The European Environment Agency (EEA) is looking for scientists interested in becoming members of its Scientific Committee. The Scientific Committee supports the EEA by providing independent opinions on the Agency's work programmes, recruitment of scientific staff, and scientific questions from the Management Board or Executive Director.
Environmental Pillar expresses "Grave concerns" about Fracking
The Environmental Pillar has just published its policy on shale gas, calling for cessation of all fracking activities in Ireland. "The known impacts of fracking are so serious that the Government needs to act now to put a stop to all fracking activity in Ireland" said Michael Ewing speaking on behalf of the coalition of 27 national environmental organisations.
"Due to the secrecy surrounding the polluting processes involved - the damage done to communities, water supplies, wildlife, the environment and the long-term economic development of rural Ireland may well be even greater than the dire prospect already presented by the proposed industrialisation and degradation of our environment, across at least 9 counties of Ireland" he continued.
"The Irish Government and the EU must focus their attention on increasing energy efficiency and accelerating the move to renewable energy rather than allowing the development of high risk, inefficient and polluting gas extraction processes that just add to the problem of climate change" he concluded.
Ends
The document can be accessed at
http://environmentalpillar.ie/files/2012/08/Environmental-Pillar-Policy-on-Shale-Gas1.pdf
The Environmental Pillar is a national Social Partner established by Government decision in 2009. It is an advocacy coalition of 27 national environmental NGOs.
Environmental Pillar members:
An Taisce, Bat Conservation Ireland, BirdWatch Ireland, CELT - Centre for Ecological Living and Training, Coastwatch, Coomhola Salmon Trust, Crann, ECO UNESCO, Feasta. Forest Friends, Friends of the Earth, Global Action Plan Ireland, Gluaiseacht, Grian, Hedge Laying Association of Ireland, Irish Doctors Environment Association, Irish Natural Forestry Foundation, Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Irish Seal Sanctuary, Irish Seed Saver Association,
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Irish Wildlife Trust, The Organic Centre, Sonairte, Sustainable Ireland Cooperative, VOICE, Zero Waste Alliance Ireland.
After a short break it's time for another newsletter for the Cork Branch of the Irish Wildlife Trust! If you have any ideas, notes, articles or photos of anything wildlife related, particularly in (but not limited to!) the Cork region, please send them on the Linda Dalton at lindadalton10@hotmail.com. No submission too small or too big!
So if you have anything in relation to branch events you attended, photographs you have taken, issues on the natural environment you would like to comment on, interesting eco-holidays abroad, notifications of upcoming wildlife or associated events in Cork etc. go ahead and get in touch. The newsletter relies on your input and your involvement.
Please contact me for further information.
,
Deadline. September 5th.
Linda
REMINDER.
It's now time for each and every one of us in West Cork to promote West Cork, shop locally, bank locally, eat West Cork produce, spread the word of the 50+ summer camps on offer, promote West Cork festivals, crafts, art, books, websites, go out of our way to tell visitors about all the wonderful amenities and activities in the region, and entice them to come back again next year. If we don't we will have shop closures, bank closures, school closures, and a general dwindling of the economy.
Please take a few minutes to read all of the summer camps on page 8 of this weeks West Cork Local on www.westcorkcampus.com Yes car driving camp for 10year olds and upwards!, beauty camps, laser combat, chair making, kayaking, crafts, become a junior forest ranger in Ballineen in the wonderful Manch Estate, with it's 25km of forest and riverside walks! It is absolutely incredible what is on offer!! Please tell everyone about it.
This is how we will kickstart our local economy. Each person is a marketing manager for West Cork.
And let's get out there ourselves and enjoy all that's on offer as much as we can.
You will begin to see more and more posters around West Cork saying 'Whats On in West Cork ... www.WestCorkCampus.com ' There is masses of information about where to eat, sleep. activities, shops, therapists, services and courses. We will be constantly building this information and making it more reader friendly. We need your help .... to add to it by sending information to walter@localcampus.com and then telling everybody you meet about the site and all that is on offer in West Cork. People really do not know what is on offer. It is up to everyone of us to spread the word. and... One for All !!
Let's lift our local economy.
www.WestCorkCampus.com is for you, your family and West Cork.
best of luck,
Walter
www.westcorkcampus.com banking on you!
The Irish Wildlife Rehabilitation Trust is pleased to announce details of its third Irish Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference, to be held in Ashbourne on Saturday and Sunday the 29th and 30th of September 2012.
This is an opportunity for anyone with an interest in wildlife welfare and/or conservation to learn more about treating wildlife casualties - from bats to badgers, the private lives of hedgehogs, wildlife conservation and legislation, post release monitoring, and the serious issue of wildlife crime.
It is a continuing professional development event that is registered for 7.5 – 9.5 CVE CREDITS
There are two streams provided in order to provide new topics for previous audiences and basic training for first-time delegates.
