Care of the Earth
Last updated February 12th 2020
February 2020
You can listen to this New Yorker Article as well as read it.
We lobbied all those MEPs (6) in total who had not yet committed to the objection to the Projects of Common Interest (PCI) list and Maria Walsh broke with party ranks to voice the objections we asked her to.
January 2020
Climate change: focusing on how individuals can help is very convenient for corporations:
Morten Fibieger Byskov, University of Warwick
January 10, 2019 11.06am GMT
More here
A really provocative and interesting article that spells it out so well.
Try to have a closer look at the picture.
Russian climate activist inspired by Thunberg is jailed
Arshak Makichyan had held a solo demonstration in Moscow for over 40 weeks before arrest More from the Guardian here
December 2019
UN emissions report: World on course for more than 3 degree spike, even if climate commitments are met.
Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report from the UN Environment Programme, released on Tuesday November 26th 2019. More here
We need to supercharge our #ClimateAction ambition NOW to close the #EmissionsGap: http://bit.ly/2KU0kPb
November 2019
In Tandem with Science Week Nov 10th - 17th
During this week I want to make you aware of the collaboration between RTE and Science Week as they come together to inform on the issues that pertain to Climate Change in Ireland and moreover to look to the actions that can be taken to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
Will Ireland Survive 2050? - Monday, November 11, 9.35pm, RTÉ One Here
and from the Radio Player on Monday:
RTÉ Player will drop a new four part series called My Best Sustainable Life, which follows Nadia Forde, The 2 Johnnies, Lauren Guilfoyle, Thumper and Bonnie Ann Clyde as they take on the commitment to change one aspect of their life to help the planet.
What Planet are you On?, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, November 12 -14, 7pm, RTÉ One
Hot Air - Ireland's Climate Crisis, Tuesday, November 12, 9:35pm, RTÉ One
The Today Show with Maura and Daithí, Monday to Friday, November 11 to 15, 8.10 - 10.05am, RTÉ One
Special news reports from RTÉ's Paul Cunningham and George Lee RTÉ political reporter Paul Cunningham travels to the Arctic Circle and visits the western towns in Greenland.
Doesn't Cost the Earth, Monday, November 11, RTÉ Player
Rud Amháin - Monday - Friday, Nuacht on RTÉ One, 5.40pm
Today with Sean O'Rourke, Monday - Friday, 10.00am - 12.00pm
Mooney Goes Wild Town Hall on Climate, Monday, November 11, 2-4pm
RTE On Climate (YouTube Clip)
The Late Debate, Thursday, November 14, 10-11pm, RTÉ Radio 1
Katie Hannon hosts a live studio debate on political parties' climate change positions.
And looking at fast fashion:
Dirty Laundry - Podcast, Tuesday, November 12
2FM's Tara Stewart will explore sustainable fashion in a brand-new RTÉ podcasts series called Dirty Laundry.
Ecolution - Monday - Friday, 7pm
From Monday November 11 at 7pm, RTÉjr Radio will host a brand new series called Ecolution. Presented by climate youth activist James Dunne (15) this series will focus on biodiversity, waste, energy, emissions, water and action. The series will also be available on RTÉ Player.
Friday will see the RTÉ Youth Assembly on Climate convened in Dáil Éireann. This is a first.
I will try to post a link to some of these over the next few weeks if you have missed some.
If you get a chance to look in why not let us know what you think so that we can recommend to others that which might have particularly caught your attention.
Keep and eye on the Facebook Page as this week we will post primarily on all that is Science Week and Climate Change
October 2019
Abba singer Bjorn Ulvaeus has come out in support of young climate activist Greta Thunberg, in a video posted online in recent days.
The Swedish pop singer said “the patriarchy is pissing in their pants in fear” of Ms Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swede who started a global school climate strike movement.
The student activist, who spoke at the United Nations Climate Action Summit last month, had “superpowers,” Mr Ulvaeus said. here
Click here to read all of GSR's environmental coverage. Global Sisters Report
Podcast : Comedian Colm O'Regan chats Climate Change
September 5th 2019
Listen to the latest episode of 'The World Etc.' podcast
This month, Colm is joined in studio by:
Irish Times journalist, Sorcha Hamilton, who has recently started a series of ‘One Change’ columns, looking at positive, environmentally-friendly changes people can make in their day-to-day lives.
Paula Butler, an environmental consultant for over 20 years, who has been on a personal crusade over the last two-and-half years to reduce the carbon footprint generated by herself and her family.
