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Programme 18: 31st December 2007
On this New Year's Eve programme, the last programme in the current series, we invited some familiar Green Light voices to look forward to 2008 with their hopes and aspirations for a more sustainable future. Below are edited versions of their scripts.

 
Peter Cowman

 Peter Cowman featured in our first programme on the environment. Peter's a sustainable architect who lives in Leitrim. He spends much of his time teaching people how to design and build their own homes.

The current obsession with all things sustainable is increasingly forcing us to examine aspects of the past in order to plan for the future. In the field of eco-building it's the cottage or farm-house which provide us with examples of a vernacular architecture which we might now imitate in our quest for a sustainable life. Their appeal derives largely from something intangible woven into the fabric of the buildings by the people who fashioned them.  And it's these intangibles which bring traditional dwellings to life.  Words like honest, unpretentious, secure, cosy, charming all describe the feelings which these buildings evoke in us.  But how can we achieve this in the shelters or homes we build for ourselves?  It's clearly not just a matter of slavish imitation or of the exclusive use of local materials and skills. We crave the feeling of being sheltered from the elements and from the outside world, where we can live true to our deepest nature. I believe this is the desire to be reunited with the mother, a longing for the security of the womb.  It's the driving force of sustainability, a desire to reintegate with the natural world and with its mysterious forces.

© Peter Cowman  Barch
Living Architecture Centre
livingarchitecture@eircom.net

Joe Murray

 Joe Murray is an agricultural specialist who, in our programme on urban farming, reflected on how not so long ago we were all self sufficient, both urban and rural dwellers. On a recent trip to Japan he visited a farm where the farmer has rented out his land to 125 people who want to live sustainably.

Tokyo is one of the world's biggest cities with a population of more than 12 million. Yet within the greater Tokyo area, 500 farmers still carry on their profession, with the active encouragement of local government and the support of local communities. The Nerima district of Tokyo, about 20 miles from the city centre, contains several dozen vegetable farms. On one of these, members of the public can rent plots and operate as mini farmers. The local council facilitates the owners of the land by tax and rate reductions. Yoshitaka Shiraishi is a 52 year old farmer with just 1.3 hectares of farm land. He grows vegetables on just under a hectare and sells them to the local shops and schools. But he is also a landlord on a micro scale because he rents out the other half hectare to 125 tenants. A number of the tenants are skilled gardeners but many have no experience at all of growing anything. So each year the farmer/landlord provides 16 classes to his tenants. Growers working on the day I visited were keen to stress their satisfaction at producing and eating their own fresh vegetables. On their tiny plots they grow up to 20 varieties, including cucumbers, marrows, courgettes, onions, leeks, beans, cabbage, broccoli, turnips, radishes, carrots, spinach, aubergines, peppers, peas and potatoes.

The farmer, Yoshitaka, derives a lot of satisfaction from his contented tenants. After tax and expenses, he makes a profit of €40,000 a year. In terms of the value of his land it's ridiculously small. In terms of Tokyo wages, it's modest, but enough. In terms of lifestyle and satisfaction, he didn't shake his head when I suggested that he must be one of the happiest men in Tokyo.

© Joe Murray, Agricultural Consultant.

Evelyn Moorkens

 Evelyn Moorkens featured in our programme on Cascade Wood. In October 2007 the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, decided to re-route a new road along the Cork/Kerry border to ensure that Cascade Wood, a native woodland, would be conserved. This magical woodland is home to the Kerry Slug, a rare native species that is only found in that southern part of Ireland. Evelyn Moorkens is an Ecological Consultant who was involved in surveying Cascade Wood. Conserving our rarer species is one of her main passions.

There are a lot of endangered species in the world. Scientists estimate that over 16,000 are known to be threatened with total world extinction.

2007 saw the announcement of the extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin. This beautiful species, which has delighted all who have been lucky enough to see it, has now been lost forever, after 20 million years of separate evolution from other whales and dolphins, and 3 million years since moving from the sea to freshwater. Like many species, it just couldn't survive modern humanity.

Snails are not the first group of animals that jump to mind when we think of Ireland's role in world endangered species conservation. But Ireland is a moist country, and we are a bit of a specialist playground for some of the rarest snails and slugs of the world.

Ireland enjoys the company of 162 species of land and freshwater molluscs, and out of these, 25 species are in danger of becoming extinct throughout the country. Some of these creatures are plentiful in other countries, but of the 25, 9 are in danger of world extinction, and Ireland has an international responsibility to save them.

These species are rare in the world because their habitats are rare. They are endangered because their habitats are changing, through drainage, pollution, and removal of their habitat structure due to the pressures of progress and modern living. Of our 9 world endangered species, 4 currently have absolutely no legal protection in Ireland.

The most endangered species in Ireland is also one of the most endangered species in the world, the freshwater pearl mussel. This species has full legal protection, under Irish and European law, but is suffering very seriously from modern Ireland.
Ireland has more individual mussels alive today than any other EU country, and is considered vital to the campaign to save the species from world extinction and the repopulation of lost rivers in Europe. But none of the Irish populations are raising young, as baby mussels need very clean conditions in the river bed. Not one river in Ireland is currently clean enough to raise the next generation.

Cleaning up rivers for mussels also cleans them up for a range of other species including salmon, trout and the invertebrates they need to eat, and for us too who are drinking the river water. It's not too much to ask that we do our utmost to keep our rivers clean to protect their future.

© Evelyn Moorkens, Environmental Consultant.

Michael Kelly

 Michael Kelly was always attracted to the idea of self sufficiency and sustainability. So, a few years ago, he gave up his urban life to move to the country. With just one acre he now keeps pigs and poultry as well as a vegetable garden. He featured on our programme about keeping farm animals when you only have a small patch of land.

Since we moved from Celtic Tigerland to a cottage on an acre in the County Waterford countryside three years ago, there have been many special moments. 

- The sight of the first pristine egg from our new hens sitting triumphantly on a bed of straw. 

- Standing in the balmy air of the polytunnel with a cup of coffee on a summer's morning surveying the progress.

- The day we brought home two wriggling squealing piglets - wondering would they always be this loud and hoping we would have the expertise to look after them. 

- Spending a whole day preparing a seed bed with my back and limbs aching and then at twilight feeling sorry the day was over.
- Hearing the distinctive cheep-cheep noise from the coop heralding the arrival of little chicks for Easter.

- Making my own beer, even though my first batch was pretty much undrinkable. 

- The day we got Roger, the Sussex Cockerel and then wondering was it a good idea at all when his crowing woke us up at 5am the following morning.

- The steady momentum of the seasons - the abundance of high summer and autumn.  The gentle pause of winter and the excited anticipation of spring.

These have been some of the most honest moments of my life.  But of all these, the most profound was the bulb of garlic.  It was profound because it seemed to highlight just how ridiculous the modern food chain really is and at the same time pointed to the vast potential of growing and rearing your own food.  I stuck the spade carefully in to the ground and eased out the most enormous bulb I'd ever seen. I couldn't believe it, it was the size of an orange!  The sweetest, juiciest garlic I had ever tasted.  And what's even more breathtaking is that you take one of those bulbs, strip out the ten cloves and plant each of them in the ground and next year you have ten plants.  It's that simple.  Simple to grow, doesn't take up much space and tastes a million times nicer than anything you will ever buy in a shop.
In that context it seems pretty odd that instead we buy garlic that has been grown in China and shipped or flown over 5,000 miles to our supermarket shelves.  That's when you see the potential for growing your own.  That's when you want to achieve the same with other vegetables.  With fruit and meat.  And over time, it becomes somewhat of an obsession which admittedly can be challenging when you know as little about growing things as I do. 

If you want a resolution for the New Year, then here's one - become self sufficient.  You don't have to be self-sufficient in everything for it to be worthwhile.  Pick those food types that you have space for and grow them.  Grow basil on your windowsill and become basil self-sufficient.  Keep a pair of hens in your garden and become egg self sufficient and strike a blow against the mediocrity of the modern food chain!

