Eco Eye

Green Economy

As we face mounting environmental challenges and time begins to run out on turning the ecological corner, Eco Eye returns to look at ways that we can move toward a brighter future. Duncan travels the length and breadth of Ireland, and even as far as Austria, to find positive projects which could have tremendous benefits for the future. Meanwhile Tania tours the country looking at how enjoyable an environmentally friendly holiday can be.

Series Ten

Programme One: Pathway to 2050

As we start a new season of Eco Eye we look ahead to what environmental challenges face us, and how we might overcome them.

Prof. Colin Campbell (world renowned Oil geologist): Colin shows that the production of cheap oil has peaked or will peak shortly, and discusses the sharp drop off in oil availability to follow. Colin shows that there will be a global gradual decline in oil production which will lead to greater demand for alternatives.

Chris Saunders (Economist): Chris has spent his career studying financial systems and tells us how a decline in the supply of cheap energy will have a major knock on effect for the rest of the economy. This will strengthen the argument for decoupling economic growth from carbon intensity.

Barry Caslin (Teagasc): Barry shows that we have a lot of land in Ireland that is under utilized and unproductive. He shows that with the right incentives we can create rural green jobs by incentivising biofuel crops.

Niall McGrath (Agri Bio-Fuel Ireland): Niall and his father Bobby have come up with a bioenergy crop that could replace peat and coal for domestic or commercial burning .
Padraig Howard (West Clare Renewable Energy Agency): Padraig speaks about community windfarms and a particular project in West Clare that has received planning permission but no grid connection due to red tape. This project has secured €250 million that is waiting to invest in the community area but could be lost if the red tape isn't untangled on time.

Dr John Barry (Political Economist, Queens University Belfast): John discusses opportunities for a green economy and why a long term vision is needed for Ireland to move forward in this area.

Laura Burke (Director General - EPA) Laura discusses the challenges for Ireland to meet our Greenhouse Gas emissions targets.

Programme Two - Biodversity

The variety of life on our planet provides us with a huge number of benefits, so much so that economists and ecologists are pulling together to find the real value of a vibrant ecosystem. In this episode, Duncan looks at what exactly those benefits are, and what is being done to protect some of Ireland's unique habitats, such as our the Burren and our wetlands.

Also this episode, Tania experiences the gourmet Greenway, and enjoys the sights, and foods, on offer in Mayo.

Congella McGuire (Heritage Officer, Clare County Council): Congella discusses the importance of managing biodiversity on burren farmland and how a wealth of information is provided to farmers to help them do this.

Dr. Brendan Dunford (Burren LIFE Project): Brendan discusses farming traditions on the Burren and how the Burren LIFE Project has worked with many farmers in the area to promote biodiversity.

Pat McCormack (Burren Farmer): Pat talks about what the Burren means to him and the value he believes it has both to his farming, and to our heritage.

Dr. Simon Harrison (University College Cork): Simon talks about the different types of wetlands and their importance for biodiversity.

James Howard (Burren Farmer): James keeps a turlough, or seasonal lake, on his land. He discusses why he does this and what is involved in managing such a feature.

Karin Dubsky (Coastwatch Europe): Karin tells us about the importance of wetlands and how they benefit entire communities. She also discusses why wetlands are threatened.
Padraic Gannon (Fresh Seafood Producer): Padraic invites Tania to help harvest his Grade A shellfish and tells of what the Greenway means to him.

Sean F. Kelly (Dominick Kelly's Butcher): Sean shows Tania his selection of meats and explains what the Greenway means to him, before putting Tania to work making sausages.
Gerard Hassett (Keem Bay Fish Products): Gerard shows Tania how to smoke a salmon.
Ollie O' Regan (Mulranny Park Hotel): Cooks up the food Tania has collected for a gourmet treat.

Sean Carolan (Mulranny Environmental Group): Sean tells us all about the local goat population.

Cameron Clotworthy (Ballycroy National Park): Cameron takes Tania on a tour of the park and describes the fantastic wild features of the area.

Episode Three - Green Homes

In this special episode, Eco Eye heads to Austria to look at some exciting green home projects. Back in Ireland we look at what's being done in Ireland, and what can be done, to green our houses.