Checkout https://www.ecoconsciousliving.ie/
Defend the Defenders
Watch new documentary: Defend the Defenders Here (28 Minutes)
Human rights defenders in Guatemala standing up against private companies
Some private companies are responsible for serious human rights violations, including violent attacks on communities and individuals. Trócaire’s new 'Defend the Defenders' documentary examines such realities in Guatemala, one of the world’s most dangerous countries for human rights defenders.
Climate Change and Land
The Latest IPCC Report is very long however they have made a slide presentation of the main issues that can be seen here and it is much more digestible and usable.
Five ways UK farmers are tackling climate change
Farmers are on the front line of climate change - vulnerable to changes in temperature and rainfall, as well as increasingly frequent extreme weather events. More here
August
The next Prime Minister: Exploring Boris Johnson's enigmatic views on the environment
23 July 2019, source edie newsroom
Boris Johnson, the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, has been announced as the new Prime Minister on Wednesday afternoon (24 July). But what are his views on climate change, the environment, and sustainability? More here
Greta will join large-scale climate demonstrations on September 20 and 27.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg will sail from Europe to north America in August, kicking off a climate tour through the Americas over the next few months.
The sailboat is outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to allow for a zero-carbon, trans-Atlantic voyage.
Greta will join large-scale climate demonstrations on September 20 and 27 and speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, hosted by Secretary General António Guterres in New York City on September 23. More here
Swarm of butterflies arrives on Irish coast in ‘unusual’ migration
Once-in-a-decade influx of ‘Painted ladies’ now happening each year in trend linked to climate change
More here
'I'M ALRIGHT, JACK'
Why should I change my routine,
the life that I enjoy?
Why should I share a lift to work,
or skip Algarve this year?
I want summer clothes in winter,
my gadgets on all night.
If I want green beans in April,
who are you to point?
Our children must have lots of toys,
it’s Christmas after all.
So what they’re from far, far East –
it’s their fault they’re using coal.
All my clothing should be cheap –
we’ve paid too much for years.
Who cares how poor the makers are,
how young, or far from here?
I like my life the way it is –
worked hard to get this far.
I deserve what I’ve acquired –
why should I change things now?
I’m just one person, after all –
what difference can I make?
-- Christine Rigden
Money for taking care of the environment does not grow on trees
What is nature worth to you? This is not a hypothetical question. The cost to society of healing and maintaining the health of Ireland’s natural environment is something we urgently need to talk about, not just because it’s one of the obvious next steps from the declaration of a climate and biodiversity emergency, but also because the amount we’re currently spending on it is utterly pitiful – emergency or none.
A recent study found that Ireland is spending around €250 million per year on biodiversity. If you think that sounds like a lot, consider that it was just 0.3 per cent of total Government expenditure in 2015, and then look a little closer: the vast majority of that €250 million goes on farm subsidies, operational and staffing costs, while the amount left over for the actions needed to actually halt biodiversity loss – like land purchase, rehabilitation of wetlands and habitat restoration, otherwise known as capital investment – is something in the region of €10 million per year. More here
‘Climate apartheid’: UN expert says human rights may not survive
Right to life is likely to be undermined alongside the rule of law, special rapporteur says
The world is increasingly at risk of “climate apartheid”, where the rich pay to escape heat and hunger caused by the escalating climate crisis while the rest of the world suffers, a report from a UN human rights expert has said.
Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the impacts of global heating are likely to undermine not only basic rights to life, water, food, and housing for hundreds of millions of people, but also democracy and the rule of law. More here
Overcoming overshoot: how to stop stealing resources from future generations:
June 11th 2019
The graphic (right) by the Global Footprint Network shows the way that Earth Overshoot Day continues to be earlier and earlier every year, since on December 23rd 1970 humanity — as a whole and by no means everyone — started to live on resources stolen from future generations.
Another way of looking at this data is to say that currently humanity is using resources and generating waste in such excess that we are living off 1.7 planets. The snag being that this is clearly not something that can continue. The longer we do so, the less capacity for bio-productivity will remain, as we erode planetary life support systems even further.
'We were all bog men': Turf war and climate crisis in the midlands
Bord na Móna decarbonisation plans mean 400 job losses, closure of 17 bogs
Mon, Jun 10, 2019
Once upon a time, climate change was an abstract subject but that has changed.
Students in Coláiste Naomh Cormac held two climate strikes in recent months, organised around their class timetables.