© Michael Kelly, Freelance Journalist, Irish Times
   "Trading Paces" by Michael Kelly (O'Brien Press) due for publication March 2008

Damien O Tuama

 One of our programmes looked at the possibility of harnessing the energy produced by people who exercise in the gym so as to power the extensive energy needs of the gym itself, such as lighting and air conditioning. But why not just give up the gym membership, ditch the car and cycle to work instead? That's what bicycle enthusiast Damien O Tuama would like us all to do in 2008

Before you take a trip to your local gym on the 1st of January and sign up for the year, strike a blow for the environment and think about buying yourself a nice, new, fancy bicycle instead. 
Gym membership can set you back upwards of €500-600 per year which would buy you a very fine bicycle, or even two bicycles - one fast mean machine for your daily commutes or longer spins, plus another older bike that you can leave lying around day or night without having to worry about it.  Bikes require hardly any maintenance in contrast to modern cars which are stuffed with so many fiddly features they need costly main-dealer servicing and have a huge negative impact on our environment.
 
Like magic, a bike actually gives you extra time. For those who live within 6 km of their destination, you'll cover this distance in some 20-25 min depending on the number of junctions you meet along the way.  By getting your daily exercise this way, those two or three evenings a week that would have been spent grinding away in the gym can now be spent on other more enjoyable pursuits.

 Cycling an average of 30 minutes per day will add an extra 1-2 years to your life.  Regular cyclists tend to be in the same shape as those ten years younger than them.  What more could you ask for?

But isn't it always raining in Ireland! Not so. As Met Éireann will confirm, the number of rainy-days on the East coast, in particular, is quite low.  But even better, the rainfall pattern is such that morning and evening rush-hour time zones are remarkably free of deluges!  In any event, advances in wet-weather gear have made kitting yourself out to stay warm and dry very simple.  But imagine the difference to comfort and convenience if employers and developers were compelled by planning law to provide plentiful sheltered and secure bike-stands as well as lockers, showers and drying-rooms, at colleges and workplaces.

 But most of all, cycling is fun, is wonderfully liberating and exhilarating and will do your body and mind the world of good.  When you are on your bicycle you are using your muscles and all of your senses - there is an elemental quality to it. So this year, before you pay ridiculous amounts of money to join a gym, think about buying a bike and join the strengthening cycling community in your city or town.  If you think you'll miss the leotards and lycra of the gym, you can still find it on the bike!!!

© Damien O Tuama
Principal Cycle Planning Consultant,
Colin/Buchanan
8 Windsor Place, Dublin 2
Tel. 01 669 3628
www.cbuchanan.ie

International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) is to be celebrated in 2008. Lots of events will take place over the next 12 months, so make sure you check www.planetearth.ie to get involved!

Programme 17: 24th December 2007
They're named after the Roman goddess of the dawn.Aurora. The Romans called them 'blood rain'.the Eurasian tribes knew them as 'wind light'.the Chinese referred to the 'candle dragon'.in the Old testament they're described as 'fire raining down from heaven'.

Streaks of light toss about the sky, pulsating waves and arcs of green and rich dark red. The Northern Lights stretch across the skies above Canada, Scandinavia and Russia and in their wake have left a wealth of mythology, folklore and art. More recently, science has been added to that list. We now know that the northern lights, or 'aurora borealis' as Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei named them, are powered by the solar wind - an ever-present stream of ions and electrons that blows off the sun and expands outwards through space.

Included in our programme on the Northern Lights were:

Macdara O Fátharta reading extracts from "The Ballad of the Northern Lights" by Robert W. Service and "Aurora Borealis" by Laurence Overmire

Dr. Ian Mann, Professor of Physics at the University of Alberta and Co-investigator of the ongoing Themis Project, a constellation of 5 small satellites in space which study the aurora.

Lilli Klint from Finland on her earliest memories of the Northern Lights and on the folklore associated with them

Meagan Perry who went in search of the Lights with some of her First Nation friends in the Yukon Territory in North West Canada
And Iarla O Lionaird whose music Aurora was heard throughout the programme. Iarla's inspiration for the music is the images taken of the aurora all around the world and the recorded sounds of the aurora .....

Links

Dr. Ian Mann. Professor of Physics,
University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T6G 2R3
Tel : University of Alberta : 780.492.3111

Lilli Klint
Address:
Lilly's Eco Clean Ltd,
Unit 8,
Centra Commercial Park,
Castletownbere,
Co. Cork,
Ireland
Mobile: +353 (0)87 925 7004 
Fixed-line: +353 (0)27 714 96

Meagan Perry & Cheryl Kawaja (Independent Co-Producers of the recordings from the Yukon Territory)
Meagan Perry
#4, 35 Lewes Boulevard
Whitehorse, YT
Y1A 4S5
Canada

Iarla O Lionaird
www.realworldrecords.com/iarla
www.iarla-o-lionaird.net/music

Auroral Synapse (Book with CD)
by Anna Hill
Auoral Publication, 2004

Originally a film and soundscape installation.

Sanas (Book with CD)
by Liam O Muirthile
Cois Life, 2007

Robert William Service : ('The Ballad of the Northern Lights')
Robert Service (January 16, 1874 - September 11, 1958),  was a poet and writer. He is most well known for his writings on the Canadian North, including the poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee".
Laurence Overmire : (Aurora Borealis)
LAURENCE OVERMIRE (USA) is an emerging voice for conscience and consciousness in the poetry world. Popularly known as "The Genealogist-Poet," he has had a multi-faceted career as writer, actor, director and educator. His award-winning poetry, eclectic in form, style, and subject matter, and often provocative in its direct confrontation of social issues, has been widely published in the U.S. and abroad in hundreds of magazines, journals, and anthologies. His plays include Slingshot, A Woman in Washington's Army, and A Scrooge Mart Christmas Carol. He currently lives in Portland Oregon

Programme 16: 17th December 2007
Have you ever thought about how much cost there is to the environment each time you visit the gym. Most people drive there and back and gyms are on full power all day long providing saunas and jacuzzis, clean towels, heated swimming pools, non stop music and videos and often electrically powered machines. It seems crazy that all this energy is expended so that we can expend energy - which of course we could also do in a completely carbon-neutral and environmentally friendly way by walking, jogging or cycling to work. So why not redress the balance by harnessing all those calories we use working out at the gym? Well Ella went to DCU in Glasnevin to meet with Professor Niall Moyna, Head of the School of Health and Human Performance  and Pat Wogan from The School of Physics where they had rigged up 2 bicycles, one to see how quickly and easy it is to light a bulb with a dynamo and the other to see just how much energy (in watts) Eoin, one of the college athletes, would expend by cycling during the half hour programme!

At California Fitness in Hong Kong a similar experiment is underway. They have rigged up 13 of the exercise machines at one of its clubs to convert the energy used into stored electricity to light the lights positioned over the machines. Is it a gimmick or serious science for the future to make the club more sustainable? Ella spoke with Dylan Wade, Regional Director of Operations at California Fitness.

The person responsible for the technology at California Fitness is Italian born design engineer Lucien Gambarota and he spoke to Ella from his home in Hong Kong about how the concept came about.

It's probably safe to say that few of us heading out to a night club would be thinking about renewable energy!! Well the Sustainable Dance Club in Rotterdam is looking to make us do just that. The core activities of clubbing, lounging, dancing, flirting, they say, are rethought and reshaped in a sustainable manner. And one of the ways they are rethinking the whole club experience is to capture the energy of the dancers at the club and turn it into kilowatt energy to ultimately power the club's lights and music, while at the same time making young people aware that fun and sustainability can be perfect bedfellows. It's the brainchild of Dutch environmental organization Enviu and architectural firm Döll . Ella spoke with Truda Bitenhuis who is the business developer with Sustainable Dance Club...

