fresh-water wells around, I would have to get out of the city. I would have to trace a river far enough to its origin to minimise pollution. How long would I have to follow the river upstream to find a fresher supply of water? Taking the Liffey as my example, the answer is roughly 20km, or so Google Maps tells me. To walk, this would take a mind-numbing 3 hours 59 minutes. By car, 27 minutes in light traffic. Even if I filled a car full of water and stored it in my home, I would have to make serious changes. Gone would be the days of my leisurely showers, the ease of my dishwasher, and the comfort of my heating.

I would have to think of ways of making my water last. I decided to actually try these over the course of a day, to see how hard it would be to think consciously about my water consumption. Quick showers (with simultaneous teeth brushing), measured water for tea, and washing all dishes together in a basin, were the easy ones. Toilet flushing and clothes washing weren’t so easy to avoid. I very quickly realised how clean and safe water was taken advantage of in this country, and that many small measures could be taken to minimise waste. Perhaps the notion of no clean water wasn’t so farfetched. For millions of people, this is a constant reality. Though we’re a small island in the grand scheme of things, a little goes a long way. And we must all work to change our misguided attitude towards water.

Daragh Poynton  

Buyer Be Aware!

Hiring a dress is a sustainable option
Image: http://www.cariscloset.ie/

When you think of carbon footprint you think about carbon emissions from car and heating emissions, am I right? Although these do make up the majority of household emissions, I am going to discuss other types of emissions that make up a massive amount of the world’s greenhouse gases.

People often forget about carbon emissions from consumerism. Our clothes are mostly factory produced with machines. In other to run these machines we need electricity, oil and other resources which produce emissions, not to mention transportation costs. These resources cause thousands of metric tonnes of emissions to be released into the atmosphere from all around the world on a daily basis.

Times have changed in recent decades as having the most fashionable trends is of huge importance, gone are the days when people bought clothes when they needed them and washed them after sufficient use (we won’t even go into the fact people wash their clothes after every use). Fashion has become costly for the environment.

Consider what you are wearing right now! Ask yourself how long have you had these clothes? Where were they made? Were you cautious of these factors when you were buying them? If the answer is no, you are part of a majority. Most clothes are made in factories in China, I’m sure you are aware of the “made in China” label. China is the world’s largest carbon emitter and with no plans to limit emissions the number is continuing to grow. EU regulations limit carbons emissions and large industrial companies pay for emissions, so they produce products elsewhere. This is carbon avoidance!

We as consumers should be aware about the products we buy and were they originate from. We could also make the change by going one step further as there are many ways in which we can be more environmentally friendly. Here are some options available right here in Dublin:

·         Renting: If you are only going to wear/use something once, renting is a great option you are not only saving emissions but being more cost effective too. Cari’s closet rents dresses from high street to designer labels and is a great example of renting for those special occasions ladies.

·         Reuse/Recycle: Charity shops such as SVP offer a great selection of clothes for all ages and sizes. Reusing clothes is a great way to keep your personal carbon footprint down, and doing a good deed too! I have recently stumbled upon a great selection of recyclable jewellery a brand called “Alex and Ani” (see photo). They produce their jewellery from scrap metal and plate them in gold and silver. A great idea that’s carbon friendly and very fashionable too!

Taking the small steps discussed in this blog would really contribute to help saving our planet. Next time you hit the shops think of this blog, think of the product you are buying, is there a better option. Remember to always “Be Aware”!

Alison Lynch

Adjusting to a 'Greener Lifestyle'

I never realized how different two countries and cultures could be until I moved from America to Ireland. The food is healthier, the stores are unfamiliar, the street signs are in different locations, and the lifestyle is much more environmentally friendly. In America, I can enjoy a hot, long shower whenever I please, I can keep the air heater on in my house as often as I like, and I can drive my car wherever I want without considering the impact on the environment. It only took about 30 minutes of life in Ireland for me to realize: I cannot live like an American anymore.

