Ireland

Europe’s hurricane-fueled wildfires might become a recurring nightmare

Ophelia hitting Ireland was just the beginning of a chain of disasters, and the forecast is for more in the future.

Critical List: Selenium dumping gives fish two heads; Germany to cut solar subsidies

A mining company in Idaho wants to keep dumping selenium into local creeks, even after its scientific study turned up these two-headed trout and other deformed fish. A judge found BP liable for civil damages in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, meaning the company could pay billions in penalties. Germany is cutting solar subsidies … […]

Polar bears discover Irish heritage

For a long time, scientists thought, as any reasonable person would, that the female ancestor of modern polar bears came from some Alaskan island. But it turns out that, like humans, bears are sometimes attracted to bears that come from foreign places, especially if they have cute accents. In fact, the female ancestor of polar bears came from, of all places, Ireland. (A press release from the Office of the Polar Bear King confirmed that yes, polar bears will be participating in St. Patrick's Day parades worldwide next year.)

Green sector creates 50 percent of new jobs

…in Ireland. This is great news for the people of Ireland. But we need to create those jobs in the U.S. too. In Ireland, a country of four million, 10,000 “green” jobs were created in the last three months in organic farming, energy efficient construction, electric cars, and other green industries. With US GDP falling […]

Northern Ireland environment minister bans climate change ads

BELFAST — Northern Ireland’s environment minister came under fire Monday after he banned a climate change ad campaign, saying it was “nonsense” to suggest people could save the world by turning off their lights. Sammy Wilson, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party which shares power with Sinn Fein in the British-ruled province, believes mankind […]

Willie Corduff has taken arms against a sea of Shell troubles

Willie Corduff. Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize. “We’d never objected to anything in our whole lives,” says Irish farmer Willie Corduff. But when Shell Oil proposed to put a high-pressure gas pipeline through his family farm, Corduff changed his quiet ways. He and a handful of his neighbors refused to allow Shell on their property — […]

Auto news from Ithe land o’ luck

A spiffy old car takeback program is being launched in Ireland.

The proverbial land o' luck plans to institute the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) directive in 2007. Hee hee, elves. Hee hee, leprechauns. Um, anyway ... the first draft of regulations were revealed today. Hot off the presses! Lucky you! Hee hee, lucky ...

Under the regulations -- "a kind of car equivalent to the WEEE directive" -- each automobile importer or manufacturer would have to establish an authorised treatment facility (ATF) in every Irish county that consumers could bring their cars to for scrapping. These sites would be required to meet high environmental standards, remove pollutants in the dismantling process, and recover at least 85 percent of car material. If they don't, they could face big fines and prison time.

"The main effect of these draft regulations will be that when a person has a car or small van that has reached the end of it's useful life, there will be at least one facility available in their county or city where they can bring the vehicle in the knowledge that it will be depolluted and dismantled to a high standard," said Environment Minister Dick Roche.

Sweet.