HORIZONS:As the Christmas trees go up in earnest this weekend, the public is encouraged to switch from incandescent Christmas lights to the more energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lights, writes Sylvia Thompson
As well as using 90 per cent less energy than incandescent lights, the LED lights also barely warm up and are therefore much safer. They also remain lighting when one light burns out. And for those willing to try something different, a fibre-optic decoration can light up the whole tree from a single bulb.
The Power of One campaign (www.powerofone.ie) from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has a range of other energy-saving ideas, including leaving tree lights off during the day and using timers so they turn on at dusk and off at bedtime and, of course, the obvious but sometimes forgotten practice of turning off all lights in unused rooms as families gather together to celebrate Christmas.
Going wild
Inside Outside: Wild Places is the title of an exhibition of photographs by Sasha Bosbeer and Kevin Collins which opens at the Galway City Museum today. Galway-based photographer Bosbeer says that her close-up photographs of Irish landscape evoke "a walk through fields, the whistle of a bird, the smell of autumn leaves".
Dublin-born photographer Collins explores the "out of sight places behind mossy rocks and under dripping canopies". The exhibition is held in conjunction with the Green Sod Land Trust (An Fóidín Glas), a trust which aims to purchase land that is at risk of "over-building, pollution and destruction". See www.greensodlandtrust.com. The exhibition runs until December 23rd.
Backyard burners
As media attention focuses on the potential health risk of dioxins in pigmeat, it's worthwhile to remember that recent estimates suggest that over 70 per cent of dioxins emitted to air in Ireland come from backyard burning. This unlawful low-temperature burning of waste releases toxic pollutants directly into the air.
The major problem with backyard burning is that it is rarely carried out at temperatures high enough to destroy toxic substances. It is dangerous to those close to the fire and the surrounding land. The pollutants released into the air include dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides ash and furans, volatile organic compounds.
Capping carbon
Comhar, the sustainable development council, published a report on an innovative model to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this week. The model, originally developed by the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability (Feasta), would set a cap each year on the amount of greenhouse gases fossil fuel suppliers are allowed to emit. All adults in Ireland would then receive certificates entitling them to an equal share of these emissions. Adults would then be able to sell these emissions to companies that import or extract fossil fuels. The companies could not emit any more emissions than the total amount bought in certificates. This so-called "cap and share" system would then compensate the public for higher prices and ensure the fossil fuel suppliers didn't go over their limits. See www.comharsdc.ie for full details.
Ecoweb
www.germanwatch.org
Ireland came in 21st place out of 57 countries in a survey of the countries that have the highest level of carbon-dioxide emissions.
The survey results were released at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland earlier this week.
The survey, compiled by German climate group Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe, shows that collectively these 57 countries account for more than 90 per cent of global emissions.