Upon my arrival at my apartment in Ireland, the landlord immediately explained the electricity system to me. I was handed six electricity cards- these cards are equipped with 20 Euros worth of electricity credits each. The cards are plugged one at a time into an electricity box located directly next to the front door. This box calculates how much electricity you use and it reduces the amount of Euros on the card simultaneously. In America, this pay as you go system is completely unheard of. In order to adjust to this new lifestyle, I only keep my room heater on for approximately 60 minutes a day, I only charge my electronics when they are incredibly low on battery, I always unplug all appliances when they are not in use, and I rely on sunlight to illuminate my room more often than the light switch. As a result, I find myself wearing warmer clothes, spending more time in public places, and cooking my food as quickly as possible.

The hardest adjustment I think any American has to overcome when moving to Ireland is the use of the immersion heater. Electric Ireland defines an immersion heater as, “a convenient way to heat water as they allow you to heat as much or as little water as you need”. The immersion heater simply has two switches: on/off and sink/bath. In order to take a hot shower, you must turn the heater to on and bath and then wait an entire hour before you can get into the shower. Once in the shower, you must wash your hair and body fairly quickly before the hot water turns cold. After your shower is complete, it is important to remember to turn the immersion heater off or else your electricity cards will be additionally charged. I certainly miss being able to wake up in the morning and instantly enjoy a long, hot shower, but I developed a huge appreciation for how conscious the Irish are of their electricity use.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States of America generates a total of 3.75 trillion kilowatt-hours annually and Ireland generates 26.1 billion kilowatt-hours annually (2). Dividing both of these numbers by the total population of each country concludes that the average American uses 11,948 kilowatt-hours annually and the average Irish citizen uses only 5,527 annually. This difference is extraordinary. Living in Ireland has certainly made me more conscious of my personal energy consumption and water use. Although it was difficult to adjust at first, I now realize that the Irish do it better. When I return to America in May, I plan to continue living the Irish “greener” lifestyle as much as possible.

Jenna Snyder

iCar or weBus?

Does the accentuated presence of the I in society cause unethical transport choices?

I have always believed Public Transport is a good choice for the environment. However, recently it dawned on me that this is only the case as long as ‘we’ are many who choose this option. In Dublin so few people are now opting for taking the bus, that it is more energy efficient to travel in a personal car with a driver and one passenger, than it is to take the bus...

I must here warn the reader that the following is to be thought of as a discussion queue on the subject of citizenship and public transport, not as a contribution on carbon calculations. Currently the most commonly registered car in Ireland has a B Band engine capacity which is estimated emitting around 140g CO₂/km (Link). Divide this emission figure by two (driver plus one passenger), and it gives us around 70g CO₂/passenger km. A Dublin bus with 90 passengers emits about 1,450g CO₂/km (‘Surprise carbon offenders’, Link ). This would equate to around 16g CO₂/passenger km if the bus had a constant of 90 passengers. However at current usage the emissions using Dublin bus is an unimpressive 77g CO₂/passenger km (Link). Using this information, estimation calculation tells us that if we want our public bus service to be more energy efficient than a B Band car with a driver and one passenger, then we have to ensure that there is on average a minimum of 21 passengers per Dublin Bus at all times (1450/70).

Without shying away from the fact that the public transport system may need to change numerous aspects of its current service to make this more appealing, my question for the forum is not in terms of how Dublin bus can please us. It is rather philosophical in nature and asks if it is ethically sound to always embrace the ‘personal choice’ theorem? If the bus transport service in Dublin is losing some of its viability as a sustainable transportation method due to insufficient number of passengers, then is there an argument for public transport to be formulated more as a ‘citizen obligation’ for the better of the ‘we’, rather than as a ‘service’ available at the leisure of the ‘I’?

Elin Haettner

Energy saving ideas for homes

In relation to the home, energy efficiency can be defined as: Using less energy to provide the same level of energy service by getting the most out of our fuels and renewable energy sources.

