| Earth Hour success dimmed by Irish business apathy |
| While being heralded as a success in Ireland, the vast bulk of Irish businesses did not support the symbolic ‘Earth Hour' in which individuals, organizations, and governments were asked to switch off non-essential lights for one hour, according to Irish organizers Friends of the Irish Environment. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 30/03/2008 ( Reads : 16 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| Department was warned over contaminated Irish farm plastic |
PRESS RELEASE 24 FEBRUARY 2008 The environmental group Friends of the Irish Environmental has said it warned the Department of the Environment in October about the growing problems with the export of contaminated Irish farm waste plastic. FIE welcomed the intervention of the Dutch authorities, who have detained in Rotterdam for investigation 6 containers of the material destined for China Farm plastic waste is collected under a producer's levy scheme that failed to attract the majority of the plastic sold each year since the introduction of silage bales in Ireland. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 24/02/2008 ( Reads : 89 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| LIGHTS OUT TOMMOROW TO RAISE AWARENESS |
The world wide campaign to turn out the lights for one hour on Saturday March 29th at 8 PM is due to take place in in 35 nations and across 370 cities, towns and councils worldwide- including Ireland. A combination of conservation and astronomy Non-Governmental Organisations [NGOs] in Ireland are driving the campaign here to have Ireland switch off the lights for that one hour. First begun in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 as a way of raising awareness of the impact an individual can have on energy consumption, Dublin became the first Irish city to sign up to the event. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 06/02/2008 ( Reads : 158 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| CALL FOR TV ENERGY RATINGS |
The environmental lobby group FIE has written to European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas seeking the extension of Star Energy ratings to televisions. The group claims that through a loophole in the law, television are not required to show their power consumption. With modern plasma TVs this can be many times the demand of traditional TVs Unlike refrigerators and even computers, where the law mandates posting of a power estimate, TV shoppers have no way to compare power use. Many homes now have more than one TV and a number of add ons. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 01/02/2008 ( Reads : 119 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS PROTEST AGAINST MAYO POWER PLANT |
PRESS RELEASE
30 JANUARY 2008 AN TAISCE
IRISH PEATLAND CONSERVATIONS COUNCIL
FRIENDS OF THE IRISH ENVIRONMENT Mayo County Council's grant of permission for a 100MW peat and mixed fuel power plant has been met with protests and appeals from Ireland's environmental lobby. The plant, which was given permission just before Christmas by Mayo County Council, is intended to be located at the site of the old Ashai Plant. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 30/01/2008 ( Reads : 141 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| TRALEE RACECOURSE OBJECTION SUPPORTS PLANNERS |
The environmental lobby group Friends of the Irish Environment has lodged an objection to the development of Tralee's Ballybeggan Racecourse that they claim ‘supports the planners'. A spokesman for the group said they were ‘disturbed' to discover that the file shows clearly that at a pre-planning meeting the planners told the developer that the ‘in its present form the proposal contravenes the zoning of the land' and yet the developers continued ‘irregardless.' The Tralee Racecourse is zoned for amenity and a grant of permission for a mixed commercial, industrial, and residential development would breach the County's Development Plan. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 21/01/2008 ( Reads : 157 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| South African Peat Trade Deal questioned |
The environmental lobby group Friends of the Irish Environment are writing to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin questioning the first trade deal to be announced by the Minister in South Africa. Harte Peat sells ‘deeply-dug wet peat' which is used as a base for growing mushrooms. The Minister has announced distribution deal with a local partner company that will see its products distributed through out South Africa. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 16/01/2008 ( Reads : 146 ) | Comments (1) | Press Release |
| Soils protection call |
The environmental lobby group Friends of the Irish Environment will be appealing to the Minister for the Environment to draft legislation to protect Irish soils after yesterday's defeat of the proposed Soils Directive by the European Council of Ministers. ‘Germany, the UK, Austria and the Netherlands all have stringent national legislation protection soils and on these grounds they opposed this seminal directive despite the proposal having the support of 22 of the bloc's 27 member states.' // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 21/12/2007 ( Reads : 152 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| EU Court Judgment on Wild Birds slams Ireland |
In 9 out of the 10 parts of the case brought against Ireland over the country’s failure to protect birds, the European Court of Justice has today found against Ireland. With the exception of one issue of legal transposition, the Court has found that: - Ireland was wrong to exclusion parts of both Sandymount Strand and Tolka Estuary SPA from protection.