“Students aren’t doing this for the craic, there is a genuine care and concern there,” says Keogh. “I think it is a healthy thing that they feel that they can do something about . . . trying to address that problem.” More here
Ferbane’s Ava Grace Egan on climate change: ‘We are taking it on ourselves because it is so important.’ Photograph: Tom O’Hanlon
First-Ever SDG Index and Dashboards Report for European Cities
June 11th 2019
This report finds that no European capital city or large metropolitan area has fully achieved the SDGs. Nordic European cities – Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki – are closest to the SDG targets but still face significant challenges in achieving one or several SDGs. Overall, cities in Europe perform best on SDG 3 (Health and Well-Being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). By contrast, performance is lowest on SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Further efforts are needed to achieve zero net CO2 emissions or very close to zero net emissions by 2030. More here
Climate change is not just an individual crisis; rather, it is the collective, communal crisis for all of us living on our Earth home.
June 11th 2016
Seeing climate change as an existential crisis is worth pondering and bringing to contemplation.
Climate change seen in this way brings us face to face with the core questions of every human person. Who are we? Why are we here? What do we care about? Faith and religion have tried to address such questions and offer ways of responding.
However, the way that Christianity is too often interpreted — so as to justify authoritarian leaders and narrowly focus the value of life in public policy — no longer offers us a way forward. More here from Global Sisters Report
May/June 2019 edition of the Eco-Congregation Ireland newsletter available!
Welcome to the May/June 2019 edition of the Eco-Congregation Ireland newsletter!
Read the newsletter in full here
In this newsletter:
- Our Climate Justice Candle – The Journey Continues!
- ECI Climate Justice Candle visits the Corrymeela Community
- ECI Climate Justice Candle visits Dromantine Eco-Spirituality Group, Newry
- ECI Climate Justice Candle takes centre-stage at the ‘Our Parish, Our Common Home’ Laudato Si’ Day, Dromantine Retreat Centre, Newry
- ECI Climate Justice Candle visits Cork Ecumenical Bible Week
- Irish Council of Churches - Climate Justice Affirmations
- Parish action on climate change and biodiversity highlighted at Church of Ireland General Synod
- St Joseph the Artisan Church, Bonnybrook and St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Parish in Clontarf, Dublin, receive ECI Awareness Certificates
- Stations of the Cross finally completed after almost 60 years to be displayed in An Tairseach, Co Wicklow
- No Time to Waste: A new report from Tearfund
- Local Environmental Gatherings: Connect-Communicate-Collaborate – Working together for a Sustainable Future
- Northern Ireland Creation Care Network meets at The Grange Retreat
- An Epistle from Christ Church Presbyterian to the Church of the Three Patrons, Rathgar
- Creating a buzz in the Parish of Carrigaline!
- Westport Eco-Congregation celebrates Earth Hour
- Plans are well underway in Westport for Season of Creation 2019
- Earth Hour in Balally Parish
- Writings by Fran Brady
- Wonders of Waste Bags: Eco livelihood project in the Philippines
- Update from Loving Sister Earth
- Manorhamilton Church of Ireland to host talk on beekeeping for National Heritage Week
- World Environment Day 2019: Celebrations at St Thomas Orthodox Church, Dublin
- Eco Tips from Killiskey Parish
- Irish Baptist Networks & Christians in Science face 2 face evening in Belfast
- Climate Emergency Bill Dáil Protest- Keep it in the Ground!
- Moving Away from Fossil Fuels by Catherine Devitt
- Future We Need Group celebrates!
- Update from St. Finbarre’s South Parish, Cork
- Vita Celebrates 30 years and exciting climate mitigation projects in East Africa
- Reflection on Air Pollution by Fr Hugh O’Donnell
- Eco Challenge!
- Prayer for the Earth
Trocaire Newsletter #5 June
- 5 ways that Trump endangers people and the planet.
- President Higgins visits Bloom.
- Students create games about changing the world.
- Take action to protect Honduran Human Rights Defender.
- In the news this month: More here
The bogs are alive: how art is healing Scottish Peatlands
An ambitious project is restoring areas of blanket bog in the heart of the Flow Country in northern Scotland that have been damaged by forestry planting
by Murdo MacLeod Mor here
Original painting "The Gleaners" by Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). Julie Nahon did the second image "The Cleaners" in 2019, similar to Ward Kimball's "The Gleaners" done in 1964.