Links
Prof Niall Moyna, Head of School of Health and Human Performance Dublin City University - DCU
www.dcu.ie

California Fitness Hong Kong - Human Powered Gyms
www.californiafitness.com or Google Human Powered Gyms

Lucien Gambarota, Motorwave Group (Designer of Human Powered Gym Experiment at California Fitness Hong Kong)
www.motorwavegroup.com

Sustainable Dance Club Rotterdam

Enviu - Stef van Dongen at stef@enviu.org or 0031 (0)102887970

Doll - Martijn Jordans at martijn.jordans@dollab.nl or 0031 (0)10 2718200

For more information and images see www.enviu.org

Programme 15: 10th December 2007
Common to all trees is their power to inspire awe and wonder..they are the earth's largest and oldest living structures. Back in 1999, on the cusp of the new Millenium, Minister of State and Chairman of the Millenium Committee Seamus Brennan announced 'a visionary millenium project to help rescue and restore a number of the country's native forests and woodlands. A unique element  of the People's Millenium Forests, he said, is that each of the 1.2 million households will be able to identify the exact location of their tree, obtain a certificate of identification and will be encouraged to chart its growth well into the new millenium'..... Well Jacqui Corcoran went to visit one of the Millennium forests, Coill and Fhaltaigh in Kilkenny, (one of the largest of the 16 or so Millenium Forests) with local Coillte forester Mick Power, to find out if it is possible to locate your family tree.....and the answer is no - you can find the block of trees where your tree was planted, but not your specific tree, as natural thinning means that not all the trees will survive.

Rachael English was joined in studio by Fraser Mitchell who lectures in Botany in TCD. He was one of the Principal Researchers on the Bioforest Project which was a joint collaboration between TCD and UCC from 2001 - 2006. on Biodiversity in Irish plantation forests. Fraser highlighted the major findings of the research.

Rachael was also joined by Dr.Declan Little  from the Woodlands of Ireland. Declan Little was Project Manager on the People's Millenium Forests and discussed whether or not it was a worthwhile project. He also outlined the Irish Forestry Certification Initiative (IFCI), a consultative process to set a National Forest Standard for Ireland, about which there is a lot of debate and dissension.   
  
 
John Haughton is Chairman of Forest Friends. They like many other NGO groups (and there are a lot of NGOs interested in forest policy) are dissatisfied with how our forests and woodlands are being managed. John Haughton and Forest Friends are particularly exercised by what's happening in the Glencree valley in Wicklow and he took us on tour of the valley. He feels that  we have too much monoculture, that there are too many Sitka Spruce forests being planted and not enough trees indigenous to Ireland being planted in our forests.

Sasha Bosbeer joined Rachael on the line from Galway. Sasha lectures in GMIT on Forest Management and the Environment and is the Coordinator of the ongoing review of Forest policy for the Heritage Council - their last published Policy Paper on Forestry and the national heritage was in 1999.

Links

Coillte
www.coillte.ie

Dr. Declan Little
Woodlands of Ireland
c/o The Tree Council of Ireland,
Cabinteely House,
The Park,
Cabinteely,
Dublin 18.
Tel: 01-2849329; 087-6685823 Fax: 01-2849197
E-mail: woodsofireland@iol.ie
www.woodlandsofireland.com
 

Dr. Fraser Mitchell, Chief Researcher, the Bioforest Project 2001 - 2006
Senior Lecturer,
Dept. of Botany,
TCD.,
Dublin 2

For the Bioforest Project www.coford.ie

John Haughton,
Chairman Forest Friends Ireland
PO Box  7814 Dublin 1, Ireland
www.forestfriends.ie
www.cairdenacoille.org
www.cairdenacoille.com

John Haughton
Telephone: 8325415 or 087 6198265
E-mail: jjhaughton@gmail.com                            

William Maher
Telephone: 087 - 7987576
E-Mail:   wjmaher@iol.ie

Paul Barnes
Telephone: 086 - 3679629
E-Mail:   paulbarnes@imagine.ie

Dr. Sasha Bosbeer,
Lecturer Forest Management and the Environment,
Galway

If you have a submission for the Forestry Heritage Review or would like to have your voice heard, please see www.forestryheritagereview.com

Or contact Dr. Sasha Bosbeer, Forest Management Group, GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway. Tel. 091-742238/ 087-6685836 (m)
sasha.bosbeer@gmit.ie

Programme 14: 3rd December 2007
Climate Change..Kyoto.carbon emissions.pollution..It's hard to think of a day that goes by without hearing these words..How far things have come since the Kyoto Protocol was agreed in 1997.  Back then, although the media reported the story, it wasn't anything like the kind of coverage that the issue of climate change gets today.

That coverage will be in overdrive this week, as nearly 12,000 representatives from more than 180 countries around the world descend on the Indonesian Island of Bali to take part in the United Nations climate change conference.   The reason they are meeting is because the Kyoto Protocol - the legally binding agreement to reduce carbon emissions that came into force in 2005 after being agreed in 1997 - expires in 2012. 

In the last year, the science of climate change has been made clear. Only the particularly confused or unwilling would deny that climate change exists - something that wasn't uncommon during the Kyoto talks.  But what's still unclear is how the world will respond.  At best, representatives in Bali will agree on a clear path for a deal in Copenhagen in 2009; at worst, the world's biggest carbon emitter America will remain out of the loop as they continue the stand-off with China and India. Ella spoke with Oisin Coughlan who is the Director of Friends of the Earth.

The Bali Summit began with a momentous decision by Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.  Hardly a few days in the job after he defeated John Howard in last week's general election, Rudd announced this morning that Australia would finally ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Rudd ended John Howard's 11 year term in office, when Howard refused to ratify Kyoto because he felt it would unfairly damage Australia's economy.  Rudd sensed the change of mood of the country as he ran his campaign on a platform to deal with climate change. Sarah Clarke ABC Australia's Environment Correspondent joined Ella on the line from Sydney.

Although Ireland ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the delegation that have travelled to Bali, lead by Green Minister for the Environment John Gormley, will arrive with a few embarrassing facts to hand:  Ireland has the second highest carbon footprint in Europe; we on average emit 17 tonnes of carbon each per year - one of the highest in the world; that we rank amongst the worst performers in the EU at fifth from the bottom, and that Ireland has completely ignored the carbon emission limits set in Kyoto.

Father Sean McDonagh has written about climate change since the 1980s. He arrived in Bali on Sunday evening to represent the Franciscans International. He spoke to Ella of the mounting anticipation about the possible outcomes of the Bali Climate Change Conference. Just recently returned from a trip to the Phillipines he told how farmers in the Philippines are feeling the immediate effects of climate change.  According to recent reports, climate change will hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest.

Back in 1990, Ireland was seen as a developing country - this is why the Kyoto agreement gave us space to increase our emissions by 13%.  Today, Ireland is amongst the rich countries of the world which have created climate change and according to many, it's those countries which must feel the sting in responding to it, not the so-called developing nations such as Africa and India. Niamh Garvey is the climate change researcher for Trocaire. Before leaving for Bali, where she'll be an observer as part of the Irish NGO delegation, she joined Ella in studio.
 
Links

STOP CLIMATE CHAOS SOUND THE ALARM ON CLIMATE CHANGE
http://www.stopclimatechaos.ie/

PUBLIC PARADE FOR THE PLANET
1pm, Saturday 8th December 2007
From the Dublin Civic Offices Amphitheatre to Custom House Dock

The world is at a crossroads on the path to runaway climate change.  We can choose now to go down a new path, live differently, and ensure a safe climate for our children and our children's children.  Or we can continue on the path leading us towards a climate so extreme and brutal it may eventually extinguish human life on this planet.

The world's poor will suffer first and worst.  People in the developing world are already dying as a result of our carbon emissions.

We may have only a decade left to choose the right path.  To this end 190 nations come together in Bali from December 3 to 14 to try to plot a new world agreement which would come into force when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Political will is what Al Gore has said is lacking in the fight against
climate change.  That has certainly been the case in Ireland so far, as we are the fifth worst greenhouse gas emitter per person in the world.

