NEWTOWNSANDES
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HEALTH: Those who consumed more antioxidant preservatives — used to prevent foods from browning — were also 22% more likely to develop high blood pressure. The researchers identified eight preservatives tied to high blood pressure, including sodium nitrite, potassium sorbate and citric acid. One additive — ascorbic acid, also known as E300 — was specifically linked to heart disease. Co-lead author Mathilde Touvier of Sorbonne Paris North University said the results point to the need for agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority to re-evaluate the risks and benefits of these food additives.
https://www.medicinenet.com/food_preservatives_linked_to_major_heart_problems/news.htm
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HSE DEMENTIA UNDERSTAND TOGETHER CAMPAIGN. An evening of information and inspiration will be held on Wednesday June 7th In Boots, Abbey Court, Tralee, booking thru: dementiaroadshow.boots.ie.
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RIVER: €200,000 of funding available to address local flood risks caused by blocked rivers in Kerry.
FUNDS for community climate initiatives, Moyvane Community Hub’s - Failte Isteach Gach Duine is to benefit from €20,000.
MORE THAN 20 million vapes sold in Ireland last year were not returned for recycling, according to new figures from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). https://www.thejournal.ie/more-than-20-million-vapes-not-recycled-last-year-7043067-May2026/
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AI and JOBS: Ian Curran- Mon May 25 2026 -
Artificial intelligence (AI) could affect more than 40 per cent of jobs in Ireland, the IMF is warning – either replacing them or complementing them. It comes as the fund said Ireland was “relatively more exposed” than other advanced economies to “novel” economic risks that the technology poses to employment and also to financial markets.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2026/05/25/ireland-more-exposed-to-economic-risks-of-ai-than-other-countries-says-imf/
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FAMILIES Moyvane: https://www.helensfamilytrees.com/?s=moyvane
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PLASTIC: Ballygowan has manufactured Ireland's first 'circular bottle' in a trial at Newcastle West production line using recycled plastic sourced through the DRS.
AWARDS: 10th Connect Kerry Women in Business Awards takes place on Friday, June 5 at The Rose Hotel.
SOLAR saved Europe €3bn in fossil fuel imports in March: Which country is leading the way? Solar is helping to rescue Europe from the crippling costs of fossil fuel imports, as the war on Iran sends oil and gas prices soaring. In the first 20 days of March alone, tanalysis by SolarPower Europe found that solar electricity generation saved the EU €2 billion that it would otherwise have spent on fossil fuel imports. Positive environmental stories from March 2026
https://www.euronews.com/2026/05/22/carbon-sucking-fungi-and-forever-chemical-crackdowns-positive-environmental-stories-from-2?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-ie
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CLIMATE: By 2050, climate change will push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and lead to 236 million more women into hunger. The climate crisis fuels escalating conflict and forced migration, in a context of exclusionary, anti-rights political rhetoric targeting women, refugees, and other marginalized groups.
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2023/12/as-climate-changes-pushes-millions-of-women-into-poverty-un-women-calls-for-a-new-feminist-climate-justice-approach#:~:text=By%202050%2C%20climate%20change%20will,refugees%2C%20and%20other%20marginalized%20groups.
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CONSERVATION: We inherit the Earth first from God and then from our ancestors. It is our obligation, then, to hold the Earth in trust for our children.
We fight real pollution—industrial waste, excessive carbon emissions, forever chemicals, contamination that harms both people and wildlife—but we refuse climate alarmism. Conservationism must serve people, not undermine us.
https://www.churchpop.com/reclaim-environment-catholic-3-principles/?utm_campaign=ChurchPop&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=420216324&utm_content=420216324&utm_source=hs_email
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Solar Energy Orientation- Sachin
Solar energy is one of the best forms of energy which should be used by people all over the world. This solar energy is directly derived from the sun. Solar energy is a resource which is not likely to depreciate as long as the sun continues to shine and illuminate the surface of the earth. The environment is not harmed when solar energy is utilized.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/solarenergyorientation.php#more-21
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FASHION: In this article, we examine toxicity in fashion, clearly revealing how the fashion industry is slowly killing us and the planet at large. We’ll even reveal some of the tips you can adopt to be on the safe side, so let’s journey on. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/toxic-fashion.php
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WASTE: According to the United Nations, about 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste is collected worldwide, almost all of which comes from humans alone. As such, it’s really necessary to manage this waste using sustainable practices.
