jump to navigation

The Free Energy Delusion July 23, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil , 10comments

I am often asked about this or that “new” idea that promises some kind of “free energy” and whether I had looked into it because it could “change the debate” about energy. The answer is usually that I havent looked into it because I already know that these “new” ideas will not change the energy debate. (more…)

Five Years July 20, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Peak Oil , add a comment

With all the interest in the mainstream media being shown recently about peak oil it seems the world may be finally waking up to the realities of the limits to growth and the beginnings of the end of the industrial cycle.
The big news has been the InternationalEnergy Agency’s report last week admitting that there may be a serious oil production crunch within the next 5 years, raising eyebrows around the world as this represents an astonishing about-turn on their stance of the past 30 years which has been to simply assert that whatever the world demands, so shall we be supplied. (more…)

Draining the Shannon July 19, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Environment, water , 2comments

Last week RTE played a radio debate between PJ Walsh, a locally based campaigner and PRO of the recently formed Shannon Environmental Protection Alliance (SPA), and Tom Leahy, an engineer with Dublin City Council.

They discussed a proposal to extract water from the river Shannon at Loch Ree to quench the growing water demand from the greater Dublin area. I had been following this story for a while and Jack O’Sullivan, and environmental consultant who produced an Environmental Impact Study for the SPA, has been kindly keeping me informed of developments. (more…)

At the Organic Centre July 14, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Gardens, Peak Oil, Permaculture , add a comment

After leaving Clare Island last week I continued my travels to the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co. Leitrim, where I ran a couple of one-day Introduction to Permaculture Courses and spoke on Peak Oil at the Permaculture Conference on the Sunday. Right: mulching and making key-hole beds in the forest garden

Billed by event organiser Phil Wheal as “The Real Live Earth Event” the conference provided a welcome alternative of earthy realism to the extremely surreal spectacle I caught a glimpse of on TV in the flat I stayed in (thanks Wayne!) of Madonna prancing about the Wembley stage invoking the assembled masses to “jump up and down to save the planet”. (The hubris and hypocrisy of Al Gore’s “Live Earth” event has been well exposed by commentators in the mainstream media; suffice to say, small local acoustic gatherings around the (carbon-neutral) campfire would have been more appropriate.)

The two permaculture groups I had on the days before did some work on the Forest garden at the Organic Centre, which is shaping up to be one of the better examples of this gardening genre that I know of in Ireland. (more…)

Permaculture and Yoga on Clare Island July 4, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Gardens, Peak Oil, Permaculture , add a comment

What will be the likely effects of Peak Oil and energy scarcity on a small off-shore island that has only recently gained some of the comforts and ease of living that a fossil -fuel economy provides? How can the practice of Yoga and Meditation help us reach the levels of awareness that will be required to meet the challenge of a low-energy future?

And what role did the potato play in allowing the population of Ireland to reach pre-famine levels?Right: Ciara, Theo and Graham amongst the trees

These were some of the discussions I had with Ciara Cullen as her guest at the Clare Island Yoga Retreat Centre during a three-day Permaculture course that I taught there last weekend. (more…)

When the Rivers Run Dry July 3, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Environment, General, water , add a comment

With changing weather patterns leading to extreme weather reports hitting the headlines with ever greater frequency, it seems there is either too much water, as in the destructive floods across the midlands of England and the North of Ireland earlier this month, or not enough, as in the catastrophic impact of the Australian drought. Water management will be increasingly important, especially for the water demanding cities, and Dublin is no exception- I will shortly post a story on proposals to divert the Shannon to supply the growing capital. As the following book review shows, similar schemes have already had devastating consequences for river systems all over the world. (more…)