A lot of the new energy efficient technologies that have been developed and designed to be incorporated into homes at the beginning of the building process. But there are also many ways in which you can make an older home more energy efficient. If a home has single glazed windows they can be replaced with doubled glazed windows very easily, cavity walls can also be insulated or reinsulated very easily now with the invention of liquid foam insulation that can be pumped into the walls. Using energy efficient light bulbs has become very common and is also very effective. A vast amount of energy in older homes is lost through the attic ceiling either because it’s poorly insulated or because it has a poor air seal, these two things can be fixed very easily. Copper pipes were very popular in heating systems but they are very poor insulators and vast amounts of heat are lost though them. There are new pipes that have plastic on the inside and outside and a thin piece of metal running all the way through it and these pipes retain heat much better. It is now also very easy to install solar heating systems, older houses tend to have energy inefficient boilers because of their age, but these can be replaced along with the installation of a solar heating system. The installation of wood pellet burning stove is also a very possible idea. It is much easier to make a house more sustainable if you are building a new house but as we can see there are many things that can be done to make an existing home more sustainable by just making improvements to the existing systems.

Wesley Shaw

Sustainable Housing

One of the best ways to think about how to live sustainably is by looking at where you live. Whether you are buying a new home or upgrading your current one, making your house sustainable should always be in your mind.

Obviously people cannot just move house whenever they feel like it but there are ways to make an older house more sustainable as well as thinking ahead to what kind of house you will buy next. Living sustainably in a home usually focuses on insulating the home to make it easier (and cheaper!) to heat. There are many ways a house can be built sustainably but all have one goal and that is to have a small environmental impact.

Most sustainable homes are built from wood which is naturally insulating and also comes from well managed forests. The use of triple glazed windows always very little heat to escape once the house has been heated. Solar panels for heating water are an excellent addition to any home being built to be sustainable and these can also be used in homes which would like to become more sustainable. Many older homes are not very sustainable but this problem can be easily rectified. Homes can be insulated in a number of ways whether it be internal or external and the government even provides grants for some forms of insulation as well as for solar heating.

Although sustainable housing may seem like an expense it will save money on bills and require less fuel which could become very important if current consumption trends continue!

Eóin O’Brien

Energy Use: Both Now and in the Future

The process by which energy is produced and the way in which it is consumed has become increasingly important in the recent past. The world has become increasingly more globalised and this has brought with it improvements in technology and an increase in scientific knowledge, among other things. These improvements have resulted in the production of new ways of both producing and consuming energy. It is evident that many goals must be met in the future in order to maintain a sustainable way of producing and consuming energy. Three of the most important goals are to ensure that future energy supplies are clean, to ensure that the supply of energy is secure and to ensure that energy use is carried out more efficiently.

The problems that currently exist in the energy sector must be addressed and solved so that energy can be consumed and produced as a sustainable commodity. The harmful effects that certain types of energy use can have on the environment and the diminishing sources of clean, cheap and reliable energy are two of the main problems that face the energy sector today. People around the world have only just begun to realise these problems. For years, the consumption of energy through fossil fuel use has taken place without any thought given to the impact that this has on the environment. This needs to change. Looking to the future, I am hopeful that continued improvements in technology and further increases in scientific knowledge will help us to tackle the serious problems that currently exist in the energy sector.

Simon Grennan

Water, water, everywhere...?

In parts of Ireland it only rains 150 days a year, much less than we may initially think. Our annual water consumption (per capita) in Ireland is roughly 55,000 litres. Numerous daily activities that we all take part in consume water. This is ever so true at home; from the moment we wake to moment we go to bed. We all wash our hands, cook, shower, drink tea and coffee, brush our teeth, bathe, water the garden, wash our clothes, flush the toilet, wash the car and clean the dog. But are the options we take even necessary?

Research by Ideal Standard reveals that the average Irish person uses roughly 150 litres of water per day. But 52% of us use over 108 litres per day simply showering. And 40% of us flush the toilet 5-6times per day, using around 40 litres.  Our day-to-date habits create a huge water footprint.