There are major signs of change however.  Seventy-seven TDs recently signed Stop Climate Chaos' Call to Action on Climate Change, which includes the demand that we legislate for emissions reductions.  Next month a bill aiming to do just that will be debated in the Seanad for the second time.

Achieving the Government target of a three per cent annual reduction in emissions, which we are obliged to do under the Kyoto Protocol, will have huge implications for how we live and for our economy.

Such massive change will only be brought about with public support. In recent months the Stop Climate Chaos coalition has collected 25,000 signatures from members of the public saying they want action on climate change. They will be handed to the Government next week in the run up to the Global Day of Action on Climate Change on Saturday 8th December.

To mark the Global Day of Action on Climate Change in Ireland, Stop Climate Chaos is holding a PUBLIC PARADE FOR THE PLANET from the Dublin Civic Offices Amphitheatre to Custom House Dock. We will be gathering from 1pm at the Dublin Civic Offices on the 8th December. At 2 p.m., as the parade moves off, the bells of Christchurch Cathederal, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Pro-Cathedral and other bells around the city and country, will ring out to send the message that the world can warm by no more than two degrees if we are to continue to live here in safety.

We are asking the public to join our samba bands and MAKE SOME NOISE with whatever instrument they like - or just use their voice - to SOUND THE ALARM for action on climate change.

For further information on the Sound The Alarm Parade contact Helen Cantrell on 01-6394652 or Victoria White on 086 174938.

The members of Stop Climate Chaos are: ActionAid, Afri, An Taisce, Cap and Share, Christian Aid Ireland, Climate Action Ireland Platform (CAIP), Comhlámh, Concern, Council of Social Responsibility - Methodist Church in Ireland, Cultivate, Eco-Congregation, Eco-Unesco, Feasta, Friends of the Earth, Gorta, Just Forests, Kimmage Development Studies Centre, Mountmellick
Environment Group, National Youth Council Ireland, Oxfam Ireland, People Against Climate Change, Students Action on Climate Change, Sustain West Cork, Trócaire, Voice.
 Stop Climate Chaos day in Castlebar

This is being organised by the Mayo Stop Climate Chaos Group/Sustainability Institute as part of a national and international day of action to raise awareness of the threat to humanity posed by global warming. See www.stopclimatechaos.ie

Local churches ringing their bells at 2pm to signify a two degree rise in the earth's temperature is TOO MUCH to guarantee climate stability.

A gathering in the market Place at 2pm by local people and politicians of all political persuasions. An exhibition in the county library in Castlebar. The exhibition is one put together earlier this month by the Sustainability Institute ( see www.sustainability.ie), at the request of Mayo County Council, as part of the Mayo Science and Technology Week.

The exhibition, which was set up in Belmullet on November 7th, was attended by local schools. It consisted of a series of information boards, round which each school group were escorted by a facilitator who explained the significance of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. The students were invited  to make suggestions as to what they might do to cut down their own carbon footprint.

The exhibition, though aimed at school groups in Belmullet, will be on view to all users of Castlebar library for the remainder of the month of December. The purpose is simply to educate the general public, young and old. There will also be a talk by Andy Wilson on Climate Change in Castlebar library on December 11th.

The Sustainability Institute is a Mayo based NGO dedicated to promoting a more sustainable society through education, training and the disemination of knowledge. It was founded in 2006.
The institute publishes Sustainability magazine, a national publication with a readership of about 10,000.

The Mayo Stop Climate Chaos Group, which was formed by Laura Heneghan and Andy Wilson is dedicated specifically to raising
awareness about global warming.

The Mayo Stop Climate Chaos group and the Sustainability Institute are interlinked.

Andy Wilson
The Sustainability Institute
Westport
Co.Mayo
www.sustainability.ie
087 6714075

Laura Heneghan
087 9745984
 
Oisin Coughlan, Director Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
9 Upper Mount Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
Email : info@foe.ie.
Tel : 01-6394652.
From outside the Republic  +353-1-6394652

Sarah Clarke : Environment Correspondent, ABC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
 
Father Sean McDonagh is a Columban missionary who has worked for many years in the Philippines.

Publications include:
To Care for the Earth : A New Theology (1986)
The Greening of the Church (1990)
Passion for the Church (1990)
Dying for Water (2003)
Patenting Life? Stop! Is Corporate Greed Forcing us to eat Genetically Engineered Food? (2003)
The Death of Life : The Horror of Extinction, (2004) published by The Columba Press
Climate Change : The Challenge to us all (2006)
 
 Niamh Garvey, Trócaire
Tel: 1850 408 408 (Callsave) in the Republic of Ireland
0800 912 1200 (Freephone) in Northern Ireland
Email :
General queries: info@trocaire.ie
Global Gift related queries: globalgift@trocaire.ie

Education related queries: education@trocaire.ie

Parish related queries: parish@trocaire.ie

Campaign related queries: campaigns@trocaire.ie
Website related queries: webmaster@trocaire.ie
Trocaire Headquarters and Regional Offices.
Trócaire, Maynooth, Co. Kildare
Trócaire, 12 Cathedral Street, Dublin 1
Trócaire, 9 Cook Street, Cork
Trócaire, 50 King Street, Belfast, BT1 6A

Programme 13: 26th November 2007

Plastic... from clothes to packaging, cars to the radio you listen to me on... plastic is everywhere... The first plastics were brewed up from a concoction of strange materials, such as ox blood.  Ingredient to ingredient was added to make a range of objects like billiard balls, that were previously made of ivory.  In the 1940s, plastic was seen as the future, in wartime and in peace. Today our cars, our homes - even our planes - are all made of plastic.  It's easily moulded into strange shapes.it's flexible and attractive, soft and tough, slippery and hygienic.  It was and is to many, the perfect material.

Plastics are 'polymers' - essentially, long strings of carbon mixed with other elements.  The carbon comes from oil - and all plastics are made from oil. The way in which these long strings of carbon are mixed gives you different types of plastic - from the polystyrene that protects your new television when you buy it from the shop, to the pink and blue plastic bottle you get your washing powder in.

But what was once seen as a revolutionary development for mankind, is now seen as one of the biggest threats to marine life there is.  Latest figures show that in Ireland, nearly ¼ million tons of plastic are sent to landfill each year. None of this is biodegradeable. Scientists claim that every piece of plastic that has ever been produced still exists - so that means the radio that's in front of you will still be around in thousands of years time! Ella spoke with Dr. Richard Thompson who has been concerned about the impact of plastic on marine life for many years. He's a marine ecologist in the University of Plymouth. She was also joined on the line by Captain Charlie Moore, who is with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. He spoke with her from on board the ORV Alguita which was docked in Kawaihae Harbour after 3 weeks sampling the waters of the Pacific Ocean for the effects of plastic debris on marine life. 

Since plastics are man-made and don't biodegrade, how easy would it be for scientists to produce an 'eco-friendly' plastic that could be thrown into compost bins along with the carrot and orange remains from last night's dinner? One man who has found a bacterium solution is Dr Kevin O'Connor, a microbiologist in Univeristy College, Dublin. And Ella visited him in his lab at UCD to see the process at first hand.

Links

Dr. Richard Thompson
Reader in Marine Benthic Ecology, School Of Biological Sciences
His research focuses on the ecology of rocky shores, Habitat modification of marine engineering to enhance biodiversity, the conservation of marine habitats and the effects of plastic debris in the marine environment.

