[This article appeared in the Irish Times on the 22nd of September 2022 as https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/2022/09/22/wind-energy-its-not-too-late-to-learn-from-denmark/] We tend to think of the modern wind turbine as a recent invention. In fact, it dates to the late 1890s. The Danish physicist and inventor Poul La Cour invented the basic turbine technology to generate electricity. His 1903 windmill …
[This article appeared in the Irish Times on the 25th of August 2022 as https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2022/08/25/what-can-we-learn-from-covid-about-responding-to-the-energy-and-climate-crisis/] On the 9th of May 2019, the Dáil declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. The declaration was hastily voted on with just 6 TDs present in the Dáil with Green Party TD Eamon Ryan observing “we have declared a climate …
[Published in the Irish Times on Thursday July 28th 2022] Imagine paying someone to queue for you. Believe it or not, this is not a hypothetical scenario. In some US states voting centre hours are so limited people have to queue for long periods before they can cast their ballots. So, some enterprising folk offer …
[Published in the Irish Times on Thursday 23rd June 2022] This year, Earth Overshoot Day will take place on the 28th of July. This day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. Scientists estimate that we would need the …
From efficiency to sufficiency: the new logic of sustainability Read More »
[Published in the Irish Times Thursday May 26th 2022] Last weekend, readers of the UK edition of the Guardian woke to find themselves exhorted to make mud pies to help migrating swifts, swallows and house martins build their nests. Due to an exceptionally dry spell of weather, the birds are expected to have difficulty working …
To respond to the biodiversity crisis, we need an ethic of care Read More »
There are some arguments for embracing nuclear power as a solution to our energy needs. There are also some glaring risks. Let’s waive those for the moment, on the grounds that the climate emergency demands a rapid energy transition away from fossil fuels. Let’s even imagine that we’re willing to sacrifice human lives for a …
Even if nuclear power was safe it would not solve the climate crisis Read More »
Imagine a world where we managed to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees by ending our reliance on fossil fuels completely by the mid-2030s. We invest heavily in renewables and interconnections, and our energy needs including heating and transport are met via carbon-free electricity. High-carbon lifestyles are no longer socially acceptable. We now live in …
‘A parental responsibility’: Ireland needs an ombudsman for the future Read More »
[Published by the Irish Times on 22nd October 2021] Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2020 novel The Ministry for the Future tells a horror story of climate breakdown. Deadly heatwaves that kill millions in a week, devastating acts of eco-terrorism, acute water shortages and accelerating extinction rates. The book can be read as “a vast scenario exercise …
Ireland cannot trade its way out of commitment to cut emissions Read More »
[Published in the Irish Times on Friday March 26th 2021] While the Cabinet was busy finalising the Climate Bill on Tuesday last, over in the Dáil chamber members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action were being treated to a vision of what climate action might actually look like. Expert witnesses described a possible …
Climate Bill a chance to set new anti-fossil fuel norms Read More »
[Published by the Irish Times on the 8th October 2020] Yesterday, 102 days after the formation of the Government, we finally saw the publication of the government’s Climate Bill. It should represent a milestone in Irish climate policy, and an important early achievement of the new government. But does it deliver on the commitments made …
Climate Bill weak on responsibility for cutting emissions Read More »
@2022 Sadhbh O’Neill