- Protective measures taken by Ireland are partial, isolated measures, only some of which promote conservation of the bird populations and which do not constitute a coherent whole.
Ireland has an inadequate number and size of areas classified for the protection of the red-throated diver, hen harrier, merlin, peregrine falcon, golden plover, short-eared owl, dunlin, kingfisher, and corncrake. - Irish law must be changed to ensure that recreational activities – such as jet skies - do not damage bird habitats.
- National Plans, such as the National Forestry Plan, must now be subject to an assessment that ensures that protected wild birds will not be damaged.
- All individual forestry planting applications, either inside a designated area or likely to have an effect on them, must now be assessed regardless of size when previously only those of 50 hectares or more had to be assessed.
- All aquaculture projects, regardless of size must now have their negative effects on birdlife assessed before being given approval.
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 13/12/2007 ( Reads : 193 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| Shannon LNG terminal for Kinsale Gas Field? |
Submissions to An Bord Pleanala under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act for the first proposed Irish Liquid Natural Gas [LNG] terminal closed yesterday. Relocating the proposed Shannon LPG terminal near the Kinsale Gas field must be considered, the Planning Appeals Board has been told. FIE is supporting the proposal, which was first suggested by scientists at the International Conference of Renewable Energy in Maritime Island Climate in 2006. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 17/11/2007 ( Reads : 238 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| Designations won't save Hen Harrier' |
The boundaries defining the newly announced designations for the hen harrier were brokered ‘behind closed doors', according to the environmental NGO Friends of the Irish Environment and as a result will place further pressure on the threatened birds. The group has examined records released under Access to Information on the Environment of 6 meetings that took place between 2 March 2006 and 13 March 2007 as part of a ‘Hen Harrier Working Group'. The Department of the Environment met with landowners, the forestry industry, the farmers, and the Forest Service to agree the designations. No non-governmental environmental organization was invited. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 08/11/2007 ( Reads : 346 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| Councils could be exporting cryptosporidium |
| An environmental lobby group has written to the Minister for the Environment suggesting that the contaminated silage wrap currently being exported for recycling could contain cryptosporidium oocysts. The group claims that the silage wraps being collected under the Farm Plastic Schemes are ‘heavily contaminated’ with farmyard slurry which has been identified as a possible source of outbreaks of cryptosporidium in Ireland. ‘These oocysts can survive for years under these conditions.’ // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 21/10/2007 ( Reads : 322 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| FIE welcomes Cascade Wood protection |
FIE is welcoming today's announcement today that Cascade Wood on the site of the proposed Cork - Killarney road is to be saved. Alerted by local residents, FIE prepared a Report on the Cascade, sent to the National Roads Authority and the National Parks and Wildlife Service in February of this year. Read the report. And The Minister has now agreed to the designation of the site as a European Special Area of Conservation. : The site is a public amenity as an 18th century cobblestone path which once formed part of the Colthurst Estate runs above the gorge on the northern side through Cascade Woods. The designation will also reunite the remnant woodland with St. Gobnait's Wood, a Special Area of Conservation on the other side of the existing road. The case highlights the great variety of biodiversity still extant in Ireland and our poor current state of knowledge. . The case also sadly highlights the omissions from the last Cork Development Plan of the List of ‘Areas or Features of Scientific (High Amenity) Importance' previously included in Development Plans. This omission contributed in this case to the late recognition of the woodland's value. The refusal to continue to list important sites in the 2003 Development Plan has now led to delays and extra cost on a major road project and should not be repeated. about the ‘inevitable erosion of the country's natural assets though the loss of the knowledge contained in these important lists'. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 24/09/2007 ( Reads : 229 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| NEW REGULATIONS ON ENVIONMENTAL INFORMATION QUESTIONED |