Reader in Marine Benthic Ecology, School Of Biological Sciences
Room 615, Davy Building, Drake Circus,
Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA
E: R.C.Thompson@plymouth.ac.uk
T1: +44 (0)1752 232966
F: +44 (0)1752 232970
www.plymouth.ac.uk/researchcover

Captain Charlie Moore
Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Long Beach, California
The Algalita Marine Research Foundation is dedicated to the protection of the marine environment and its watersheds through research, education, and restoration.
www.algalita.org

Dr. Kevin O' Connor
UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science,
University College Dublin
Belfield, Dublin 4
Research: Structural Biology and Biocatalysis
Tel: 00353 7161307
kevin.oconnor@ucd.ie

Programme 12: 19th November 2007
We're used to hearing about how farming in Ireland has declined in the recent past. So as more and more people move to urban areas to live and work what's the potential for urban farming.keeping a few hens, ducks or even pigs if you're lucky enough to have a small patch of garden? Not only can you have a lot of fun looking after the animals but they can also provide you with the best eggs and meat money can buy. This week Ella met Kathleen and Breffni Galligan who live in an urban housing estate, just off the M50, in Firhouse in Dublin. Kathleen keeps 3 ducks in a tiny back garden which she hopes will provide them with beautiful duck eggs next Spring. Breffni is renting a quarter of an acre about 2 minutes drive, or a 10 minute walk, behind their home. Ella joined him as he went to feed his 2 Old Spot pigs (an English breed which he bought in the West of Ireland) which he keeps on the quarter acre. He had a third called Jasper which he brought to a small abattoir in Kildare for slaughter. Jasper now resides in their freezer and both Kathleen and Breffni agree that the meat from a non commercial pig is far superior to any other!

In studio Ella was joined by Michael Kelly, a freelance journalist, who has moved, with his wife, from Dublin to just outside Dunmore East. They have an acre of land where they have hens, grow their own vegetables and reared 2 Tamworth pigs, which have been slaughtered and butchered. For Michael and his wife the move is about self suffiency but also about reconnecting with nature. Joining Ella and Michael was Joe Murray, Agricultural Correspondant and former head of Agriculture in RTE who told us about the history of urban farming in our towns and cities and also guided us through the Department of Agriculture rules and regulations on keeping animals in small spaces.

Links

Information from the Department of Agriculture re the keeping of hens, ducks, pigs, sheep, cows, goats...

All animals, regardless of reason for keeping them, have to be registered with the Dept to get a herd/flock number. To get a herd/flock number, the Dept will have to be satisfied that the premises the animals are to be kept on is adequate.

(And Agricultural Correspondant Joe Murray informed us that one hen, or one pig or one cow... constitutes a flock)

Michael Kelly, Freelance Journalist, Irish Times
Has 1 acre where they grow veg and have 6 hens and a cock in a coop 6 metres long x 3across..says anyone can keep hens..they mind themselves almost!

They had 2 pigs for which you do need a bit of space - he had a place overgrown with ivy for them in a corner of the garden, 15 metres long by 20 across. They make muck of whatever space you give them! They weren't noisy but were smelly and very mucky with the bad summer we had, and his pigs loved to root all day long. He kept them for 4 - 5 months and then had them slaughtered. An Agricultural Inspector came to inspect for the herd number and to inspect the space they were in. Pigs are big and hard to handle or catch so in order to get them used to the trailer (to take them to the abattoir) he fed them into it and they got used to sleeping there as well for 2 or 3 days before slaughter and also on the day they went to the abattoir in Camolin. There the woman bedded them down for 5-6 hours so they wouldn't be stressed, because if they are stressed, hormones, testosterone, will leach into the meat and that's not pleasant. It was pretty unpleasant to watch though done humanely- there was a lot of blood and no noise. The 2 pigs are now in his freezer..He hopes to buy 2 more pigs and after slaughtering, to butcher them himself. He may get a goat next but feels to keep any cattle or sheep you would need a field.

"Trading Paces" by Michael Kelly (O'Brien Press) due for publication March 2008

"River Cottage" by Hugh Fearnley -Whittingstall (Michael Kelly found this a great help for keeping pigs and growing vegetables

Webs and Blog

sallygardens.typepad.com/photos/courses2007/index.html

Ronan Byrne
The friendly farmer - has piglets for sale...
http://thefriendlyfarmer.blogspot.com/

Omlet
www.omlet.co.uk
 
Omlet supply a range of eglus designed to be an ideal habitat if you want to keep chickens, rabbits or ducks in your garden.

Tel: 00 44 845 450 2056

Programme 11: 12th November 2007
In the 15th century Scottish game of 'gowf ' the players hit a stone around a natural course of rabbit runs, ravines and gullies using a stick or club and the rabbit runs made perfect fairways. Today, there are some 32,000 golf courses around the world, America owning just over half of them and golf courses are one of the fastest growing types of land development in the world. In Ireland there are 417 Golf Courses between Links courses along our coastline and Parkland courses further inland .  But just how green are our golf courses and could your round of golf be destroying the environment? Ella walked the sandunes on the North Bull Island between St. Anne's Golf Club and the Royal Dublin Golf Club with Botanist Declan Doogue who's main concern is for our rare species of flora and fauna.
 
And of course in order to have those lush green tees, greens and fairways, herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers have to be used, along with lots of water. So who is regulating the use of these products? Well, Golf Environment Europe is an organization set up to encourage best environmental practice in golf courses around Europe and it also gives a 'Committed to Green' certification to golf courses who can demonstrate that they are having a minimal impact on the environment. Ella spoke with its Chief Executive Jonathan Smith.

There are only 2 golf courses in Ireland which have been awarded the  'Committed to Green' certification by Golf Environment Europe, Luttrelstown Golf Club just 3 weeks ago and Carton House Golf Club in 2006. Ella walked part of the course at Carton House with the Course Superintendent John Plummer.
 
Links
 
Declan Doogue
The Dublin Naturalists Field Club
http://www.dnfc.net/
 
Botanical Society of the British Isles
www.bsbi.org.uk;
email: coordinator@bsbi.org.uk 
 
 
Golf Environment Europe
www.golfenvironmenteurope.org
Golf Environment Europes new contact details are:
Jonathan Smith, Chief Executive,
Golf Environment Europe,
Fenton Barns, North Berwick,
East Lothian, Scotland,
EH39 5BW
Tel: 0044 (0) 1620 850 659
Fax: 0044 (0) 1620 850764
Mob: 0044 07917 453 147
Email : jonathan@golfenvironmenteurope.org

Programme 10: 5th November 2007
There's a two acre piece of native woodland just east of Ballyvourney Village, on the Cork/Kerry border. It's called Cascade Wood - a beautiful, mysterious place with an incredible diversity of wildlife species.  It supports some very unique species, including the rare Kerry Slug that's only found in that part of Ireland. In a bold move, Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, announced on the 20th of September that Cascade Wood be saved from demolition.  He has ordered that the planned road be re-routed above the woodland.  While supporting the development of this road, Minister Gormley stated that under EU nature law, the rare species of Kerry Slug, the old oak, and diversity of bats that are all found in the woodland must be protected at all costs.

In this programme, Ella visits Cascade Wood with Conor Kelleher, chairperson of the Irish Wildlife Trust who's from the area.  She also speaks with ecological consultant Evelyn Moorkens and Ballyvourney local historian Donal Mac Suibhne

Programme 9: 1st November 2007
The sound of the steam train or indeed any train is not so common anymore since the closure of so many rail lines in the last 30 years or so. But it wasn't always like that. From the earliest trains in 1834 when the Dublin & Kingston railway line opened to its peak in the 1920s, Ireland as a whole had 5,600km (3,400mi) of railway. Now just under half that amount of rail lines lie dormant and forgotten. But not all of them are forgotten because many community groups are coming together with their local town and county councils to turn these miles of track line into vibrant walk and cycle ways. One such group is the Great Southern Trail Group based in Newcastle West in Limerick. They have quite an ambitious plan to turn the 53miles of rail line from limerick to9 Tralee into a walk and cycle way. Ella met with Liam O'Mahoney, Chairman of the group and Mike McDowell a local activist to talk about the history of the Limerick to Tralee line and to walk the first 2 and a half miles of the route with them....Along the way she also met environmentalist Geoff Hunt and Denis Foley who worked for 50 years on the Limerick to Tralee line.

