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Green Scene
New Year's Resolutions
I wasn’t going to make any New Year’s resolutions this year – my decision to be slim and fit never makes it to the second of January – but the Editor wanted some, and what the Editor wants, the Editor gets. (Damn right. Editor.) So here are my green resolutions for 2014. Maybe we can check back in December and see how I did. I’ve reached a point in my life when I don’t have the time and energy to save the whole planet all by myself – that particular torch will have to be picked up by others with more youth and energy. Instead, this year, I’m going to get to know my locality better So I’m going to walk more – in my garden, down the road, on the local beach, through the local fields and woods – and I’m going to notice and learn about what I see. I’ll take my camera and bird and flower books with me. I’m also going to try and find out more about what my local community has to offer – as a runner in, even of many years standing, I know that I’m still missing out on a wealth of local knowledge, skill and services. So that will mean local shopping in smaller local shops, and taking the time to chat as I shop to find out what is locally made or locally grown. Of course I like to produce a lot of my own vegetables and flowers, but I want to make sure I fill in the gaps with what it locally produced and seasonal. Yes, the range is contracted at Christmas, but if we encourage local growers they will grow a wider range for a longer season – pop down to
Temple Bar on a Saturday and see the huge range of home grown veg from MacNally’s Family Farm. I’m going to spend more time in my local library – not only are my bookshelves full to overflowing but they have a great community notice board. There are a lot of community groups I haven’t explored and probably many more I’ve never heard of. Including local thrift shops – not only do they do a brilliant job of recycling but they are often another good place to find out what is going on in the community. And if you are helping the environment and your pocket by turning down your thermostat maybe you can find a couple of new sweaters there. Or old ones that can be radically redesigned into something a bit different to really show off to your friends. There are some great ideas on YouTube. And of course YouTube will also teach you how to maintain and repair home appliances. Part of reducing is deciding whether you really need to buy something new. An old fashioned local hardware shop will give great advice on how easy it is likely to be to repair something and how to keep tools in good conditions. And if something is too complicated to repair at home they are usually the people who know where you can get it mended. When I moved to Dublin, back at the dawn of time, it was a city of villages, full of local shops, craftspeople and expertise. Let’s value those that survive and the young people that are giving them new life.
The Informer
By Kathy Marsh, Sonairte Green snippets… Green snippets… Green snippets… Energy use fell by 4.6% in 2012 while the economy grew While the economy showed modest growth in 2012, Ireland’s energy use fell 4.6% according to the annual Energy in Ireland (2013) report published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Almost one fifth of Irish electricity now comes from renewable sources, cutting around €300 million from Ireland’s fossil fuel imports last year. Electricity generated from renewables has increased eightfold since 1990. Chief Executive of SEAI Brian Motherway said: “The energy productivity of Ireland’s economy has been improving steadily over recent years, with progress in all sectors.. We still import 85% of our energy and this bill grew to €6.5 billion in 2012. This underlines the need to move from imported fossil fuels to indigenous renewables, and to achieve further efficiency gains.” “The typical Irish home now emits 40% less CO2 than was the case 20 years ago. But we need to achieve even greater savings with further investment in energy upgrades, not only in our homes but in all buildings." The report also states that: • Energy use fell in all sectors since 2007, with transport down 27%, industry 13% and buildings 16%. • Since 2007, Ireland’s economy contracted by 7.3%, while energy demand fell by 19% and related CO2 emissions fell by 21%. • Average CO2 emissions for new cars fell by 24% since 2007 and are now lower than the
required EU target. • Provisional figures show that Ireland will meet its greenhouse gas emissions target for the Kyoto period 2008 – 2012.
Single charger for notebook computers will reduce e-waste Each year billions of external chargers are shipped globally. Power supplies for notebooks weigh typically around 300 but sometimes up to 600 grams. They are generally not usable from one computer to the next. Sometimes they get lost or break, leading to the discarding of computers that may still work perfectly well. It is estimated that the total e-waste related to all kinds of chargers exceeds half a million tons each year; basically the equivalent of 500 000 cars. This new International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Specification covers critical aspects of external chargers for notebook computers, their connector and plug, as well as safety, interoperability, performance and environmental considerations. The new IEC Technical Specification opens the way to a significant and very real reduction of e-waste related to power supplies and will allow consumers to use a single external charger with a wide range of notebook computers. This will also make it much easier for external chargers to be reused or replaced when needed. IEC work ensures that the charger is reliable and safe to use, and that it provides the required level of performance..
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