I don't think Millais would have minded about his painting being used in this way.He created beauty, so anything that shows us caring about our beautiful countryside would please such a great artist.
Insect Extinction?
What did insects ever do for us? Tom Heap asks leading entomologists how we can stop their decline. A PodCAST from the BBC here
June 4th 2019
Government’s oil and gas drilling stance ‘completely nonsensical’
The Government can’t be “taken seriously” on climate action so long as it continues to grant oil and gas exploration licences, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said today.
Addressing the Minister for Climate Action Richard Bruton during Leaders’ Questions, Mr Ryan also questioned the recent decision that a “money message” is now required before the Climate Emergency Measures Billcan progress to Committee Stage. More here
Children are the most neglected and vulnerable stakeholders in climate change
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 10 percent of the world’s population is less than five-years-old and they will bear 90 percent of the economic and health burden of climate change. We have a very limited amount of time remaining in which to decide whether we will take responsibility to address climate change and the disproportionately devastating effects it will have on our children. More here
Making the most of the ‘UN Decade on Ecosystems Restoration’: bioregional regenerative development as a deep adaptation pathway More here
May 14th 2019
Ireland failing to reach Convention on Biological Diversity targets
13th May 2019
Just days after the Government declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, Ireland’s 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been published by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), and is a damning indictment of the state of biodiversity in Ireland, with insufficient progress reported across most targets.
The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international legally-binding treaty, which includes the requirement to conserve biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components. [1]
Biodiversity loss poses a huge global threat to our livelihoods, food security, health, and quality of life, and a recent UN report on biodiversity highlighted that nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, with accelerated rates of species extinctions. [2]
Ireland is not immune to this mass extinction of species. The National Biodiversity Centre found that Irish butterfly populations have plummeted by a rate of 12% over the past decade, and a third of all Irish bee species could be extinct by 2030. [3] Approximately 50% of our freshwaters are polluted, with concomitant declines in our most sensitive aquatic species such as salmon, over 90% of our protected habitats are classified as being of ‘unfavourable conservation status’ [4], and overfishing and aquaculture continue to wreak havoc on our marine habitats.
The NPWS’s report clearly points the finger at agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, and the ambitious growth targets set for these by the Foodwise 2025 strategy [5], in combination with the lack of sufficient environmental safeguards. It is essential that the expansion of Irish agriculture, particularly bovine agriculture, combined with the current model of non-native conifer forestry, mismanagement of peatlands and overfishing are rigorously critiqued in light of the newly declared climate and biodiversity emergency.
An Taisce welcome the Dáil’s decision to convene a Citizens’ Assembly to examine our response to biodiversity loss as a logical next step towards addressing this issue, and call for this to be urgently prioritised. The Irish Government must recognise that the status quo cannot remain if we are to tackle our biodiversity emergency, and as the NPWS report itself outlines, a ‘transformational change’ is required. Difficult decisions will have to be taken, and fundamental changes will have to be implemented, because business as usual is costing us the earth.
Dr. Elaine McGoff, Natural Environment Officer with An Taisce said:
‘You cannot tackle an emergency with inaction. The declaration of an emergency is meaningless without concrete and swift measures.’
‘How many reports of catastrophic biodiversity loss do we need before we recognise that the current system is failing us, and undermining our very survival? We need immediate policy changes to reverse Ireland’s appalling biodiversity record’
‘The Government cannot take the necessary action without upsetting vested interest groups, it’s a bitter pill which they simply have to swallow. The needs of the many must outweigh the economic interests of the few, and the people of Ireland deserve a government who are not afraid to implement the changes necessary to safeguard our future’.
ENDS
For further information, contact:
Dr, Elaine McGoff, Natural Environment Officer, An Taisce: +353 1 707 7063
Charles Stanley-Smith, Communications, An Taisce. Tel: +353 87 241 1995
email: publicaffairs@antaisce.org
An Taisce The National Trust for Ireland
Notes:
- The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international legally-binding treaty, and was signed by 150 government leaders, including Ireland at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. The Convention sets out three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources. As a party to the CBD, Ireland are required to submit national reports on the measures taken, and their effectiveness in meeting the objectives of the Convention. https://www.un.org/en/events/biodiversityday/convention.shtml
- https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report
- https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/a-third-of-all-bee-species-in-ireland-could-be-extinct-by-2030-1.3543104
- https://www.npws.ie/article-17-reports-0/article-17-reports-2013
- Food Wise 2025 sets out a ten year plan for the agri-food sector, and identifies ambitious and challenging growth projections for the industry over the next ten yearshttps://www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodwise2025/
An Taisce - Protecting Ireland’s heritage, safeguarding its future
An Taisce is a charity that works to preserve and protect Ireland's natural and built heritage. We are an independent charitable voice for the environment and for heritage issues. We are not a government body, semi-state or agency. Founded in 1948, we are one of Ireland’s oldest and largest environmental organisations.