We must change our living habits so as to adapt to a changing world. Climate change has, in recent years, led to shortages of water in Ireland; snow fall tied up water in the winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11, and summers over the last few years (except 2011) have recorded temperatures “above normal” according to Met Éireann. These trends highlight the significance of using our water wisely and conserving it whenever necessary.

As a people we must make changes, to our lifestyles and habits. Choosing an 8 minute shower over a bath can cut the water used by 50% to 40 litres. Installing modern, dual flush toilets to replace traditional styles can reduce consumption by 80%. On an extreme level; become a herbivore! According to the British Meat blog it can take up to 15 times more water to produce one 1g of animal protein over 1g of plant protein. But there are also small things that can be done too; stop the tap while brushing your teeth, only use full washes when using the washing machine or dishwasher (no half washes), ensure the tap is fully turned off when you’re finished with it, and if it really is necessary to water those petunias, then use a watering can so that you water only what you need to.

Our futures are in our hands, and it is up to us to make the right choices. See links below:

British Meat - http://www.britishmeat.com/49.htm

Ideal Standard - http://www.idealstandard.ie/press/consumerpr/general/Article2686.aspx

Met Éireann - http://www.met.ie/climate/monthly-summary.asp

Daniel Moody

Snatching Carbon from the Atmosphere

The effects of carbon on the atmosphere are well documented and it is clear that we are producing far too much carbon for the earth to handle. Living sustainably is obviously the long-term solution, but it requires worldwide cooperation. In my opinion this is only likely to happen when people put the earth before profit, which I cannot see happening in the foreseeable future. Until such a change in mindset occurs there are short-term ideas that can help reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

I have decided to focus on one short-term idea with a lot of potential, artificial photosynthesis without the use of cells. This may sound like a far-fetched idea. But using a concept devised by Dr. Montemagno, David Wendell and his team studied the foam nests of the Tungara frog and isolated a protein. They used this protein and it unique properties to engineer a type of foam, which can use sunlight to grab carbon from the air around it and turn it into sugar. It does this without harming the environment because it is not an organism.

This artificial photosynthetic foam was found to be incredibly effective in a number of ways. It converts sunlight to sugar at a rate of 16% unlike plants, which do it at 1-5%, also unlike plants it can continue to photosynthesize in carbon intense environments i.e. Factories. The sugars produced can also be used to make high-octane bio fuel. It is for all these reasons that this foam can greatly benefit the environment, reducing carbon in the atmosphere and supplying a carbon neutral energy source. These benefits won it the grand prize at the 2010 Earth Awards.

Fionan Magee

‘A week of Sustainable living’

After taking the Living Sustainability course at Trinity College Dublin I decided to undertake a week of sustainable living. Last week I began my sustainability campaign and here’s how it went.

Monday

Monday went well as I was full of enthusiasm for the coming week and my changing lifestyle. By 8 p.m. I had, taken a shower which lasted under five minutes (usually twenty minutes), went for a run outside instead of the gym, made dinner from locally sourced food and recycled my waste appropriately.

Tuesday

My new way of life continued into Tuesday. When taking a lunch break from the library I remembered to plug out my laptop charger and tell my friends to do the same. I was proud of my new environmentally friendly ways and decided to treat myself with take-out coffee from Starbucks, which, when finished, I tossed in the general waste bin in college. Oops, so much for my recycling today!

Wednesday

I filled my flask with coffee before heading out to lectures, not to make the same mistake as yesterday. Today went well. I noticed ways my friends could be more sustainable in their day-to-day lives, I may not have noticed if I wasn’t making such a conscious effort to change my own ways.

Thursday

I decided to change the light bulbs in my room so I proceeded to Dunnes Stores and bought three long life bulbs. LESSON NUMBER ONE: It’s good to be sustainable but make sure you have enough money in your bank account to support your sustainable lifestyle!

Friday

I went out for dinner with a few of my friends from college. I saw all the food that was being thrown away and wondered do restaurants dispose of their organic waste through composting. Not only am I being sustainable but I ate all my greens not to contribute to the restaurants organic waste.

