Bamboo Shoots June 26, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Food, Gardens, Permaculture , 5commentsWhat edible perennial is guaranteed slug-proof, completely hardy in Ireland, grows into an elegant screen, can be used as a climbing support for your beans and also will feed your pet Pandas?
The answer to this can only be bamboo, one of the most exciting and beautiful plants you could grow.
But isn’t bamboo invasive? This is the most common concern, but in fact there are hundreds of varieties of bamboo each with widely varying growth habits: some indeed have highly invasive habits that send out runners sometimes meters away from the original clump, and quickly colonise a whole garden. These are to be avoided! (more…)
Bee Alert June 24, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Bees , 3commentsWhen local West Cork Bee Guru Tim Rowe booked the a hall in Bantry a couple of weeks ago for a talk by Mary Coffey from the Oak Park Research Centre in Carlow, he hadn’t quite bargained on the huge amount of local interest. The chairs in the small room booked for the talk quickly filled up and we had to move into the hall next door as over 100 bee-keepers and bee-enthusiasts from the local area turned out to hear what Mary had to say about Varroa and Colony Collapse Disorder.
Tim asked Mary to come and speak to us after conducting a survey of West Cork Bee-keepers in which he has found that about half of 1000 hives he has surveyed have died out or “collapsed” this year. (more…)
“End of the Oil Age” June 18, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil , 1 comment so farGeorge Lee’s RTE documentary “Future Shock: the End of the Oil Age” was shown this evening on TV and is most notable perhaps for being a breakthrough into the mainstream Irish media. Though by no means the first such coverage- RTE radio did an excellent series of short pieces with Philip Boucher-Hayes last year- it did present a more hard-hitting message about the vulnerability of Ireland as an island nation to rising prices and eventual oil shortages than has usually been the case. (more…)
More Peak Oil in the News June 15, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil , 1 comment so farFollowing on from the last post on the incongruity of hearing David Strahan talk about his book on peak oil on the radio, I can scarcely open a publication without reading about the subject in one form or another.
My favorite newspaper The London Independent carried a front page story on A World Without Oil on Thursday, challenging a report by BPs’ “Statistical review of World Energy” that claims there is 40 years’ of oil left (actually, this might be approximately correct, but by current rates of consumption, in 40 years we will be practically down to the last drop!). Apparently, they are going to run the Peak oil story on a regular basis from now on, which is a major leap forward and the first mainstream media outlet to really take it on board.
Construct Ireland carries an article “Silver Lining” about how Newbridge Silverware has taken steps to switch to renewable energy, putting up solar panels and buying hybrid cars for their reps- not exactly the same as Powerdown but a step in the right direction. Although the article doesnt mention it, the companies’ initiative was partly as a result of managing director William Doyle being shown a copy of The End of Suburbia by a founder of Newbridge Localisation group FADA a couple of years’ ago. Doyle was so impressed he asked for a Peak oil presentation to all his directors, and appointed one of them to research Re options for the company.
This is an excellent example of a local group engaging with a company who can really move quickly when they understand the significance of peak oil. Unlike local councils, businesses have the potential to move quickly if they feel their bottom line is under threat.
Finally, the excellent Green Building Magazine (formerly Building for a Future) is running a series on Transition Towns, following in particular the fortunes of Transition Towns Lampeter over the next few months.
Very soon, Peak Oil will be the only thing we are hearing on the news, and the Transition/localisation movement will be the only game in town.
“The Last Oil Shock” June 11, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil , 5commentsI am getting great mileage out of my Freeplay wind-up/solar radio these days, and it makes a great companion even in the garden. I had a visit from Klaus, a permaculture student and member of Transition Towns Kinsale, who was giving me a hand. Although I have complained that just because it is solar the actual content on the radio hasn’t improved, Friday’s edition of the Today FM radio news programme The Last Word had so much of interest that we were quite enthralled as we sowed some beetroot and Swiss Chard. (more…)
Ireland on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown June 4, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil , add a commentA story in the Irish Independent last week “Ireland on the verge of an oil and gas bonanza” referred to claims by the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, that “there is at least 10 billion barrels of oil lying off the west coast Ireland – which has a current value of €450bn (€50 a barrel)… Below: Desert Sands- the Look of the new Ireland?
…Added to gas supplies, energy exports have the potential to transform Ireland into a new Middle East. ” (more…)
