With a bill soon to be introduced by the Dáil, Ireland is set to be the first country in the European Union to ban the use of plastic microbeads in household cleaners and toiletries. Microbeads are tiny bits of plastic, less than a millimeter in diameter, that are put into some personal care products suchRead more..
Ireland’s Role in Global Climate Change. ℘℘℘ Welcome to the Emerald Isle. A country so verdant that Johnny Cash sang of the 40 shades of green that could be found in its rolling hills and valleys. But how green is Ireland, really? What is the country doing to protect its environment? What role is itRead more..
Belfast Takes on Plastic. ℘℘℘ Professor Chris Elliot and Dr. Cuong Cao are co-leading a project at Queen’s University Belfast to raise awareness about potentially harmful materials found in tap water, bottled water, and other goods that humans ingest regularly. The story has been told before – plastic waste is bad for the environment –Read more..
Ireland, the first to ban smoking in public places and the first to charge for plastic bags in supermarkets, is now taking it one step further. The Irish government has prohibited the purchase of all single-use plastics in its own offices as well as other public buildings, including schools. The products banned include a varietyRead more..
Irish Plant and Animal Life Endangered ℘℘℘ One third of the species of Irish plant and animal wildlife are in danger of extinction, according to the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT). On the endangered list are a large proportion of marine life, insects, and plants, including the alpine saxifrage (a perennial plant), the angel shark, birdsRead more..
The years 2006 to 2015 saw the highest average rainfall in Ireland in the past 300 years, according to a study performed at Maynooth University led by Conor Murphy (right). The data, collected from Irish and U.K. records dating back to 1711, confirms what weary residents had already intuited – these ten years saw Ireland’s rainfallRead more..
Ocean Energy, a County Cork-based renewable energy technology company, has partnered with the U.S. Navy and Oregon-based fabrication company Vigor to build the first full-scale model of a pioneering wave energy conversion device called the OE Buoy. “It’s the combination of Irish innovation and American manufacturing expertise and that’s always going to produce a world-classRead more..
On April 22, 1970, millions of people participated in events across the country in the first celebration of Earth Day. According to a New York Times article about the event, more than 2,000 colleges participated, 10,000 K-12 schools, and a couple thousand towns. The wire services tallied the total participation at 20 million across theRead more..
Ireland’s current agricultural practices are unsustainable, say N.G.O. coalitions Stop Climate Chaos and the Environmental Pillar in their new report, “Not So Green: Debunking the Myths Around Irish Agriculture.” The report explicitly counters government and industry discourses that portray Ireland’s farming and land-use strategies as environmentally sound. The study shows that methane production per head of IrishRead more..
Ireland’s shrinking bee population is receiving a helping hand from the National Biodiversity Plan, an initiative designed to protect the pollination stations that keep the insects fed. Of the 98 bee species that exist in Ireland, one third are currently endangered due to mass starvation. The plan is shared by more than sixty-eight governmental and non-governmental bodiesRead more..