This article will talk about sustainable waste management, its importance, and said strategies for sustainable waste management. -----------------------
Singapore, for instance, incinerates about 8,200 tons of garbage daily, reducing its waste volume by 90%. Their incineration plants, in turn, produce over 2,500 MWh of energy daily, enough to support 900 homes daily.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/sustainable-practices-waste-management.php
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The invisible leaders on clean energy
Jeremy Williams • Apr 23, 2026
The Earthbound Report
https://earthbound.report/2026/04/23/the-invisible-leaders-on-clean-energy/
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FOOD: Ireland offers an array of wild plants perfect for salads, adding a unique and fresh twist to your meals. Dandelion leaves, sorrel, and wood sorrel are abundant in the countryside and make excellent additions to any salad bowl. Their distinct flavours add depth and vibrancy to your dish while providing essential nutrients like vitamins A and C. Nettles are another gem; when harvested carefully, they create a delectable addition with their earthy taste that complements other greens perfectly.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/foraging
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FUEL: “The €100m fuel support scheme is similar to a proposal made by IFA at our meeting with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris two weeks ago. It is vital that this scheme must be user friendly and flexible to ensure that those who need support get it quickly,” he stated.
https://www.ifa.ie/farm-sectors/ifa-response-to-govt-package/
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WEATHER: 23 March 2026 - This World Meteorological Day celebrates the work of the WMO community in observing our Earth to protect communities today and build resilience for tomorrow.
More information here: https://wmo.int/site/world-meteorolog...
World Meteorological Organization https://youtu.be/vjGl_8T-tsY?si=pcfqUdP1656pquVp
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Sustainability LIVE is a global hybrid event series that brings together leaders, innovators, and changemakers who are driving progress in sustainability. Through a mix of keynotes, fireside chats, panels, and hands-on workshops, the event explores the ideas, strategies, and solutions that are shaping a more sustainable future.
https://sustainabilitymag.com/events/sustainability-live
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https://ewtnmission.com/learn/saintfrancis/ -------------------------------------------- |
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SOLAR: Greencells Secures EPC Contract for Drombeg Solar Expansion
Planning permission is now a critical step for Greencells as it moves forward with the Drombeg Phase 2 solar project, set to expand Ireland’s largest solar park to 136.88 MWp.
Greencells has signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with ESB to deliver the 63.88 MWp Drombeg Phase 2 solar project in County Cork. This expansion will increase the total capacity of the Drombeg Solar Park to 136.88 MWp, marking a major milestone in Ireland’s renewable energy ambitions. The project is expected to play a significant role in supporting national climate targets and boosting clean energy generation.
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HEN HARRIER: They principally take small birds and small mammals, but they are adaptable and will take insects, reptiles and amphibians when available. They often target nestlings, and will tackle larger prey, which they have been observed drowning to subdue. Hen Harriers have also been seen hunting bats. Nestlings of passerines and waders are targeted, but the high density of gamebirds in the habitats that Hen Harriers breed in means that grouse chicks are targeted.
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Evidence for food limitation in the declining Hen Harrier population on the Orkney Islands, Scotland
A reduction in food supply therefore appears to be a plausible hypothesis for this decline and if this were true, we might expect that food is still limiting the population, as there appears to be no sign of a recovery. In this paper, we examine the strength of the evidence for this hypothesis and suggest possible remedial measures
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Renewables
Fri, 18 Oct, 2024 -Joe Dermody
Ireland needs to unblock the lengthy planning and judicial review processes adding to major hold-ups impeding the progress of renewable companies.
Paul Gallagher, newly appointed as head of onshore technologies with EDF Renewables Ireland, part of one of the world’s largest electricity companies, says the renewables sector urgently needs a commitment of resources to address these impediments for Ireland to avoid billions of euro of EU climate fines for failing to meet its 2030 climate action targets.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-41498039.html
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How to stop being selfish: Understanding selfishness
Selfishness refers to a tendency to act in such a way that benefits oneself solely, even at the disadvantage of another. Sometimes, understanding someone else’s perspective can be difficult, especially with those with whom you are not emotionally connected. However, selfishness is a different story. A selfish mindset can impede a person’s ability to:
https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/how-to/how-to-stop-being-selfish-cultivating-empathy/
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Solar and Wind Farms
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ENERGY Plans: Ministers also unveiled plans for energy companies to offer discounted bills to residents living near wind farms on windy days. This would apply when operators are typically paid to turn off due to network constraints.
These initiatives are the latest in a series of government announcements doubling down on its clean energy drive. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/plug-in-solar-panels-lidl-home-heat-pumps-b2944649.html?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb
RENEWABLE ENERGY ON THE RISE
The European Green Deal has made climate change a top priority for the EU. It aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Renewable energy (RE) is a pillar of the clean energy transition.