Saturday

The sunny spell had gone and the rain descended upon the country. My run today would have to be done in the gym. I couldn’t get the flu running in the rain so close to exams!

Sunday

I filled my water and went for a walk to the market at Stoneybatter. I wandered around and bought fish and vegetables for my dinner that night, all the food was locally sourced.

My thoughts from a sustainable week of living:

I discovered it took a lot of discipline to stay on track but after making such an effort for the week I will find it difficult to go back to the way I was before. The sustainable living principles I have incorporated to my life in the past week are easy to adapt to day to day life. It was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. Sustainable living takes a lot of planning and does not just happen without practice and discipline in everyday tasks. That’s a lesson not just for me, but for the world.

 Katherine Hickey

Eco-friendly Cars

For decades human civilisation has been taking advantage of our natural resources with little thought in returning to the land what we have taken. It can be nothing but clear that today we can no longer do this, we need to be more aware of the effect we have on the earth and the atmosphere that surrounds it. CO2 emissions are an increasing worry from industrial emissions to right down to light bulbs. With a growing population annually, there is more demand for agricultural and industrial produce but also materialism gets hit with an increase also. Whilst cars and trucks and vans are all needed for personal transport in our daily lives and transport of goods for sale, we seem to have taken a purely materialistic view on them in the past century.

There is now a huge range of eco- friendly cars available on the market by all the top sellers. For example, the cars available to us in 2012 are BMW 3 series saloon, various Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Toyota, Peugeot and Nissans  amongst many more. These eco cars allow us to drive and decrease air pollution at the same time. Cars that run on electricity is the aim but before we get there hybrid cars are our first step, they have a half electric and half internal combustion system, this decreases the pollution factor immensely and are cost effective for consumers by reducing the need for gasoline. I think these cars need to be indorsed and marketed much more than the full combustion system cars, I am a strong believer that they will significantly help our planet in the long run and hope our aim of purely electrically run cars will be the norm sooner rather than later.

Amy Curran

A sustainable student life-is it feasible?

TCD Environment Society Community Garden, Dartry

Many students use the excuse of too little money as to why they can’t live more sustainable lives. They probably envisage having to solar panel up their house and pop a wind turbine in the garden, but with a few small changes students can make huge savings and improve their lives. The idea that living sustainably is expensive is a common misconception. By far the cheapest way to eat is by growing your own food, even just a few potato plants will give you more potatoes over the winter than you’ll know what to do with. Buying foods that have been grown locally from a market can also be a lot cheaper than you think. If you normally take the Dart/Bus to college and you switched to cycling you could save at least €700 per college year! Your health would benefit too from gardening and cycling so you could drop the gym subscription and save on the Zumba class. Swopping the tv/laptop for these outdoor activities, layering up during the winter instead of turning the heating on, cooking in bulk (saves time too!) and switching lights off when not in use can have surprisingly big savings on your gas/electricity bills! So make a few small changes and start saving money and enjoying your healthier life today!

 Gwen Duffy

Bobble, Bobble, Bobble

The idea of Living Sustainably can be daunting, even when one has all the information necessary to change one’s lifestyle it may simply be too big a task. My own approach is to take small steps that are proven to decrease our ecological footprint and that we can spread to our friends and families.

One such step would be to decrease the amount of plastic consumed as in the production tonnes of water and oil are used, both of which are crucial to other areas of our modern lifestyles.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterbobble/4390944370/sizes/m/in/photostream/

 As college students our water bottles are like our comfort blankets, they accompany us everywhere and we can hardly function without them and at €1 a pop in the Arts Block café pretty cheap right? But this mass consumption and disposal of ‘single-serve’ plastic bottles is completely unsustainable. The Bobble could be a solution.

Bobble is engineered to be durable, recyclable and healthy. The aim is to buy it and keep it and it will keep you and the planet healthier. The plastic is Bisphenol A free and the carbon filter removes organic contaminants from the water. They make the argument that there is no need for the massive plastic bottle industry when we public taps are available and all we need is an appropriate device to store our water.

