This year’s Science Week, which takes place from November 7th-14th, is a hybrid affair with hundreds of events both virtual and in-person. The theme is Creating Our Future, and the public is being asked to submit their ideas for research that can make our country better for everyone.
We took to the streets of Dublin city centre to gain insight into the issues facing the country’s young adult population. This question was posed to participants aged 18-24: “What challenges are most important to us in Ireland now, and how might science be able to solve them for a better future?”
The resulting conversations centred around the likes of climate change, culture preservation and homelessness, to name but a few, with our interviewees coming up with solutions that were equally as innovative as they were interesting.
Louise Harmon (23)
Louise Harmon’s focus is on the food industry and its impact on Ireland’s future in terms of sustainability.
“I study food, so my mind would instantly go to food and how that would affect us,” she says. “We’ve really discovered how much of a difference [sustainability] can make and how much of a difference it’ll, more importantly, make if we don’t work harder on it.”
The Rush native cites a figure from the Environmental Protection Agency: as of 2020, “Irish agriculture accounts for 35.3 per cent of national greenhouse gas emissions”. As well as this, she notes that the population continues to grow, and that our current processes will not be able to keep up without having detrimental effects on the planet.
Finding alternative protein and fat sources should be a priority for scientists. “We’ve tried telling people to just stop eating animal products and it just doesn’t work,” she says.
Harmon points to new advances, such as lab-grown meat. This “removes a huge amount of the greenhouse gas emissions” and is a positive place to start. She hopes that more novel techniques will be developed, and will be more societally acceptable in years to come.
Daniella Ansong (18)
“A challenge that I can say I myself have faced in the past, is the problem of racism,” says Daniella Ansong, who is studying biological and biomedical sciences.
Having seen how easy it is for social media platforms to flag the mention of Covid-19 in any post over the past 18 months, she thinks that technology should be used in a similar way to combat online hate speech and provide support to victims. Doing this would help “create a sense of security for people”, and that they would feel less alone in facing “all the hate and all the trauma”.
Ansong also acknowledges that science can be used in its simplest form to fight against racism, as “biology does bring about equality”.
“If you look at the human anatomy, that shows that we’re all equal,” she says. By using this simple explanation, in an ideal world, any feelings of racial superiority should be extinguished.
Melu Borubin (21)
Originally from Romania, Melu Borubin works and studies in Dublin. While he says there are a lot of positives about Ireland today, he still feels that students face many significant challenges. He thinks there is “not enough support” for students, especially when it comes to things like “rent, and the fees you have to pay”.
He also says that transport is an issue and one that science can definitely help to improve.
“They should focus more on that probably,” Borubin says, suggesting that electric buses should be more commonly used. “It’s better for the environment, and they should increase the carbon tax.”
Kanisha Gilsenan (22)
A final-year music student, Kanisha Gilsenan admits that science isn’t her strongest point, but you don’t need to be an expert to know that global warming is a pressing issue: “Let’s be realistic. That’s one of the main problems at the moment”. She would like to see more research published on what we can do to help “undo the damage”.
Access to public transport is another challenge facing young people, particularly in more rural areas. Gilsenan says that science should be used to create greener solutions to this problem.
“I’m from Wicklow and there’s no transport...me and my mates drive up, or share taxis,” she says of her college commute to the capital. “Trying to set up proper transport elsewhere other than Dublin would be amazing.”
Not only is getting the bus more eco-friendly than driving, she says,but the continued development and introduction of green buses could definitely be a way that science can help to better our future.
Dillon O’Brien (20)
Having recently made the move to Dublin from Belfast, Dillon O’Brien notes that “there’s already quite a difference in how Dublin is, compared to Belfast – good things and bad things.
“Obviously one of the biggest things being the cost of living. I’m budgeting hard let’s just say!” he laughs.
In addition, the housing crisis is biting. “I spent months and months searching for somewhere to live and I literally only got a place two days before I had to move down.”
O’Brien applied to more than 100 listings; he only heard back from two. He believes technology could be used to implement a better online renters’ system and database. “That would allow for better tracking if everyone could access it. People could see I’m being unfairly treated here, or I’m actually in a very good situation compared to other people.”
O’Brien adds that “everyone needs a fair chance of somewhere to have a roof over your head”. By creating a more universal, improved and transparent system, it may be easier to secure accommodation.
Pauline Trulhet (19)
Pauline Trulhet is living in Dublin to practice English while also carrying out an internship. Since moving here from France, one issue has really stood out to her, and she believes that science can be used to help improve the situation.