The EU’s 2030 RE target has been recently increased to at least 42.5 % of renewables in the energy mix, nearly doubling the 2022 share of 23 % [1,2].
file:///C:/Users/jerk/Downloads/JRC138095_01.pdf
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GOSSIP, By Sabrine Amboka
Wote, 29 March, 2026 / 11:50 pm (ACI Africa).
The Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Wote has called on the people of God in Kenya to avoid gossip and actions that shame others, urging the faithful to embrace forgiveness, compassion, and respect for human dignity.
In his reflection during the Way of the Cross at the opening of Marian’s Shrine in Kiongwani, in his Episcopal See, Bishop Simon Peter Kamomoe urged those who engage in gossip and shame others to ask for forgiveness.
https://www.aciafrica.org/news/20931/catholic-bishop-in-kenya-warns-against-gossips-that-strip-others-naked?utm_campaign=ACI%20Africa&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=411257447&utm_content=411257447&utm_source=hs_email
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E003-048---- : Castle - unclassified : TARMON EAST
Description: Tarmon Castle (site of). This castle belonged to the O'Connor Kerry clan, who had their chief residence at Carrigafoyle [KE002-045----], but erected two smaller castles at Asdee [KE002-063----] and Tarmons. John O'Connor established the Lordship of Tarbert for his second son, Dermot, and it is recorded that the 3rd Lord Tarbert lived here around 1550, so it is quite likely that the 1st and 2nd Lord Tarbert also resided here. No surface trace of the castle remains today.
The above description is derived from C. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 993. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.
Date of upload: 3 August 2013
References: Toal, C. 1995 North Kerry Archaeological Survey. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority.
Six-Inch First edition: Tarmon Castle (in ruins)
Six-Inch Latest edition: Tarmon Castle (site of)
ITM Coordinates: 507593 , 644841
Latitude and Longitude: 52.547053 , -9.362456
Cathleen Mulvihill
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Renewable Energy
===========================
Ukraine Did Something to END Iran’s TERROR
https://youtu.be/5C_h9e7HXhY?si=MvaxVMYwKBMQOZVu
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The $100 Billion Canal That Could Replace the Strait of Hormuz
https://youtu.be/HoZ8k6lcw9I?si=RgLz0Vz0oYS3ie0L
====================
https://youtu.be/a7EXPq-mpSc?si=RkCHAR05yjcjVSkK
At 103, I Eat the Same 4 Foods Every Single Day — Doctors Can't Explain It
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Climate science may have made a BIG mistake!
https://youtu.be/ywxdWD6NqE8?si=AFHXsx9GLf_VN3G_
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MINING
By Ishmael Adibuah
Vatican, 21 March, 2026 / 7:46 pm (ACI Africa).
The Vatican on Friday helped launch a campaign encouraging Catholic organizations, bishops’ conferences, and religious communities to divest from the mining sector for the sake of human ecology — one of several initiatives marking last year’s 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which called for greater care toward environmental issues.
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Uruguay bets on wind and hydro
After the financial crisis in 2008, unease about a reliance on oil and gas imports was what drove Uruguay to go all in on renewables.
Two decades ago, the small South American country with a population of 3.5 million embarked on a plan to phase fossil fuels out of its power grid by rapidly expanding wind farms.
Today, more than 90% of the country's electricity comes from renewables — mainly wind, solar, hydropower and biofuels. That figure has reached 98% in some particularly wet and windy years.
"It shows us that a 100% renewable electricity grid is fully possible," said Adib, adding that Uruguay has managed to do so without the massive amounts of storage required for when the sun isn't shining and wind isn't blowing.
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-roils-oil-trade-casting-doubt-on-us-fossil-fuel-push/a-76294122
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GLOBAL WARMING:
What is the Paris agreement and why does 1.5C matter?
Is the world on track to meet the 1.5C target?
The long-term 1.5C global warming target has not yet been breached.
But global emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels hit a new high in 2025, according to provisional data.
And according to the UN, countries' plans to cut emissions fall far short of what is needed to limit warming to 1.5C.
Based on current rates of warming, the world could pass 1.5C of warming around the year 2030.
"One thing is already clear: we will not be able to contain the global warming below 1.5C in the next few years," UN secretary general António Guterres said in October 2025.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93d59d4zy1o
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Why renewables change the equation
Unlike oil, solar panels and wind turbines can avoid being shipped through maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz. Renewables are not traded in the same globally centralised way. Power is generated locally and increasingly across many smaller sites.
