Obtuse Angle

PAT LEHANE

Silver lining for Ryan?

As we went to press and the Ukraine crisis continued to escalate, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, warned that deliveries of Russian coal to Moneypoint power station could be affected by sanctions against President Putin’s regime.

Wonder if Minister Ryan is as concerned as the rest of us, or whether he sees it as the proverbial silver lining in the cloud?

All gas but no gas

When the Corrib field runs out

and we are still in urgent need of natural gas, are we going to continue to import it from abroad, including Russia? Indeed, are we going to still even have access to this resource?

The one certainty is that we are going to need supplies of natural gas for quite some time into the future, however noble (if somewhat naieve) the aspiration for otherwise is.

So, why stop issuing licences for further exploration of the Corrib field region? If additional reserves of natural gas can be located and utilised, it could well lead to a sustainable future for Ireland.

Have a vasectomy and save the planet!

Recent studies worldwide point to a growing number of young men having vasectomies for ecological reasons. Apparently, having one fewer child would save more than 25 times the emissions of, say, living without a car or avoiding long-haul flights.

A detailed study last year of 600 people (aged 27 to 45) who had undergone a vasectomy in Singapore revealed that 60% did so because they were concerned about the carbon footprint of their potential offspring. In Bolivia, 28% of men in a smaller vasectomy study group said they were motivated by climate concerns.

So, calling all you budding young, male building services engineers who want to make a difference … how about it?

Common sense finally prevailing

It’s refreshing to see some honest appraisal of one of the many “green” initiatives rolled out by various authorities in Ireland. When Dublin City Council agreed a sponsorship deal with advertising giant JCDecaux to operate the Dublinbikes scheme, it included permission for 28 electronic advertising panels across the city. However, recent analysis by The Sunday Times indicates that the combined annual carbon footprint of the 28 panels is slightly greater than the actual CO2 savings of the bike scheme. The argument that these digipanels are carbon neutral because the electricity is purchased from a so-called “zero carbon” energy supplier just goes to prove how green-washing is now the order of the day. Green initiatives are essential but please, let’s stop kidding ourselves.

Climate change hypocrisy

The Centre for Global Development (CGD) has called out the hypocrisy of richer countries pledging to end support for international fossil fuel projects while, at the same time, continuing to develop, and subsidise, similar projects at home.

The Energy for Growth Hub, an international research network, estimates that if 48 countries in Africa, excluding South Africa and several north African nations, tripled their electricity consumption through use of natural gas, the resulting carbon emissions would be less than 1% of the global total.

It also brings to mind the billions of dollars being spent by the United Arab Emirates on massive solar park developments which are funded by oil revenues. “People in glass houses” and all that.

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