Climate change: Scientists test radical ways to fix Earth's climate
Scientists in Cambridge plan to set up a research centre to develop new ways to repair the Earth's climate.
It will investigate radical approaches such as refreezing the Earth's poles and removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
The centre is being created because of fears that current approaches will not on their own stop dangerous and irreversible damage to the planet.
The initiative is the first of its kind in the world and could lead to dramatic reductions in carbon emissions. More here
UN News May 2019.mp4Nature's emergency: Where we are in five graphics.
1. The world's biodiversity is vanishing fast
2. Among the biggest threats to wildlife are habitat loss, climate change and pollution
3. Animals and plants are disappearing and so is the land they rely upon for natural habitat
4. Habitat conversion drives biodiversity loss
5. Some of the last great rainforests are being wiped out
More here
Prayer for the Earth
Entrusted with an earthly home
Our minds did not create or build,
We live as visitors and guests
Until our years have been fulfilled.
Through centuries, without concern
For all the grandeur and the grace,
We've taken beauty from the earth
And left it poor – a barren place.
Our carelessness has clogged the streams, which once were clear and sparkling strands,
Our industries have blacked the skies, and left a smog on all our lands.
O God, we've been ungrateful guests, upon this earth which you designed;
Within our time, help us restore our blighted world for all mankind (May 7th 2019)
April 24th 2019 We're losing the war on climate change
On Earth Day -- that 24-hour sliver of the calendar when we talk about the fact that humans exist on, and because of, a living planet -- it's clear not only that we are losing this war but that we still are failing to recognise it's taking place at all.
The deadlines aren't the problem. It's our failure to heed them.
The situation gets only more dire with years of inaction.
Last year, the world's climate science experts -- the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- released a report issuing some deadlines based on the harsh realities of science and math. They said global carbon pollution must be cut in half by 2030 and reduced to net zero by 2050 to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, which include drowned coastal cities, worsening storms and the virtual end of coral reefs. More here
April 24th 2019 You did not act in time': Greta Thunberg's full speech to MPs
I hope my microphone is on. Can you hear me?
You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to. And the saddest thing is that most children are not even aware of the fate that awaits us. We children are not sacrificing our education and our childhood for you to tell us what you consider is politically possible in the society that you have created. We have not taken to the streets for you to take selfies with us, and tell us that you really admire what we do. We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We children are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.
I hope my microphone was on. I hope you could all hear me. More here
April 24th 2019
Sikhs Around the World Are Planting 1 Million Trees to Fight Climate Change:
Integral to the Sikh faith is the belief that all nature and animals are treasured.
Sikh groups around the world have united to fight against climate change by planning to plant 1 million trees in 1,820 different locations by November.
The group behind the movement, EcoSikh, was founded in 2009 to connect Sikh values with solutions to environmental issues — and its latest endeavor, the “Million Tree Project,” is its biggest ever. The initiative aims to tackle environmental issues like deforestation and air pollution while also helping people reconnect with nature. More here
The Best Technology for Fighting Climate Change Isn't a Technology: It's Forests
Forests are the most powerful and efficient carbon-capture system on the planet Forests’ power to store carbon dioxide through the simple process of tree growth is staggering: one tree can store an average of about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in one year. Recent research shows intact forests are capable of storing the equivalent of the carbon dioxide emissions of entire countries such as Peru and Colombia. More here
Rural women across the world are often the unsung heroes of ecosystem conservation, so it is fitting that the peatlands resolution was largely crafted by women.
April 5th 2019
It may not have been intentional but International Women’s Day on 8 March this year saw representatives of The European Union, Indonesia, Norway, the United States and UN Environment - by chance all women - hammer out an agreed draft text on a groundbreaking new resolution on peatlands.
April 5th 2019
A few Footprint facts about the Emerald Isle.
- We would need 2.8 planets if everyone in the world used natural resources at the same rate as Ireland.
- In 2017, Ireland’s country overshoot day fell on 10 May. A country’s overshoot day is the date when Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in this country.