| An Irish environmental group has questioned the Government’s implementation of the European Directive on Access to Information on the Environment. SI 133 of 2007 comes in to effect from today, over two years after the EU deadline. However, Friends of the Irish Environment are concerned with the imposition of a €150 fee for an appeal where public bodies refuse to allow any information to be released. The Directives state that “any such procedure shall be expeditious and either free of charge or inexpensive.” // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 01/09/2007 ( Reads : 250 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| 30 AUGUST 2007: THE DANGERS OF LONG LIFE LIGHT BULBS |
| FIE is writing to the Minister for the Environment to draw his attention to the dangers posed by the disposal of long life light bulbs. While welcoming the new Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government’s recent commitment to introduce a levy on incandescent bulbs, we are requesting that it be made clear in his publicity and on the packaging that these bulbs are ‘hazardous domestic waste’. It is important that these bulbs are disposed of correctly and this needs to be clearly and noticeably highlighted on both the product and its packaging. We are also asking the Minister to circularize Local Authorities to ensure that disposal points in recycling centers should make it clear that CFLs are Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs and separated with florescent light bulbs. Read our Fact Sheet And the media coverage of the ‘toxic time bomb’ while the EU fails to lift the tariff on Chinese CFCs to allow EU manufacturers time to "adjust to new patterns of production and trade". // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 31/08/2007 ( Reads : 305 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| Light Bulb Information Sheet |
Background information on Light Bulbs, in particular CFLs and their disposal. Contents - Incandescence lamps - Hot light
- Fluorescent lamps - Cool Light.
- Disposing of CFLs and other fluorescent lights.
- Handling Broken Fluorescent lights
- High-intensity discharge lamps (HID)
- Low-pressure sodium lamps
- Light emitting diodes (LEDs).
- Basic lighting principles and terms.
- References
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 31/08/2007 ( Reads : 740 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| EU COURT RULES AGAINST IRELAND ON ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION DELAY |
| Three days after the Irish Government implemented the European Directive Directive 2003/4/EC on Public Access to Information on the Environment, its delay has been condemned in a ruling by the European Court of Justice. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 30/04/2007 ( Reads : 423 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| COILLTE €8M EU CLAWBACK TO BE REVIEWED |
| The Minister of the Agriculture and Food has asked Coillte Teo., the State Forestry Board, for a 'Strategic Review of their Activities'. The request comes on foot of a Parliamentary Question seeking information about who will meet the 1999 clawback by the EU of €8.3 million in forestry premiums which were disallowed by the Guarantee Section of the European Agriculture and Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF). The environmental pressure group Friends of the Irish Environment brought the premiums to the attention of the European Court of Auditors in 1998 as the funding was intended to replace income lost by farmers through tree planting and Coillte Teo had no 'legitimate expectations'. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By the editors on 26/04/2007 ( Reads : 387 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| EU THREATENS DAILY FINES FOR CONTAMINATED IRISH WATER |
| 'ABSOLUTE FAILURE' BY EPA ALLEGED BY NGO
In a timely final warning, the European Commission has today informed Ireland that drinking water must be kept free of contamination or it will face daily fines.
An original Judgement against Ireland in 2002 confirmed Ireland's 'failure to comply with microbiological parameters' for water schemes.
At the time Ireland claimed that effluent from 'farmyards, septic tanks, silage slabs, etc. and diffuse sources' were 'the main contributors to pollution in rural areas' and that the 'problem is being tackled on a number of fronts through a comprehensive national policy, consisting in a series of detailed measures'. Ireland stressed 'the effectiveness of those source-protection measures' and claimed that they were 'fully in accordance with Community environmental policies.' // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 22/03/2007 ( Reads : 485 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
| AN BORD PLEANALA TO EXAMINE BALLINA CAR PARK AND BRIDGE |
| An Bord Pleanala has agreed to consider the need for an Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] for the proposed car park and footbridge over the River Moy in Ballina.
The environmental lobby group Friends of the Irish Environment wrote to the Board earlier this month stating that the projects taken together would have a 'significant effect on the environment.' // Read More // | |
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| Posted By the editors on 16/03/2007 ( Reads : 410 ) | Comments (0) | Press Release |