Ella also met Ollan Herr, a member of the Dundalk Cycling Alliance, which has been campaigning to have a network of cycle lanes introduced around Dundalk, including along the Dundalk to Greenore disused railway line.

Many local authorities are looking at various ways of creating Greenways, areas where people can leave the car behind and walk and cycle for work or leisure.  Brian White is Director of Enterprise and Community Development with Waterford County Council. He's the man responsible for Waterford County Council's plans to develop the Dungarvan to Waterford line and he outlined their plans for the rail-line and some of the legal difficulties which have held up the implementation of those plans.

Links
The Great Southern Trail Group
www.southerntrail.pro.ie

Dundalk Cycling Alliance
www.dundalkcyclingalliance.com

Waterford County Council
Email: coordinate@waterfordcoco.ie
Tel:   +353 (0)58 22000
Fax:   +353 (0)58 42911

Programme 8: 25th October 2007
It's not unusual that the natural world has inspired poets, artists and musicians. From the earliest cave drawings to the landscapes of Paul Henry, from Beethoven's 6th Symphony, with its wonderful imitation of birdsong to Brian Eno's First light, the landscape and animals around us are a rich source of ideas for creativity.  Ella McSweeney talked to artist Vincent Sheridan at his home and studio in Drumcondra. His inspiration comes from the energy, movement and dynamic of flocks of birds such as starlings and swifts. His sketches of the flocks are distinctive and bring a dramatic and energetic dimension to the quiet and tranquil natural world around them. Vincent has long been interested in wildlife and is a former Chairman of the Irish Wildlife Conservancy. He spent some time in the Canadian High Arctic with the Irish Brent Goose Expedition and later as 'artist in residence'. He is currently a member of the Black Church Print Studio, Dublin and Graphic Studio, Dublin.
 
Links
 
Vincent Sheridan
Black Church Print Studio
4 Temple Bar
Dublin 2

tel:     01 6773629
web:   www.print.ie

Vincent Sheridan's next exhibition is from November 8th, 2007, at the Linen Hall Arts Centre, Castlebar
Linen Hall Arts Centre,
Castlebar,
Co. Mayo
Tel: 094 9023733
email: linenhall@anu.ie  

Vincent Sheridan's current series specifically explores the energy and dynamism of birds in flight, capturing subliminal movements and 'brushstroke patterns' as the flocks interact with the environment. 

These etchings also focus on how single entities combine to produce a spectacular momentum.  Moreover, a tension emerges with the immediacy of movement in stark contrast to the tranquil silence of the landscape.

Vincent Sheridan has had numerous exhibitions in Ireland and abroad, i.e., Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Poland, Germany, Peru, and the USA. Vincent studied at the National College of Art and Design and the DIT (Dublin Institute of Technology).  He has been working as a full-time artist since 1981. From 1989-1998 Vincent lived and worked as an artist in Canada. He worked at Open Studio Toronto, and later at Malaspina Printmaking Society, Vancouver.  He returned to Dublin in 1989. In 2007 hecompleted a BFA Fine Art Degree, specializing in Video. 

During the 1980's Vincent spent three summers in the Canadian High Arctic. In 1991 he was 'artist in residence' at the West Baffin Eskimo Printshop, Cape Dorset, Baffin Island, and in June 2000 at St. Michael's Printshop, St. John's, Newfoundland. Vincent has an abiding interest in polar history and exploration and has visited a number of historic sites in the Canadian Arctic.  In the 1990's he completed a series of prints entitled Arctic Enigma - In Search of Franklin, which were inspired by the mysterious and tragic events surrounding the 'Lost Franklin' Expedition, (1845-1857).

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

2005    South Tipperary Arts Centre, Clonmel. Co.Tipperary

2004   Graphic Studio Gallery 'MOTION' Exhibition. Dublin

2003    Athy Heritage Centre, Co Kildare. Ireland

1999    Erin Room, State Apartments, Dublin Castle, Ireland

1999      Lambay House Art Gallery, Howth, Co. Dublin, Ireland

1999      Mullingar Arts Centre, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland

1998      The City of Burnaby Art Gallery, British Columbia, Canada

1997      Altonaer Museum, Hamburg, Germany

1997      Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, Dublin, Ireland

1997      Rostock Museum, Rostock, Germany

1997      Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo, Ireland

1997      Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum, Bremerhaven, Germany

1996      Kathleen Laverty Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

1994      Vancouver Maritime Museum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

1994      Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

1993      The Geoghegan Gallery, Galway, Ireland

1991      The Kennedy Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

1988      The Sligo Arts Festival, Sligo, Ireland

1987      The Bank of Ireland Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

1985      The Bank of Ireland Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

1984      Kilcock Art Gallery, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland

1983      Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo, Ireland

1982      Kilcock Art Gallery, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland

SELECTED (GROUP) EXHIBITIONS:

2005     Black Church Print Exhibition 'BOXED' Dublin

2005     Black Church print Studio Exhibition, Copenhagen, Denmark.

2003     Original Print Gallery  "Portraits" Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

2002     Chester Beatty Library, 'Holy Show' Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1999     German International Exhibition of Graphic Art, Stadt Frechen,
Germany

1998     International MTG '97 (Cracow), Travelling Exhibit, Nurenberg,
Germany

1997     8th International Biennial Print & Drawing Exhibit, '97 Taipei,
Taiwan

1997     Osaka Triennial 1997 - Print, Osaka, Japan

1997     International Triennial of Graphic Art, Bitola, Macedonia

1997     International Print Triennial '97, Cracow, Poland

1997     Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1997     4th International Miniprint Biennale, Olfstrom, Sweden

1997              Grabadores Canadienses, Instituto ICPNA, Lima, Peru

1996     10th Seoul International Print Biennale, Seoul, Korea

1995     3rd Kochi International Print Triennial, Kochi, Japan

1995     Tokyo International Miniprint Triennial, Tokyo, Japan

1995      1st International Triennial of Graphic Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria

1995      5th National Print Exhibition, Galway, Ireland

1995      Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1994      Malaspina Printmakers' Society Touring Exhibition, British
Columbia, Canada

1993     Sapporo International Print Biennale, Sapporo, Japan

1993     1st International Print Biennale, Maastricht, Holland

1993     Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1993     Malaspina Printmakers' Society Annual Exhibition, Vancouver, Canada

1991     Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1991     Open Studio '100 Prints', Toronto, Canada

1989     Claremorris International Exhibition, Co. Mayo, Ireland

1989     Graphic Studio Print Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1989     Irish Arts Council Touring Exhibition 'The Birds', Ireland

1987     Contemporary Irish Arts Society Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1986     Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland

1985     Milwaukee Festival Exhibition, Milwaukee, U.S.A.

1984            Claremorris International Exhibition, Co. Mayo, Ireland

AWARDS:

 2007    Image Now, Award:  Best use of Multimedia in Fine Art (Video)

1997     The Canada Council for the Arts, 'Travelling Grant' 1997

1995     5th Print Exhibition, 'New Experimental Works' Award, Galway,
Ireland

1992     Best Graphics Award, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland

1992     Ernst & Young Purchase Award, Toronto, Canada

1991     Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grant, Canada

1989     First prize (Graphics), Claremorris International Exhibition, Co.
Mayo, Ireland

Programme 7: 18th October 2007

For decades adverts have sold us the message that bacteria and smells are bad, that we should use creams and sprays, bleaches and anti-bacterials to make sure we're safe from harm. Well many of us, without any thought, use products such as floor cleaners, detergents and air fresheners in our homes while we spray our bodies with deodorants and perfumes. But are these products toxic for us, or should we put our trust in the chemical industry, that what they're selling us won't do us any harm? Ella Mc Sweeney talks to the Editor of The Ecologist Magazine, Pat Thomas, who for years has been writing a series of articles for the magazine called 'Behind the Label'. She has also written 2 books on the subject "Cleaning yourself to Death; How clean is your home?" and "What's in this stuff? The essential guide to what's really in the products you buy in the supermarket". Ella also visited Patsy Sheridan who was born in the Claddagh in Galway in 1922. She remembers what life was like for women when she was growing up. Ella teased out the pros and cons of the Reach Directive with Toxicologist Sharon McGuinness, Assistant Chief Executive for the Chemicals Policy and Services Division in the HSA, the Health and Safety Authority. And finally we met Lilli Klint, who offers an Irish alternative to conventional cleaning products, Lilly's Eco-clean products.