Russia has long targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and power plants during the war. In response, Ukraine is ramping up renewables as fast as possible, as decentralised power generation is much harder to destroy. As a Ukrainian energy expert told Yale360, a single missile “could take out” a coal power station, while a wind farm would require 40 missiles.
https://theconversation.com/the-strikes-on-iran-show-why-quitting-oil-is-more-important-than-ever-277192
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KPMG survey; 77% of people support energy project near their homes –
Opposition, The 9% of respondents who opposed renewable projects where they live cited the impact on the local landscape (6%), the impact on local wildlife (4%) and safety concerns (4%) as their main reasons for not backing such projects.
https://www.farmersjournal.ie/news/news/77-of-people-support-energy-project-near-their-homes-kpmg-survey-857236
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BULLYING: Dangerous anti-renewables rhetoric, bullying and intimidation creates growing chasm in rural communities. By climate reporter Jess Davis ---------------------------------
"When energy politics reaches the point where children are dragged into it and livelihoods are sabotaged, something has gone badly wrong.
"Unfortunately, the loudest voices are often fuelled by misinformation spread through social media groups recycling the same myths about land values, turbine waste and health impacts.
"These campaigns target and isolate landholders, turning neighbours against neighbours. It's intimidation dressed up as debate."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-31/anti-renewables-campaigns-fuel-community-division-in-regions/105938440
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FOOD: idea for ‘five meals for £25’ started, by Social media sensation Ashleigh Mogford, aka Cardiff Mum.
HOSPITAL: launch of the Bon Secours in Limerick: The €213 million investment represents employment of more than 4,000 staff and 500 consultants. In its five acute hospitals in Limerick, Galway, Cork, Tralee and Dublin, the Bon Secours treats more than 400,000 people a year.
https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/health/2034016/first-new-acute-hospital-in-ireland-in-almost-20-years-is-officially-opened-in-limerick.html?utm_source=Newsletter%20Limerick%20Live&utm_medium=Newsletter%20Email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=First%20new%20acute%20hospital%20in%20Ireland%20in%20almost%2020%20years%20is%20officially%20opened%20in%20Limerick
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DAY: Daffodil Day is Friday, 20th of March.
TREES: Marking the 40th anniversary of the Tree Council of Ireland, this year’s launch was a particularly special occasion. President Connolly performed a ceremonial tree planting to mark the beginning of the week-long celebration of Ireland’s trees, woodlands, and the communities that care for them. https://www.nationaltreeweek.ie/
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EASTER: Easter Monday is the only public holiday that can vary significantly from year to year. The date of Easter moves every year. Easter should be the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after 21 March. This means the earliest possible date for Easter Sunday in any year is 22 March, and the latest is 25 April.
CHURCH; Vatican II and a new generation of Irish architects taking their cues from Europe dragged the Catholic Church I grew up in, into the 20th century. Corpus Christi in Knockanure is at the forefront of that breakthrough design revolution.
https://roaringwaterjournal.com/tag/knockanure-church/
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AGE: Kerry County Council is developing a new Age Friendly Strategy.
If you are aged 55 years and over, you are invited to share your views on how we can make County Kerry a place where people of all ages can live well, age positively, and feel valued.
https://consult.kerrycoco.ie/en/content/kerry-age-friendly-strategy-public-consultation-survey
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ARTS: Kerry Arts Ball 2026 tickets are available via www.kerryartsball.ie.
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BRIDGE players from across Ireland will attend the Tralee International Bridge Congress 2026 at The Rose Hotel from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th April.
CLIMATE: 218: Community Climate Adaptation Programme with Transition Kerry
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/conservation-and/218-community-climate-EgZwbJPKjC6/
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LESOTHO: Action Lesotho is an Irish NGO whose aim is to bring much needed humanitarian and development aid from Ireland to the Kingdom of Lesotho. https://actionlesotho.ie/
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FLAG: March 7, on this day in 1848, Thomas Francis Meagher unveiled the Irish Tricolour in Waterford. Speaking at the Wolfe Tone Club on The Mall, Meagher introduced the green, white and orange flag as a symbol of hope for peace between Ireland’s traditions. Green represented the Gaelic tradition, orange represented the followers of William of Orange, and the white between them symbolised lasting peace between both.
LOCAL: Joe Buckley, proud Kerryman, was 72- News March 20, 2013 by Irish Echo Staff
Buckley-jpg - Joseph V. Buckley.[/caption]
Joseph V. Buckley, a native of County Kerry and a prominent member of the Irish American community on Long Island, died recently aged 72.
