Brainstorm | Opinion, Analysis, Reports, Features

Handout photo used with permission of Damien Rytel showing flooding in Midleton, Co Cork caused by Storm Babet. Issue date: Wednesday October 18, 2023. Photo: PA

Human induced climate change detected in Irish weather records

New research finds science for Ireland is now clear: human-driven climate change is discernible in Irish weather records

Climate Change • 20 Oct

Why this is probably the best bottle deposit scheme in the world

Lessons from more than 100 years of return culture in Denmark shows us why giving waste a value could work for Ireland

Brainstorm • 27 Sep

The answer is in the orange peels, which can be used as a source of pectin. Photo: Getty Images

Can citrus waste be used to package and protect food?

How citrus waste left over from juice production could be used to make edible coatings for protecting food

Sustainability • 08 Aug

How wildfire smoke harms human health even when fire is far away

A toxicologist explains the health risks people can face when smoke blows in from distant wildfires

Health • 08 Jun

I like driving in my car, it's not quite a Jaguar. Photo: Nahlik/Shutterstock

How car tyres could be adding microplastics to the environment

Tyre wear chemicals have been found in 97% of river and estuary samples tested in Europe, the US and Japan

Transport • 25 May

There are some promising examples across Ireland of organisations striving to create sustainable and resource efficient ways of working. Photo: Getty Images

Can a HR department help a business to go green?

Research shows working for organisations that are 'doing their bit' for tackling climate change is high on the list of priorities for workers

Business • 11 Apr

You'd need to plant around 6,000 Croke Parks to get to the Government's target of trees planted on land where there weren't any before. Photo: Getty Images

What's going wrong with Ireland's forests?

We should be planting millions of trees every year so why are we consistently falling short of our targets?

Environment • 21 Mar

Although a significant proportion of plastic waste ends up in landfills, incinerated or illegally dumped, approximately 8 million tons of plastic waste still go into the ocean annually Photo: Getty Images

Where does 99% of the plastic debris dumped into our oceans go?

We are putting about 8 million tonnes of plastic waste into the ocean but only 1% of this actually resurfaces

Environment • 28 Feb

We need to reduce food waste across all sectors by 50% to read our 2030 targets Photo: Getty Images

How do we fix Ireland's food waste problem?

770,300 tonnes of food are wasted in Ireland annually, but we can take steps to prevent it

Sustainability • 28 Feb

An AW139 helicopter operated by the Irish Air Corp assisting firefighters. Photo: Air Corps/ Wildfire Today

How data can be used to help fight wildfires in real-time

Researchers working with firefighters are developing a prototype system to help combat highly destructive wildfires

Climate Change • 16 Nov 22

The production of animal foods is typically far more resource heavy, and results in considerably higher greenhouse gas emissions, than the production of plant foods Photo: Getty Images

5 things to know about plant-based diets

It isn't necessary to take an all-or-nothing approach to plant-based eating to reap the health benefits

Nutrition • 11 Nov 22

Participants prepare for the Liffey swim in Dublin in 2021. Photo: Leon Farrell/Rollingnews.ie

How clean are Irish waters for sport and recreation?

30% of Ireland's water bodies have failed to meet environmental standards for water quality since 2019

Water Quality • 27 Oct 22

The story of Ellen Hutchins, Ireland's first female botanist

Over 200 years ago on the shores of West Cork, a young woman was avidly collecting, studying and identifying plants

History • 21 Sep 22

One for the road: turning whiskey waste into biofuel

Leftover grain accounts for 85% of total waste generated by distilleries. What if it could be used to fuel cars and planes?

Brainstorm • 14 Sep 22

7 energy saving measures Ireland could take right now

Germany has introduced national energy saving rules and Ireland can learn from them in the face of a serious energy crisis

Cost of Living • 07 Sep 22

Given that only 18% of Irish homes secured a BER rating of B3 or higher in 2019, some form of deep retrofit may be required, which could end up costing households' tens of thousands of Euro.

How the Govt's retrofit scheme risks leaving middle Ireland out

While the Government's €8.7 billion plan to retrofit 500,000 Irish homes is progressive, the State needs to help people finance retrofitting projects otherwise the plan …

Environment • 21 Sep 21

How to turn shellfish waste into bioplastics

We should be doing a lot more with the 1.5 megatonnes of crab and shrimp shells, tails and unused meat than just dumping it

Marine • 26 Nov 20

Village Brewery, University of Calgary researchers and Xylem Technologies brewed a crisp blond ale from reused wastewater

Would you drink beer brewed from wastewater?

Craft brewers and researchers used recyled wastewater to make beer which turned out to taste great

Beer • 20 Nov 20

How age and gender influence our views of climate change

A new project reveals striking differences depending on age and gender around how to tackle climate change in Ireland

Climate Change • 29 Sep 20

The inside story of the Irish bog

How and why we should preserve these unique landscapes

Podcast • 06 Aug 20

'Favouring the term 'climate action' allows for positive messaging along the lines of the narratives around Covid-19 in that measures are being actively taken and we are all doing our part in the fight.'

How to sell positive messages to deal with climate change

The communications and narratives around climate change have to become embedded across the country in the same way as Covid-19

Climate Change • 04 Aug 20

What happens to the waste that goes down the drain in your home?

We go on a journey beyond the sink and the drain to find out what happens next

Podcast • 31 Jul 20

How wet wipes and sanitary products are causing marine pollution

Personal care products marked 'flushable' are responsible for over 90% of microplastic fibres at some Irish locations

Brainstorm • 23 Jun 20

Kenyan ecofeminist, human rights campaigner and Green Belt Movement founder Wangari Maathai who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Photo: Micheline Pelletier/Corbis via Getty Images

All you ever wanted to know about ecofeminism

Here are some ways in which gender and environmentalism are related

Climate Change • 24 Feb 20

Pharmaceuticals we are releasing into the environment affect the way microorganisms, plants and animals interact with each other in our waterways.

The drugs which end up in our sewers, drains and rivers

We are releasing pharmaceuticals into our waterways which affect how microorganisms, plants and animals interact with each other

Environment • 10 Feb 20