Günter Weratschnig (Architect): Günter is the architect behind a center for hikers in the Austrian Alps. Despite the extreme conditions, from hot summers to freezing, snowcovered winters, Günter has managed to design a passive building for hikers to enjoy.

Herwig Ronacher (Architect): The Alpine hut is a stereotypical feature of Austria, with it's old stonework combined with wooden sections and large overhanging roofs, the design is hundreds of years old. Herwig has managed to take one of these traditional buildings, and converted it to passive standards.

Stefan Kogler (Architect): Stefan works with Weissenseer Holz System-Bau GmbH. They have produced an experimental passive house which floats on water, the house can be turned to capture more sunlight and works in tendem with its environment.

Dónall Flanagan (Homeowner): Dónall owns a house in the Dublin mountains, he has always had difficulty heating the home and he is exploring what needs to be done to keep the house warm.

Archie O' Donnell (Energy Consultant): Archie performs an assessment on Dónall's home and talks to Duncan about the problems which face the house, which are typical of many Irish homes.

Brian Motherway (Sustainable Energy Action Ireland): Brian talks to us about what needs to be done to improve the efficiency of Irish homes and how homeowners can easily fund such prjects.

Charlie Roarty (Energy Action Ltd): Charlie talks about fuel poverty and how it affects many Irish homes.

Joe Curtin (The Institute of International and European Affairs): Joe talks to us about what we can do to combat fuel poverty and how we can finally bring energy efficiency to Irish houses.

Episode Four - Green Communities

Eco Eye heads back to Austria this week to look at what's happening in Koetschach, a community which is operating several different schemes to keep the area eco-friendly. Back in Ireland we visit Baltinglass, where several people have enacted their own energy efficient schemes, and want to work together for the good of their green community, but are finding it difficult to get access to the infrastructure they need.

Meanwhile, Tania heads down to the Burren to see the wealth of experiences available to tourists there.

Episode Five - Transport

This week Eco Eye looks at various issues around transport. How various forms of transport, both passenger and freight, have a negative impact on the environment and also what alternatives there are.

Episode Six - Wood

It is important to understand the benefit of using wood both as a construction material, and as a fuel, this week we look at these benefits, and also at the importance of responsible forestry. Eco Eye also takes a visit to Tralee this week, where an exciting new district heating system is being put in place. The system is comparable to efforts in Austria, so we also head back there once more.

In this episode Tania visits Cork, to experience the green award winning Garryvoe Hotel. She also checks out some of the local attractions.

Dr. Kevin Black (UCD) Dr. Black explains the process of carbon sequesterisation and how trees help our atmosphere.

Dr. Brian Tobin (Carbifor II) - Dr. Tobin discusses the work of Carbifor research group who examine exactly how much carbon trees remove from our atmosphere(http://www.ucd.ie/carbifor/).

Dr. Matthew Saunders (Carbifor II) - Dr. Saunders delves further into the benefits provided by trees (http://www.ucd.ie/carbifor/).

Dr. Annette Harte (NUI Galway) - Dr. Harte points out the benefits of using timber as a building material.

Tom Curran - Tom explains how the Tralee District Heating came to be (http://www.traleetc.ie/).

Tim McSwiney - Tim describes the benfits of the district heating system (http://www.traleetc.ie/).

Edwin Stryker (North Kerry Woodchip) - Edwin explains exactly where Tralee gets its heating fuel from (http://northkerrywoodchip.com/).

Sebastian Schuller - Sebastian talks to Duncan about the district heating project in Salzburg, Austria (http://www.salzburg-ag.at/).

Stephen Belton (Garryvoe Hotel) - Stephen discusses the green credentials of the Garryvoe Hotel and how it helps business (http://www.garryvoehotel.com/).

Maurice Bergin (Green Hospitality Programme) - Maurice tells us about how the Green Hospitality programme encourages businesses to go green (http://www.ghaward.ie/).

John McLaughlin (Fota Wildlife Park) - John tells Tania all about the work done in Fota, not just as an attraction for tourists, but as a big player in many conservation schemes (http://www.fotawildlife.ie/).