Buckley, born in Moyvane, was a well known bar and restaurant owner. He died peacefully after a short illness.
Buckley was the youngest of 11 brothers and sisters. He was father to Kelly, Michael, Sean, Ryan and a grandfather to Jack and Rylin.
He was the former owner The Jolly Tinker in Rockville Centre, Katie Daly's Restaurant in Massapequa and was at the time of his death the owner of Molly Malone's Restaurant in Bayshore.
In 1980, Buckley was named St. Rose of Lima Man of the Year. In 1987 he was Nassau County Police Emerald Society Irishman of the Year. In 1990 he was Grand Council of United Emerald Societies Man of the Year and in 1993 he was Grand Marshal of Glen Cove St. Patrick's Day Parade.
In 1979, Joe organized the first "Irish Open Golf Tournament" which over the years benefited the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, St. Mary of the Angels Home, St. Rose of Lima School, and the Holy Ghost Fathers of Dublin and many more worthy causes.
Throughout the years he was a member of the following: Founding Charter Member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Long Island Chapter, Knights of Columbus, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Chamber of Commerce, Hempstead Bay Power Squadron (honorary), Nassau County Restaurant Association and Nassau Shores Civic Association.
Joe Buckley first landed in New York in 1963. He loved going home to Ireland every September. He would attend the Listowel Races and the All Ireland Gaelic Football Final. Not surprisingly, he was a passionate fan of the Kerry Football Team and at every opportunity he would proudly tell people that he was from the Kingdom, the Kingdom of Kerry.
"He was more to people than just a business owner. He made people feel that they were part of his family and in turn people opened their hearts to him as well. He'd want to know about your kids and how your vacation was and how things were in your everyday life. He was so good at what he did because he genuinely loved it and got great joy from it," said his family.
https://www.irishecho.com/2013/3/joe-buckley-proud-kerryman-was-72
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GAS: What will the economic cost be to Ireland?
The state-led LNG facility is estimated to cost around €900 million but it will soon become a stranded asset. The Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, Darragh O Brien has acknowledged that it will have to be phased out within 10 to 15 years. Especially when Ireland is facing fines of up to €26 billion for its failures on climate action, investing in renewable alternatives can help address our climate inaction sooner.
https://www.trocaire.org/news/fossil-fuel-fiasco-why-is-ireland-pursuing-toxic-liquefied-natural-gas-during-a-climate-crisis/
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WIND: Deploying onshore wind turbines contributes to reduced CO₂ emissions by increasing the availability of renewable energy sources to meet electricity demand, thereby reducing dependence on fossil fuel–based sources in the overall electricity grid mix.
https://drawdown.org/explorer/deploy-onshore-wind-turbines
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GHG; Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agriculture sector “will
range from a 1% increase to a 16% decrease over the period of 2018 to
2030”, according to the EPA.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/we-need-to-move-faster-on-emissions-targets-climate-minister/?utm_source=Agriland%20Master%20List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email%20Newsletter%2028-05%20%2801JWBE06R4ERGADXPDSPRZ9G4T%29
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BP: "2025 was a year of strong underlying financial results, strong operational performance and meaningful strategic progress. We know there is more work to be done, and look forward to Meg O’Neill joining as CEO in April as we accelerate our progress to build a simpler, stronger and more valuable bp for the future." Carol Howle, bp interim CEO
https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/news-and-insights/energy-in-focus/4q-2025-and-full-year-results.html?utm_source=EIFnewsletter&utm_medium=external&utm_campaign=EIF-4QFY26&utm_id=4QFYresults26
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CARBON
1. Introduction
Mitigating climate change requires that consumption patterns change towards low-carbon. At the same time, consumers are being swamped with product advertisements incentivizing high-carbon consumption. It is estimated that the average American is exposed to around 4000 to 10,000 advertisements daily (Marshall, 2013), the majority of which are for high-carbon products, that is, those which emit considerable CO2 emissions over their lifecycle (Annala & Vinnari, 2019). Moreover, targeted advertisements made possible by online platforms such as Facebook and Google have dramatically increased the effectiveness of commercial advertising (Mochon et al., 2017). Studies indicate that advertising may explain up to 65% of the total variance in consumption patterns (Brulle & Young, 2007). Against this background, relevant questions are whether advertising for high-carbon products reduces the effectiveness of climate policies aimed at controlling emissions associated with consumption, and whether green advertising, i.e. advertising for low-carbon products, can promote consumption of low-carbon alternatives.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214804322001276