• Lillys Eco-Clean Products
  
  - Washing-up liquid
  - Floor Cleaner
  - Spray cleaner
  - Toilet cleaner
  - Laundry liquid
  - Degreaser
  
  Address:
  Lilly's Eco Clean Ltd,
  Unit 8,
  Centra Commercial Park,
  Castletownbere,
  Co. Cork,
  Ireland
  
  Mobile: +353 (0)87 925 7004 
  Fixed-line: +353 (0)27 714 96
  
  
• The Ecologist
  www.theecologist.org
  
  Tel: 0207 422 81 00
  
  Address:
  102 D Lana House Studios
  116 - 118 Commercial Street
  Spitalfields
  London
  E1 6NF
  
  
• The Reach Directive
  The new European Chemicals regulation (REACH) was adopted in December 2006.
  
  REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.
   
  www.europarl.europa.eu/
  

Programme 6: 11th October 2007
Transition Towns

For those communities around Ireland who may be concerned about life after oil, what kind of life is on offer? And how can communities galvanise support in their area to live a more sustainable life?  In The Green Light, Ella McSweeney talks to Rob Hopkins, the founder of the so-called 'Transition Towns' idea which is based around community projects that prepare for life after oil.   It all started when he was living in Kinsale, Co. Cork - it has since become the first transition town not only in the world, but also in Ireland.  Tim Desmond goes to the town to meet the people involved.  Ella also talks to Rebecca Hosking lives in Devon. She works as a camera woman for the BBC's natural history unit.  It was when she travelled to Hawaii to do a film on marine pollution that she got the shock of her life - 90% of the pollution she saw on the beaches and in the water was from plastic - plastic bags, bottles and packaging was everywhere. She returned to her town of Modbury determined to get the community to stop using plastic bags.  She showed some locals her film from Hawaii and they were shocked.  They decided to act and since then, Modbury has become the first town in the UK to ban plastic bags. So what lessons can we learn from such a successful community project?

Finally, Ella hears from Padraic Dunne - a founder member of FADA. They are a group in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, that have come together to make it the second Transition Town in Ireland.

Further information

FADA, Newbridge, Co. Kildare - www.kildare.ie/fada.  For more information, contact Padraic Dunne - 087 741 6473.

Transition Towns - http://www.transitiontowns.org/

Modbury's Plastic Bag Free website - http://www.plasticbagfree.com/

 Rebecca Hosking's Six Easy Steps to galvanise communities:

• 1 Do it yourself, or with a group. Don't rely on councils or supermarkets.
• 2 Get the trust of the traders. Approach them directly. A handout is not enough.
• 3 Gauge public support to encourage supermarkets and multiples to take part.
• 4 Learn about what plastics are doing to the environment.
• 5 Research every type of alternative bag on the market.
• 6 Set a date.

Programme 5: 4th October 2007
There's a two acre piece of native woodland just east of Ballyvourney Village, on the Cork/Kerry border. It's called Cascade Wood - a beautiful, mysterious place with an incredible diversity of wildlife species.  It supports some very unique species, including the rare Kerry Slug that's only found in that part of Ireland. In a bold move, Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, announced on the 20th of September that Cascade Wood be saved from demolition.  He has ordered that the planned road be re-routed above the woodland.  While supporting the development of this road, Minister Gormley stated that under EU nature law, the rare species of Kerry Slug, the old oak, and diversity of bats that are all found in the woodland must be protected at all costs.

In this programme, Ella visits Cascade Wood with Conor Kelleher, chairperson of the Irish Wildlife Trust who's from the area.  She also speaks with ecological consultant Evelyn Moorkens and Ballyvourney localman Donal Mac Suibhne

Programme 4: 27th September 2007
In 1610, Galileo Galilei published his astronomical observations that he made of the skies over Italy. He wrote that the stars in the Milky Way were packed so densley that they appeared as clouds over the sky. Noone has turned a dimmer switch on the stars today - they burn as brightly as they did in Galileo's time. But someone has turned the dimmer switch up here on Earth because it's shining brighter than ever before. In urban cities like Galway, Cork, Belfast and Dublin, it's harder than ever to spend the night gazing at the stars.

Thirty years ago, it was possible to see 7,000 stars in the Milky Way over Liverpool, for example. Today you'd be lucky to see 200. Thanks to our love of lighting, the sky is glowing. Ella McSweeney spent the evening on the Hill of Howth with Tom Ray from the School of Cosmic Physics in the Institute for Advanced Studies. Instead of gazing at the stars - none were visible - they spent the evening gazing at the glow of Dublin from the 47,000 lights it takes to light the city. About 30% of that light is unnecessarily lighting the skies, creating 'sky glow'.

Ella spoke with the man responsible for lighting the streets and roads of Dublin, Paddy Craven, Senior Lighting Engineer with Dublin City Council and President of the Institution of Lighting Engineers. Dublin City Council along with Kerry and Clare County Councils have incorporated light pollution in their Development Plans, as have Armagh City Council.

Back in the 50s in Tucson Arizona The International Dark Skies Association was set up to lobby for regulation against light polution.

After more than 12 years of campaigning The Republic of Slovenia adopted its first light pollution law on August 30th of this year. It makes Slovenia one of the leading countries in the EU in this area. Among expected benefits from the new law include an energy cost savings of up to 10 million euros per year with a corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Over-illumination is responsible for approximately 2 million barrels of oil per day in energy wasted. Ella spoke with one of the campaign organisers Andrei Mohar.

But light pollution isn't just about energy and stars ...it's about those other creatures with which we share the earth. Wildlife species such as bats have a hard time of it with all the lights that glow as the sun sets. Conor Kelleher is Mr. Batman in Ireland - Chairman of Bat Conservation Ireland and the Irish Wildlife Trust. He keeps a close eye on the behaviour of bats in an increasingly glowing Ireland and advises city and town planners on how to minimise light pollution where bats like to roost and feed.

Recommendations for reducing light pollution :

• A.   Put baffles or shields on street lights to direct the light and turn off unnecessary street lighting during the early hours of the morning
  
  
• B.    Use heat sensored lights to light up your home for security and if you must light up your home for aesthetic purposes light it close up to the house.
  
  
• C.   Floodlighting of commercial properties to be limited
  
  
• D.   Lighting of sports grounds should be directed downwards so as not to interfere with neighbouring properties
  
  
• E.    Lighting of public buildings should be directed closely at the building
  
  
• F.    And the lighting plans for any new developments should have to be submitted with the planning application and should be for the minimum amount of lighting needed for comfort and security
  

On Saturday October 20th 2007, San Francisco is asking it's citizens to turn off their lights for 1 hour between 8pm and 9pm time so that they can gaze at the stars. They reckon they will save 15% of the energy normally consumed on an average Saturday night. They've already done it Iceland so maybe its something we should consider doing here.

Background to International Dark Skies Association
David L. Crawford earned his Ph.D. in astronomy in 1958 and spent nearly all his professional life at Kitt Peak National Observatory, on a mountaintop fifty-six miles southwest of Tucson, Arizona. By 1970, he had noticed a significant decrease in astronomical visibility. Tucson was growing rapidly, and so was its sky glow. With a colleague, he persuaded the city to make regulations governing exterior lighting, and later they persuaded other Arizona cities and counties to pass similar regulations. In 1988, Crawford and another friend formed a nonprofit organization called the International Dark-Sky Association. The International Dark Skies Association which started in the US now has members in seventy-eight countriesby a local teacher!
Recommendations of the IDA.
 