This year we’ve even more stalls, a selection of superb raffle prizes, and evening talks and walks!..
See: www.iwrt.ie /conference for details.
Just to let you know that we have published the August 2012 (35th) issue of irish environment, which includes: .
News: updated each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Commentary: Aoife O'Grady, The Future We Want? Report from Rio+20
Report: Should We Starve or Burn: The Heated Competition Between Food Production and GHG Emissions
Podcast: Interview with Tim Jackson on Prosperity Without Growth
iePEDIA: Polluter Pays Principle
YouTube: How to Feed the World in 2050: actions in a changing climate
ieBLOG: Harvest 2020 - post by John Sweeney, National University of Ireland Maynooth
Please pass along this Notice about the magazine to colleagues, friends and others interested in protecting the environment.
: an online magazine covering environmental matters on the island of Ireland www.irishenvironment.com
Robert Emmet Hernan
Blue Stacks Productions Inc.
Publisher
publisher@irishenvironment.com
Cork Environmental Forum opposes GM Potato Trail
Cork Environmental Forum is opposed to the field trials on a genetically modified (GM) potato line to be carried out by Teagasc, Oak Park, Co Carlow, consented to by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The consent for this trial is contradictory to the concerns of the public with regard to GMOs which has been made very clear both in Ireland and across Europe where there has been a distinct majority preference away from GMO produced foodstuffs and associated crops.
The environmental implications regarding the introduction of GMOs into Ireland are well documented. As an island Ireland could and should be kept isolated from potentially dangerous artificially introduced crops.
Genetically modifying food products is deliberately playing with the delicate balance of nature and once the gene is out there, you cannot reverse the effect. There are significant economic implications for Irish farmers and growers whose livelihoods could be adversely affected by the introduction of GMOs. There is also a knock on effect on the purity of other products which will have to be labeled as possibly containing GM such as honey – a bee cannot differentiate between natural plants and GM plants.
The precautionary principal which underpins many European environmental protective measures must be applied to GMOs. In summary our opposition is based upon the following principals, which support sustainable faming in Ireland:
* Food free from genetic engineering
* Farming without genetically modified seeds, crops or feed
* Farming not controlled by multinational corporations
* Diversified agriculture
* Profitable family farming, in the first and third worlds, with freedom to use traditional methods.
* We support food sovereignty which promotes the right of people to define their own food and
agriculture, produced in a manner which is safe, healthy and ecologically sustainable.
Due to our history and the famine, blight is an emotive issue, and people are drawn to a quick fix, particularly farmers who are trapped in a highly directed and regularized agri-food system which has reduced their autonomy in the way they produce food. However, there are already potato varieties that are strongly blight resistant and evidence of ecologically sound methods of reducing blight even in conditions such as this wet and humid Summer as outlined by John d'Hondt[i]
It is disappointing that the EPA by consenting to this trial goes against its own commitment of "putting the environment at the centre of our decision making" [ii] which includes the ecological system and natural biodiversity upon which the reputation of good food production in Ireland has been built. The introduction of engineered and unchartered processes to our food production system can undo this reputation and irreparably damage our "green" image in a sector which is hugely important to the economy, with agriculture responsible for an annual output of €24billion.
Whilst Teagasc are at pains to point out that this is a publically funded trial with no association to the biotech industry. Long term as has been evidenced to date it will be the vested interests who will control and benefit financially from interfering with food production in this manner, not the poor and hungry of the world, who are being disrespected and used in the productivity argument, or the Irish farmers. "The challenge for primary food production worldwide is not just how to increase productivity, but how to do so in ways that ensure more sustainable use of ecological services and natural resources while delivering balanced nutrition to all peoples of the world."[iii]
Cork Environmental Forum urges the EPA and Teagasc to reconsider the logic of this retrograde step and to not proceed with this intended trial.
[i] Extract from article by John D'hondt, Biologist-farmer in West Cork Gossip:
We have been growing potatoes in West Cork for 25 years without ever spraying anything. Not even copper sulfate. We have not seen blight for the last 22 years. Our system costs nothing and Teagasc seems to be investigating it at the moment to patent it (to get a patent the specific micro-organisms have to be identified and I did not want to spend the next ten years of my life doing that). My idea was that amongst the tens of thousands of different species of micro-organism in healthy soil there should be at least one that competes or eats the watermold Phytophtra infestans. So we mixed potato plant residues, even blighted stuff, with compost or fresh manure straight after harvest and let it do its thing in situ. Eventually we even stepped back from rotation and we have now been growing spuds on the same ground for 18-19 years without a sign of blight or any other disease.Last year, even without a summer, we had our best crop ever. We do not need GM potatoes at all! For reducing rat populations we use diet coke.
[ii] Ireland's Environment An Assessment 2012, Environmental Protection Agency