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RENEWABLES: The message is clear: accelerate the transition to renewable energy is essential for protecting economies, reducing vulnerability to instability, and ensuring a more secure, sustainable future for all. https://www.ren21.net/the-case-for-renewables-lessons-from-global-dependence-on-middle-east-fossil-fuels/
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=================================
CARBON
1. Introduction
Mitigating climate change requires that consumption patterns change towards low-carbon. At the same time, consumers are being swamped with product advertisements incentivizing high-carbon consumption. It is estimated that the average American is exposed to around 4000 to 10,000 advertisements daily (Marshall, 2013), the majority of which are for high-carbon products, that is, those which emit considerable CO2 emissions over their lifecycle (Annala & Vinnari, 2019). Moreover, targeted advertisements made possible by online platforms such as Facebook and Google have dramatically increased the effectiveness of commercial advertising (Mochon et al., 2017). Studies indicate that advertising may explain up to 65% of the total variance in consumption patterns (Brulle & Young, 2007). Against this background, relevant questions are whether advertising for high-carbon products reduces the effectiveness of climate policies aimed at controlling emissions associated with consumption, and whether green advertising, i.e. advertising for low-carbon products, can promote consumption of low-carbon alternatives.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214804322001276
===========================
FARMING: Irish farming is changing. Costs are rising, markets are unpredictable, and increasing environmental pressures mean that many farmers need to look for ways to keep farms sustainable for the next generation. More and more farmers are looking at practical ways to diversify while keeping land in agricultural use. One proven option is leasing land for renewable energy projects.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/unlock-the-power-of-your-land/
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Solar in Space
Assuming that we can build a huge solar power station in space, we would then have to get the power back down to us. Fortunately, we know how to do this: microwaves beamed to a ground-based receiver called a rectenna. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena demonstrated this was feasible for the first time in February, as part of their Space Solar Power Project.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26134821-800-five-climate-megaprojects-that-might-just-save-the-world/
----------------------
Power to the people?
(Image: Reuters/Kumerra Gemechu)
Ethiopia’s green economy is booming, but most of the locals are not feeling the benefit. Last week, the country opened Africa’s biggest wind farm. The Ashegoda Wind Farm will generate 120 megawatts of electricity. It came online just days after Ethiopia announced a preliminary agreement to build a 1000-megawatt geothermal facility, the largest in Africa.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24485-ethiopia-switches-on-africas-largest-wind-farm/
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GREEN: January 2011- Conference: Conference for Green Thought and Environmental Politics At: Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan,
Authors: Sharon Beder -------------------------------
Politicians in many nations have not been responsive to community concerns about global warming because of a highly successful corporate campaign of misinformation and persuasion. Corporations that would be affected by measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions set out to confuse and deceive the public and policy-makers on the issue. They use corporate front groups, public relations firms and conservative think tanks to cast doubt on predictions of global warming and its impacts, to imply that governments do not know enough to act, to argue that the cost of reducing greenhouse gases is prohibitively expensive and to promote doubtful solutions such as ‘clean’ coal. Similarly corporations and their lobby groups have sought to delay treaties and legislation and shape those that are finally agreed and passed. In particular they promote voluntary actions by presenting themselves as environmentally responsible and committed to finding solutions.
=================================
DROUGHT: By: Matthew Wills- February 19, 2026
The icon indicates free access to the linked research on JSTOR.
The late seventeenth century saw one of the most significant droughts of the last 1,000 years in what is today the Midwestern Corn Belt. In response, the Illinois people moved out of the upper Illinois River Valley in the 1690s. They migrated south to reestablish in the American Bottom region where the Mississippi is joined by the Missouri and Ohio rivers.
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CLIMATE: “Renewable energy is not about tackling climate change, it’s about economic growth and affordable and low energy prices,” Austrian State Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Zehetner told POLITICO on the sidelines of the event. Zehetner stressed however that Europeans wouldn't be "blackmailed" by the U.S.
Her comments reflect that independently of the U.S., Europe has itself moved away from the climate fervor that dominated Brussels policymaking in the first part of this decade. Still, despite some backsliding on green rules, the EU remains fundamentally in favor of strong policies to tackle climate change.
=====================
WASTE: 13pc of wind energy in Ireland was wasted in 2025, worth €450m, according to news reports.