- The average Ecological Footprint of Irish residents is 4.8 global hectares per person. The world average is 2.8 global hectares per person.
- 53 per cent of Ireland’s Footprint comes from the carbon Footprint, and that’s smaller than the world average of 60 per cent!
- Ireland’s ecological budget went into the red in 1968.
For the month of April, we are focusing on SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
- One in nine people is undernourished global - that is 795 million people.
- Agriculture is the worlds largest employer, providing livelihoods for 40% of the population.
- A quarter of children globally suffer from stunted growth.
April 5th
Slovakian president-elect is a green campaigner who will fight coal subsidies
Published on 01/04/2019, 3:17pm
‘Slovakia’s Erin Brockovich’ Zuzana Čaputová will promote a green jobs agenda against the country’s traditional backing of heavy industry
Zuzana Čaputová (Photo: konecnyfoto)
Slovakia’s first female president will challenge long-standing industrial interests and the financing of coal mining after being elected on Saturday. More here
We in the North East Province have a sincere interest in all that goes on in Slovakia and are enlivened by the prospect of the President Elect (perhaps)
State urged to ‘rewet’ 270,000ha of peatland under new proposals
The state is being urged to “rewet” 270,000ha of the country’s peatlands over the next two decades in a bid to create carbon sinks, newly-tabled proposals outline.
The proposals – prepared by the Joint Committee on Climate Action and seen by this publication – recommend that an initial 130,000ha of bogland should be “rewetted” by 2030. More here
Irish group takes case to Europe over biomass burning
A subsidy to encourage biomass burning alongside peat for electricity generation is allowing the “commercially unviable” industry to survive, environmentalists have warned. More here
March 30th 2019
Ending climate change requires the end of capitalism. Have we got the stomach for it?
TInkering at the edges or indeed picking the low hanging fruit will not make the required differences that will positively mitigate climate change. What is needed is radical thought and action. A critique of what passes for business as usual will demand more fundamental changes and sooner. This is understood by all but how can the inexorable drive for further economic growth stand equitably alongside the social and environmental pillars of the SDGs.
"We will simply have to throw the kitchen sink at this. Policy tweaks such as a carbon tax won’t do it. We need to fundamentally re-evaluate our relationship to ownership, work and capital". More here
Climate Change Performance Index 2019
This simple little tool offers a pictorial glance at the world stats relative to Climate Policy, Energy Usage, Renewable Energy, GHG Emissions and Overall results. Have a look here
March 17th
Climate change:
The essential guide for both young and old
Kevin O'Sullivan Mar 14, 2019 14 min read
If you read nothing else..... you need to read this........here
To the right is the list of demands that the striking students are making of our government.
Ireland’s democratic experiment lays the ground for stronger climate action More here Ireland’s struggle with climate change cuts to the heart of people’s daily lives and reflects the country’s revival after recession: more cars on the road and thriving cattle farms.
Right:
Environmental campaigners on Ireland's Cliffs of Moher (Photo: Eamon Ryan/350.org)
I was referred to this by Sr. Sharon Altendorf PBVM a Justice Contact from the US
Global strike for climate on March 15th - let's get ready!
From Friends of the Earth: If you'd like to be in a Climate Case Ireland photo on Friday March 15th, meet us outside Buswells at 12.30pm.
Plastic Waste
Watch this short (3.30 mins) video from Seal Rescue Ireland – what they are doing to reduce plastic waste -
The point they make is that it is really simple to do but so worthwhile. Plastic Furniture that tells a story.
Climate Case Ireland.docxClimate Case Ireland
January 28th 2019
This legal action taken by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) is the first case in Ireland in which citizens are seeking to hold their government accountable for its role in knowingly contributing to dangerous levels of climate change. The case seeks to build on FIE’s recent legal successes, including the recognition in 2017 of an unwritten right to environmental protection in the Irish Constitution.
Jan 14th 2019 from CAFOD
Six ways Catholics can change the world in 2019: here
- Sign up to be a campaigner
- Get on board with Laudato Si’
- Choose to Live simply.
- Become an MP Correspondent
- Volunteer to be a Climate Champion
- Switch your energy supplier
I would add a 7th: PRAYER
Updated January 7th 2019
Ireland’s outdoors is managed by a variety of people and organisations and many of them earn their living from the land. It is all of our responsibilities to respect each other’s activities and interests in the outdoors. The following infographics will offer some insight into the types of plastic litter that is environmentally threatening.