Links

Professor Tom Ray
School of Cosmic Physics,
Institute for Advanced Studies,
5 Merrion Square,
Dublin 2

Paddy Craven,
Senior Lighting Engineer, Dublin City Council and President Institution Of Lighting Engineers.
Dublin City Council
Tel : 222 2222

Andrej Mohar,
Organiser, 7th European Symposium for the Protection of the Night Sky - Light Pollution and Global Warming, October 5-6, 2007, Bled, Slovenia
Visit the conference website - http://www.darksky2007.si/

Conor Kelleher,
Chairman,
Irish Wildlife Trust
Irish Wildlife Trust
Sigmund Business Centre
93A Lagan Road
Dublin Industrial Estate
Glasnevin
Dublin 11, IRE
Tel: (+353) 01 8602839
Email: iwt@eircom.net   or enquiries@iwt.ie

Conor Kelleher,
Chairman,
Bat Conservation Ireland
Batline 046 9242882
For queries about membership of Bat Conservation Ireland  membership@batconservationireland.org

Astronomy Ireland
P.o.Box 2888
Dublin 5
Tel : 01 8477077
Fax : 01 8470771
Email : info@astronomy.ie

IDA - International Dark Skies Association
webmaster@darksky.org

ILPAC - Irish Light Pollution AwarenessCampaign
Chairperson Albert White
1 Burmah Close
Dalkey
Dublin
Ireland
info@ilpac.eu
+353 1 8199794
+353 1 8199794

Programme 3: 20th September 2007
On Water  

The appalling water contamination situation in Galway has led to an untold amount of damage to the people who live in the county.  Some experts have said that they were not at all surprised by the outbreak of Cryptosporidium and E Coli in the water, and that our Environmental Protection Agency had warned officials years in advance that it could happen. We all know that water is essential for life - without it, we wouldn't just be incredibly thirsty.  Life as we know it would be impossibleSo it's a strange thing that so few of us know just how and where the water that flows into our taps, showers and toilets, actually comes from!

This week on The Green Light Ella McSweeney meets Mícheál Bruen who charts the course that water takes from the rivers and streams, into the reservoirs, onto the treatment (purifying ) plants and into our homes. She also finds out about Septic Tank systems for one-off houses and how they can impact on the environment. But the treatment of sewage/contaminants in water has been carried out naturally for over 30 years throughout Europe. These natural systems make use of certain plants such as the common reed. This plant transfers oxygen from its leaves to its roots.  Billions of micro-organisms live in these roots. They break down the pollutants in the water, so that as our dirty water moves slowly through the mass of reed roots, the water is gradually cleaned. One man who installs these systems in houses throughout Ireland is Ollan Herr, who's based in Dundalk. He outlines how the system can work for one-off houses and for larger developments. And given that the water we flush in our toilets is treated to drinking standards, just how good is the quality of the water we drink?  Emer O'Connell is an environmental risk analyst.

Links

Mícheál Bruen
School of Architectural Landscape and Civil Engineering in UCD
 
 
Ollan Herr
Túr na Gaoithe, Hackballscross,
Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland
tel: (042)937 7689 fax: (042)937 7691
e-mail Reedbeds Ireland [reedbedsireland@eircom.net]
http://www.reedbedsirl.com/?browserHasJs=1
 
 
Emer O' Connell
Environmental Risk Analyst

Programme 2: 13th September 2007
Walk around the housing estates in Cork, Galway, Athlone, Letterkenny, Dublin... and you're sure to see a common sight - entire streets of housing that have lost their green grass and colourful flowers.  In their place, thousands of front gardens around Ireland lie dormant under a tide of paving.  It's become symbolic of suburban living in Ireland today.  Paving companies have never been so busy...

For many people, there's little choice: public transport isn't regular or reliable enough, so driving becomes the best option.recent figures show a rise in car ownership to almost 2.3 million last year.  The more cars on the road, the fewer car parking spaces.so for many, paving the front garden is the only way to ensure that the car has a place to go at night

Paving may be a quick fix for our cars, and the problem some people have maintaining the garden, but we could be storing up some serious problems in the future if we carry on covering our front gardens with tarmac.  Losing greenery to hard surfaces could be the death-knell for biodiversity - wildlife species like sparrows, hedgehogs, blackbirds and bumblebees which are otherwise abundant in urban gardens.  Another serious issue is that of flooding - rainfall runs off paving, leaving drains unable to cope with big downpours.

We know very little about how many suburban gardens in Ireland are paved over.  There's been no research done in the area, and awareness is very low. The same was the case in England, until two years ago when the first piece of research was published by the London Assembly. So we have to look to the latest research in the UK. In 2005 the London Assembly published their findings in a report called 'Crazy Paving'.  The  report  made a number of organisations in the UK sit up and take notice.  The Environment Agency now urges home owners to "resist laying concrete or tarmac over the whole of the front garden" and councils around the UK are encouraging homeowners to keep their gardens green. But what about here in Ireland?   Ciaran Cuffe is a green party TD who has long been interested in this issue. IN the year 2000, he wrote that "it's no act of God that has left hundreds of homes flooded, it's an act of man".  He thinks the only solution is to legislate, so that people have to get planning permission to pave.

Ella meets one home owner, Michael, who paved his front garden because of the lack of on-road parking in his area; She also talks to Landscape gardener Tim Simmons;  Darren Johnson, a member of the UK Green party and Chair of the Environment Committee in the London Assembly - the man responsible for the Crazy Paving report; Ciaran Cuffe, Green Party TD.; Elaine O'Riordan, Biodiversity Project Manager for Galway and Kevin Cullen, President of the Insitute of Geologists of Ireland.

Links
Kevin Cullen - White Young Green
Apex Business Centre
Blackthorn Road
Sandyford, Dublin 18
Tel: +353 (0) 1293 1200
Fax: +353 (0) 1293 1250
dublin@wyg.com

Crazy Paving report:  click here

Tim Simmons- Landscape Gardener, Waterford

Elaine O' Riordan
Galway County Biodiversity Project Manager
Applied Ecology Unit,
Centre for Environmental Science,
NUI, Galway
email: elaine.oriordan@nuigalway.ie

Roughan & O'Donovan Consulting Engineers
Tel + 353+1+642 5588
Email: info@acei.ie 

Tim Simmonds
Coastguard House,
Ballymacaw,
Co Waterford.
087 0516610.
timsimmonds@eircom.net

Programme 1: 6th September 2007
On Concrete

Concrete built is better built.  It's a slogan that has served the concrete industry very well.  After water, concrete is the most widely consumed substance on earth - more than 10 billion tons of it is produced each year around the world.  It's the stuff of bridges and houses, power plants and schools, garages and bridges.  There's little doubt about its benefits - concrete can assume any colour, shape, pattern or texture you like.  It's both durable and fire-resistant.

But there's also a problem, because the cement industry is the second largest industrial source of carbon dioxide emissions in Ireland.  Every tonne of cement - the most active component of concrete - produces at least another tonne of C02 into the atmosphere.  And every year, 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide are produced to satisfy the demand for concrete in Ireland.  So how have we become so dependent on this apparently environmentally-unfriendly material?  What about the alternatives - natural materials such as wood?  And given our reputation for new homes that are not very energy-efficient, how much can we blame the use of concrete for this?  Ella travels to Leitrim to hear the thoughts of Living Architecture Director Peter Cowman. She also talks to timber-frame developer Gerry McCaughey, engineer and past chairperson of the Irish Concrete Society Joe O'Donovan, and editor of Construct Ireland magazine Jeff Colley.

LINKS
Living Architecture Centre
www.livingarchitecturecentre.com

Kingspan Century
www.century.ie

Construct Ireland magazine
www.constructireland.ie

Roughan & O'Donovan Consulting Engineers
Tel + 353+1+642 5588
Email: info@acei.ie 

The Irish Concrete Society
Honorary Secretary,
The Irish Concrete Society,
Platin,
Drogheda,
Co. Louth,
Ireland.

tel: 041 9876466
fax: 041 9876400
email: secretary@concrete.ie