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=================================
https://carboncredits.com/teslas-carbon-credit-revenue-soars-to-2-76-billion-amid-profit-drop/
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CARBON
1. Introduction
Mitigating climate change requires that consumption patterns change towards low-carbon. At the same time, consumers are being swamped with product advertisements incentivizing high-carbon consumption. It is estimated that the average American is exposed to around 4000 to 10,000 advertisements daily (Marshall, 2013), the majority of which are for high-carbon products, that is, those which emit considerable CO2 emissions over their lifecycle (Annala & Vinnari, 2019). Moreover, targeted advertisements made possible by online platforms such as Facebook and Google have dramatically increased the effectiveness of commercial advertising (Mochon et al., 2017). Studies indicate that advertising may explain up to 65% of the total variance in consumption patterns (Brulle & Young, 2007). Against this background, relevant questions are whether advertising for high-carbon products reduces the effectiveness of climate policies aimed at controlling emissions associated with consumption, and whether green advertising, i.e. advertising for low-carbon products, can promote consumption of low-carbon alternatives.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214804322001276
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WIND Jan 2026
The UK has awarded subsidy contracts for offshore wind projects to generate enough power for 12m homes, giving a new lease of life to an industry that is being throttled on the other side of the Atlantic.
Securing this power puts the UK on track to reach the government’s objective of a virtually carbon-free electricity system by 2030. Britain has placed an enormous bet on offshore wind, and the award of 8GW of offshore wind projects is the largest such auction to take place in Europe.
https://observer.co.uk/news/business/article/uks-record-offshore-wind-deal-speeds-the-path-to-decarbonisation?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb
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Updated 6:48 PM UTC, January 18, 2026
Leer en español
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa declared a national disaster Sunday over torrential rains and floods that have killed at least 30 people in the country’s north, damaged thousands of homes and washed away roads and bridges.
The declaration was made by the head of the National Disaster Management Center and announced by the government. It allows the national government to coordinate the response to the disaster.
The worst impact is in the northern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, where the fatalities occurred. But the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs said at least three other provinces had also been affected by the severe weather.
Parts of South Africa and neighboring Mozambique and Zimbabwe have experienced heavy rains for weeks. That resulted in severe flooding in central and southern Mozambique and northern South Africa. More than 100 people have died in the three countries since the rains began late last year.
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The premier of Limpopo province said the weather had caused around $240 million in damage in her province, with many houses and buildings washed away completely.
More than 100 people died in floods last year in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province in the south of the country, while more than 400 died in flooding in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province in 2022.
https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-flood-rain-disaster-8b5744763b6a41ca479c0c9a8254b051?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb
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ADVERTISING: How Does Advertising Impact Climate Change?
Advertising significantly exacerbates climate change by promoting unsustainable consumption and lifestyles, necessitating critical reevaluation and systemic change.
https://climate.sustainability-directory.com/question/how-does-advertising-impact-climate-change/
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CLIMATE: The Earth's climate is in crisis; it's reaching the point where it's beyond repair.
There is still time to restore the Earth to a more healthy equilibrium, however, if we all switch to low-carbon lifestyles. The advertising and marketing industry has the power to encourage people to adopt low-carbon lifestyles and it must seize this opportunity before it's too late.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/09/unleashing-the-advertising-industry-s-superpower-to-drive-demand-for-low-carbon-lifestyles/
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ELECTRICITY: BY: James Conor Patterson- March 25, 2025
EIRGRID says that it expects demand for electricity in Ireland to grow by 45% by 2034, with the peak requirement for power rising by just under a quarter over the same time period.
The body, which currently manages Ireland’s electricity grid, has said that between now and 2027 the outlook for demand will prove ‘challenging’ unless new power sources are synthesised. Demand is already scaling up as a result of new data centres being constructed, the electrification of heat and transport, and the growing proportion of electric vehicles on the road.
https://www.irishpost.com/news/electricity-demand-next-decade-287948
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SOLAR: Dairy farmers with solar installed by ProSolar have seen electricity cost reductions averaging 80%. This saving puts €6,400 back in the farmer's pocket each year - €64 per cow.
An average Irish dairy cow produces 5,500L of milk per year, so the €64 saving per cow equates to 1.16 cent per litre of milk produced.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/1c-l-how-solar-cuts-the-cost-of-production-on-dairy-farms/
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SOLAR System; An incredible space event might be happening in the heavens, and it is likely that we are going to miss it. The Kepler-89 system is so far the only other place in the universe where we have seen a planetary alignment, where two exoplanets end up eclipsing each other as they pass in front of their star. This means that four celestial bodies – Earth, the star Kepler-89 A, and two of its four planets, Kepler-89Ad and Kepler-89Ae – will all be on a single line. The team that saw it the first time think it's about to happen again.