“I’ve heard of the abortion problem, like it was only legalised in 2019,” she says. “I was quite shocked actually because it seemed like an advanced country.” Ireland was late to amend its abortion laws, she says, adding that “some doctors do not want to practice it”.
Trulhet says that if people are not willing to cooperate with the legalisation of abortion, it has the potential to be very harmful. “I think science could help in that field – to educate people and doctors to practice safe abortions because people will do them alone and they could die. It’s really unsafe.”
Jamie Lo (22)
A tattoo artist from Swords, Jamie Lo would like to see science used in ways that could help preserve and benefit culture in Ireland. “I feel like there’s obviously a lot of gentrification going on and I think the culture and just the life of Dublin is being sucked out, you know?”
Lo makes reference to the recent announcement that a new hotel has received planning permission at Temple Bar’s Merchant’s Arch – news that was met with widespread backlash and protests to save the space.
“I think with science, obviously research has to go into that kind of stuff,”he says. “Maybe even do a couple of surveys to see what younger people or the general population of Dublin would like to see changed or implemented in Dublin to make it a better space. That’s what I think could help.”
Emma Strappe (18)
Emma Strappe, who is in her first year at DCU, cites the housing crisis and homelessness as among the biggest challenges facing in Ireland today. As we approach the coldest months of the year, sleeping on the streets becomes more and more dangerous. According to Strappe, “there are not enough resources for homeless people to find places that they can stay”.
She suggests introducing publicly accessible interactive technologies to help those sleeping rough find available accommodation for nights where they have nowhere to stay.
“Some people might not have access to the internet, or have phones, or laptops, or iPads,” she says. “so there should be services put in place for them, like interactive boards so that they can see when there are free spaces...to help people find a place instead of just sleeping on the streets every night.”
This would provide an easily accessible central point of information for those who need it, and hopefully allow them to have shelter whenever possible.
Sarah Gordon (21)
“I think the biggest one that comes to the surface is climate change,” says Sarah Gordon, who is from Meath. Ireland has failed to meet targets when it comes to tackling climate change, and she says “more research could be prioritised for climate change and the high rate in Ireland” of producing harmful emissions.
She also recognises that there are challenges within the umbrella of climate change that need to be tackled, such as transport, online shopping and waste management. Each of these contributes negatively to the environment in their own ways, and Gordon adds that she has “noticed in Ireland in particular that there is very little concern for recycling”.
“I don’t think people have a very good understanding of how rubbish works, and how that whole system operates. And I think that’s a very, very big issue.”
She mentions that the bins on the UCD campus where she studies have separate sections for different types of waste. These “should be everywhere”, she says.
Science and technology could be used to create a more advanced system than what most current public waste options provide, she adds. “There’s no option to recycle, which I think definitely would be a good idea to work on.”
Kevin Hendrick (22)
Kevin Hendrick is a recent graduate who is most concerned about the cost of travel in Ireland: “Travel costs are through the roof.” He says it should be a priority for scientists to “find an alternative to diesel”.
“We had [an electric car] previously when they first came out, and the range was nonexistent. But they’d be a good job if they were not as expensive, and not as difficult to charge. But I don’t even know if the battery can be reused. I think they’re just going into landfills...so that’s something for science” to look at as well.
According to Hendrick, electric cars are currently “only really suitable for city driving and that kind of thing”. If a construction worker, for example, was to travel a long-range with a van “full of tools or people” the range would deplete. So he’d like to see scientists focusing on improving these vehicles, and making them more sustainable and durable.
Amarachi Jennifer Anago (18)
The Irish diet is something science should look at, says Amarachi Jennifer Anago – for the environment as well as the overall health of the population. A student of biological and biomedical sciences in Trinity, she recalls learning from her studies that “the Irish diet is very unhealthy”, with the high consumption and production of red meat and dairy having negative effects on the body and planet.
When it comes to a science-based solution, Anago suggests that the “EAT-Lancet” diet could be introduced; the project that has already been researched and developed by scientists. The EAT-Lancet diet was created as a result of the first full scientific review conducted on what constitutes a healthy diet using a sustainable food system.
“Not only is it a cheaper diet to follow,” she says, “it’s also a diet that’s healthier for people...and it’s a diet that’s more healthy for the environment.”
Because she learned about this in her science course, Anago adds, maybe researchers could also benefit Irish society by communicating this information in a more widespread manner.