Posts in the "Water" category
Summer Solstice Sea Swim Photos
Posted on July 01, 2019 by Claudia Tormey

It felt surreal, it was magic!
Looking back at our very first climate movement sea swim, it seems as though it could have been a dream. We really didn't know what to expect, so we were blown away at the huge turn out. Some people said there could have been 200 people at it! Thankfully, it was a beautiful morning, the sky was clear and the sea was calm. We're already talking about the next one, so stay tuned for updates soon!
Here's a few photos, taken from Young Friends of the Earth member, Reamonn McLoughlin who was kind enough to join and capture some of the morning's event. Check out Reamonn's Photography page on Facebook here at this link.
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • water • sunrise swim • summer solstice • climate movement • sea swimming • wellbeing •
Plastic & Microbeads - FAQ
Posted on December 04, 2017 by Guest Blogger
by Amelie Deinhard, Dublin FoE member
What is Plastic?
Plastic consists of synthetic organic polymers. Their base units are monomers, which in turn consist of ethylene and propylene: carbon-hydrogen compounds with non-metals.
History
Plastic was invented in the 1920s by Belgian scientist Leo Hendrik Beakeland and correspondingly called Bakelite (1). Industrial production of plastic began in the 1950s. The American "Life Magazine" then jumped to the topic and advertised on its cover pages the new fabric as "throwaway material" for every-day-life.
Permanent link | Categories: waste • water • plastic
Almost there: 24 hours to save our soils!
Posted on September 11, 2017 by Oisín Coghlan

Since I sent the email below on Thursday, about 1000 people in Ireland have signed the official petition to trigger EU action to protect our soils.
We need about 1000 more to fulfil the Irish quota of the European Citizens' Initiative. And we have until midnight on Tuesday (Brussels time!) to get them.
If you've signed already, thank you. Please do tweet this and share this on Facebook to spread the word.
If you haven't signed yet, your support could tip the balance .
As chef Darina Allen puts it in this video :
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • water • biodiversity • foodandfarming • soil
48 Hours to Save Our Rivers ... And it'll take you less than 5 minutes to do your bit.
Posted on August 29, 2017 by Oisín Coghlan

Ever wonder how clean our rivers and lakes really are?
The bad news is only half our waterways and bays are in good ecological health.
Tell the Government we must do better than this.
What's worse is that the Minister Eoghan Murphy's draft River Basin Management Plan is really weak: over the next three years, he only intends to clean up about 10% of our failing waters.
The public consultation closes on Thursday at 5.30pm. We've made it really easy for you to tell the Government we must do better than this. We need a robust and ambitious plan to protect our waters from pollution and degradation – for nature, for communities, for tourism, and for everyone who enjoys a splash!
Permanent link | Categories: water
Stop Enda abolishing the Department of Environment
Posted on May 18, 2016 by Oisín Coghlan
On his re-election as Taoiseach, Enda Kenny announced he was restructuring Ministerial Departments to better reflect the new Government's priorities. With that, he promptly abolished the Department of the Environment and scattered its functions across three Departments.
We have very little time to get this decision reversed. If this goes ahead, the words ‘environment’ and ‘heritage’ would be dropped from the titles of any Minister or Department, and Ireland would become the only EU member state without a Minister for the Environment.
We're asking you to do a couple of things:
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • energy • waste • water • biodiversity
A letter to Joe Costello when I thought he was going to the Rio Summit, or a couple of things Labour could do if they wanted to show they take sustainability seriously
Posted on June 13, 2012 by Oisín Coghlan

The Irish Times reported on Monday that Joe Costello, Minster for Development and Trade, would be joining Minister Phil Hogan at the Rio+20 Earth Summit.
We drafted a letter to him suggesting a couple of things he could usefully do to ensure Rio has a progressice impact in Ireland.
On Wednesday we discovered he wasn't going to Rio, the Irish Times was mistaken.
It's a pity really. Many countries are sending their prime minister, but not Ireland. Others are sending their deputy prime minister, but not Ireland. Last week the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste "launched" a blueprint for "Our Sustainable Future" but couldn't manage a word between them for reporters or the the public .
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange • energy • transport • waste • water • biodiversity • foodandfarming