So maybe next year when your class are thinking of getting class hoddies somebody might suggest a class Bobble. Pick a colour that emanates your subject and make a small change that could have big affects. http://www.waterbobble.com/

Tara Mallon Doyle

 

Living Sustainability in a Modern World

“I am going to say a phrase, and as soon as you hear it, I want you to shout out the first thing that comes into your head. The phrase is: Living Sustainability.” When I asked this of my three friends while walking home from college, I was rather surprised at their responses, “hemp pants”, “hippies”, “recycling”. The latter I didn’t find shocking, however the two former reminded me that many people do not understand what is means to live sustainably in today’s world.

I admit, I do cringe at the sight of photos of my parents in their youth armed with Birkenstocks, long flowing hair (dad included), and a picket sign with a hand-painted slogan about saving the earth. However 30 years down the road a lot has changed on the front of living sustainability.

Not only has living green edged away from its hippie environmentalist stereotype, it has actually become a trendy way of life! So if you aren’t motivated enough by the impending destruction of our planet, do it to be hip. The new faces of sustainability are renowned designers Stella McCartney, Eileen Fischer, Levi’s, J Brand, to name a few, all whom have complete lines of organic clothing manufactured in minimal energy-using environments.

The support from celebrated Hollywood names to create awareness to environmental issues has also been astronomical. People like Ian Somerlander, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt have started their own foundations to protect rainforests, plant trees, or even just promote the use of energy-efficient light bulbs.

What the endorsement of these celebrities should help us understand is that saving the planet is no longer just a job for the environmentally conscious hippie, but for all of us. Every single thing we do has an impact on the planet, whether good or bad. The good news is that we are in complete control of our personal decisions, meaning we are also in complete control of our personal impact on the environment.

To live sustainably is to alter your lifestyle to cater to the needs of our planet to improve its health today, as well as improving the situation for future populations (no hemp pants required).

Fiona Saluk

The Dilemma of Distance

Phoebe Elizabeth Lim Pei Jun

As an international student at Trinity for a semester, I could not have picked a better, or worse, time to read a course on sustainability. While the course has made me shrink in my seat numerous times at the realization of how unsustainable my current lifestyle is, every major contributor to carbon emissions listed on the slide during the carbon footprints lecture was an allegation laid against me.



http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/news/article/6006/1998/



First, there was the obvious heavy-weight champion for any international student - transport. As if flying 11,198.81 kilometres one-way from Singapore to Dublin wasn't bad enough (link, I had transited at Dubai, which meant greater quantities of carbon emissions from the additional take-off and landing compared to the option of a direct flight. Moreover, I still have to make the return trip home since overstaying my Visa and risking a falling-out with the guards isn't an option. Times like these, one wonders why anyone would have picked the more destructive of two options just to save some money. Not to mention all those sinful trips I had planned, around Ireland and Central Europe, purely for leisure.

While some kind souls might be willing to adopt my used items once I leave, the thought of having to throw almost all of it out is hard to swallow, let alone stomach. Yet, it is a common practice for international students it seems - bed sheets, duvets, pillows, thumbtacks, clothes hangers, porcelain utensils, the mundane stuff of everyday life I would never have batted an eyelid about before uprooting and planting myself in a foreign land. The embedded carbon I'm responsible for just from exploring Dublin city in the better part of my first month and half here, administrative documents, enjoying an Irish meal, is anyone's guess. At this rate, even sending postcards home may be hazardous, what with all these letters being posted by air mail.

           

I would have reckoned that the more global I become, I'd have a heightened awareness and understanding of the world I live in, and be in a better position to, if not help, at least curtail problems related to sustainability. Yet, not only do I find myself incredibly guilty of killing the planet slowly, I think it increasingly challenging to live a decent modern city-life, if at all, under such circumstances.

           

Ah the life of an international student, a tough life indeed.

Image taken from http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/news/article/6006/1998/