August 27, 2010

We talked to Dr Cathy Maguire from Comhar about the need for better eco-planning in Ireland. Roger Warburton from Emerald Houses shows us around his new home in a new eco-community in Ballymun, and Valerie found out why Irish bees are buzzing off.

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August 20's show

On this show...

• Dirty old town? Dublin's litter problem and new efforts to tackle it.
• Wildlife events in your area for Heritage Week.
  And...
• Dublin City Council's latest move in the Poolbeg incinerator controversy: Is it check mate for opponents of the plans?
  As well as this week's round up of environmental news.
  
  
  
  
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  Presented by Christina McSorley and produced by Valerie Flynn.
  

Butterfly workshop

We had an item on the show earlier this summer about butterflies, where we visited the South Circular Road Community Garden for a butterfly workshop with Bob Aldwell from the Dublin Naturalists Field Club.

Dublin Community Growers are holding another workshop this Saturday at the Robert Emmet CDP Garden on Bridgefoot Street in Dublin 8. It starts at noon and ends at 2pm.

The organisers say the aim of the workshop is: "to provide a practical hands on experience, and knowledge, of the butterflies that coexist with us amongst the urban landscape of Dublin.

"A talk and demonstration will serve to reveal butterfly life cycle and habits, while gardening methods for encouraging and supporting their presence will also be described. Speakers from both Dublin Community Growers and Dublin Naturalists' Field Club will be present.

"The event is aimed at both adults and children, with the intention of answering questions, and providing information and advice. While providing an afternoon of recreational fun within this central Dublin location, the gardening workshops also seek to deliver environmental contributions within education and research."

EWS 13 August 2010

This week's show was presented by Louise Finan. The news was read by Christina McSorley. Valerie Flynn spoke to the new Mayor of South Dublin County Coucnil, Jeannie McCann went to the Phoenix Park and Louise Finan found out about climate change in Kenya. The show was produce by Jeannie McCann.

August 6's show

First up, Jeannie McCann speaks to James Nix of new environmental lobby group 'Plan Better', an initiative involving An Taisce and Friends of the Earth.

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Continuing our series on the mayors of Dublin's four local authorities, Christina McSorley interviews Lettie McCarthy, the new Cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

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'Love the City', a new project that aims to enhance the attractivenes of Dublin's city centre using design, kicked off recently. Valerie Flynn went along for Earth, Wind and Spire.

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The show was presented by Jeannie McCann and produced by Louise Finan.

Living in Temple Bar

A few weeks ago we spoke to Irish Times Environment Editor, Frank McDonald, about living in Temple Bar.  In today's paper he writes about the history of his home.  Read it here.

LED air quality detector

This is a cool idea.

Anti-litter advertising: will it work?

Dublin City Council is to tackle litter this month with a new advertising campaign called "Nobody wants your litter. Bin it."

Apparently cigarette butts, chewing gum and fast food packaging together account for 75% of the city's litter, and this is what the ads will address. The Herald reports that Failte Ireland and the Department of the Environment are funding the campaign.

If the object of the exercise is to encourage litter bugs to change their behaviour, would the money not be better spent on stronger enforcement of the litter bye-laws? Probably.

Belfast City Council launched an anti-litter advertising campaign in 2004. Before the campaign began, 52% of people surveyed by the Council's Cleansing Department admitted to having littered in the past six months. Six years later, the figure is at 48%, according to a study published in May. Not a huge improvement, by any standards.

The head of Belfast City Council's Cleansing Department reported that littering in the city has actually gotten worse in the past year, with the number of people who admitted to having littered in the past six months back to 2005 levels.

The research, conducted in February and March of this year, showed that the public advertising campaign had created a "high awareness of litter in the public's mind." But that awareness, unfortunately, did not cause a change in behaviour in Belfast.

Also, Earth, Wind and Spire has noticed the new Dublin City Council campaign posters at busstops but this is not the most effective medium, if Belfast's experience is anything to go by. The overwhelming majority - 87% - of people in Belfast who said they were familiar with the anti-litter campaign recalled it from television.

Petition to protect seabirds

Birdwatch Ireland has called for support for a new campaign asking the EU to inroduce a strong Action Plan against bycatch of seabirds during fishing.

An estimated 200,000 birds are killed in this way each year in the EU, among them a number of important species that are found in Irish waters. These include the critically endangered Balearic shearwater, and the fulmar (pictured) - best known for its colonies at the Giant's Causeway.

Birdwatch says fulmar numbers are down at Irish colonies, but the reason for this is not known.

Web tool for saving energy and money

This is actually quite cool, the graphics are really good and the advice is detailed enough to be credible.

The ESB's online 'Interactive House' shows how you can cut your energy usage in every room in the home, and quantifies the saving in terms of money and carbon.

So for instance, if you click into the kitchen, and then click on the washing machine, the tool advises washing clothes at 40 degrees.

"Reducing the wash temperature of a full load from 60oC to 40oC can save up to 110kWh per year = €17.60 = 68.75 kgs CO2 . This is about the same CO2 saved if you reduced your car usage by 443 km in a small family car."

Another good tip is to keep the condenser coils on the back of the fridge freezer clean, as dusty condenser coils can use 30% more energy.

Podcast of July 29's show

On this programme:

1. Christina talks to Gemma Larkin of the Nevitt Lusk Action Group about the upcoming judicial review of the EPA's licence for the planned north Dublin landfill.
2. Jeannie talks to Irish Times environment editor Frank McDonald about noise pollution in Temple Bar, where he lives.
3. Louise looks at the development of the docklands as the new observation wheel opens.
4. Plans to convert Dublin's street lighting to LED.

And...

5. The controversy over sewage facilities at the new National Convention Centre.

As well as this week's environmental news.



Presented by Christina McSorley. Reports by Jeannie McCann and Louise Finan. News by Valerie Flynn. Produced by Valerie Flynn.