The alignment of three or more celestial bodies is known as a syzygy... at least in the Solar System, it is. This is exactly what happens when there is a solar eclipse like the one happening
https://www.iflscience.com/weve-only-seen-a-pair-of-eclipsing-exoplanets-once-before-astronomers-think-its-about-to-happen-again-82572?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=catholic_news_remains_of_st_francis_to_be_visible_for_veneration_in_assisi&utm_term=2026-02-17
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WAR: Patton's Army On the Move | Episode 6, The Battle of the Bulge | Journey to American Democracy
https://youtu.be/_9eCDQDwQtQ?si=CPE9jXsArCABivaG
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CYCLONE: By Jude Atemanke
Antananarivo, 12 February, 2026 / 11:50 pm (ACI Africa).
Archbishop Benjamin Marc Balthason Ramaroson of the Catholic Archdiocese of Antsiranana in the Indian Ocean Island nation of Madagascar has expressed solidarity with communities affected by Cyclone Gezani, assuring them of the Church’s closeness and support in the wake of the deadly storm.
In an interview with ACI Africa on Thursday, February 12, Archbishop Ramaroson reflected on the impact of the disaster.
“Madagascar is a large island, almost a continent. The north was spared. But we are wholeheartedly with our brothers and sisters affected by the cyclone,” the Catholic Archbishop told ACI Africa.
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January 2011- Conference: Conference for Green Thought and Environmental Politics At: Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan,
Authors: Sharon Beder -------------------------------
Politicians in many nations have not been responsive to community concerns about global warming because of a highly successful corporate campaign of misinformation and persuasion. Corporations that would be affected by measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions set out to confuse and deceive the public and policy-makers on the issue. They use corporate front groups, public relations firms and conservative think tanks to cast doubt on predictions of global warming and its impacts, to imply that governments do not know enough to act, to argue that the cost of reducing greenhouse gases is prohibitively expensive and to promote doubtful solutions such as ‘clean’ coal. Similarly corporations and their lobby groups have sought to delay treaties and legislation and shape those that are finally agreed and passed. In particular they promote voluntary actions by presenting themselves as environmentally responsible and committed to finding solutions.
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CLIMATE: How do rural communities prepare for climate change when global commitment seems to be wavering? What does real climate adaptation look like on the ground?
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/conservation-and/218-community-climate-EgZwbJPKjC6/
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CLIMATE: Matt and Jen are joined by researcher Dr Emma Yule for a comprehensive primer on climate change adaptation. What is it, and how does it interact with mitigation? What could adaptation look like in practical terms?
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/local-zero/climate-change-adaptation-a-YuAeimOU6yW/
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CLIMATE: Welcome back to another episode in our panel discussion series. In this edition we’ll be focusing on the challenges and opportunities of climate adaptation with examples of farmers in different key and representative zones of Europe.
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/regenerative-skills/climate-resilience-on--n7m3QaPAXx/
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Stephen Fernane
Kerryman -Wed 9 Oct 2024 at 07:00
Ireland’s largest solar farm is being earmarked for a 599-acre site at Knockanure in north Kerry.
Lightsource bp is a global leader in the financing, development, and management of solar energy projects and is hosting a public meeting in Knockanure on October 17 to outline the plans, which are still at an early stage.
The company explained, via its website, that the proposed solar and energy storage project would provide enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of around 45,500 homes, saving approximately 77,800 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.
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Wind and Solar
Clashes now are brewing in communities across the country over the placement of clean energy devices such as windmills, clotheslines, and solar panels. (7) One of the most contentious topics of the modern eco-revolution is the increasing presence of windmills and wind farms in rural areas. For example, one upstate New York family has nearly been torn apart by the decision of the family's patriarch to lease family farm land to a wind farm operation despite the noise and other headaches that the wind turbines have caused their neighbors--some of whom are members of the family. (8) Others in the Lowville, New York community applaud the positive economic impact that the wind farm has had on the community, including generating jobs and tax revenue, as well as the overall benefit to the environment. (9) Similar disputes have occurred in less rural residential areas. (10) Similarly, the placement of solar panels has also given rise to notable litigation. (11) In California, neighbors have been embroiled in litigation regarding the placement and overgrowth of redwood trees that block sunlight to solar panels installed on the neighboring property. (12)
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Dirty+dishes%2C+dirty+laundry%2C+and+windy+mills%3A+a+framework+for...-a0237940861
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SOLAR: Citizens for Responsible Solar was founded in an exurb of Washington, D.C., by a longtime political operative named Susan Ralston who worked in the White House under President George W. Bush and still has deep ties to power players in conservative politics.
Ralston tapped conservative insiders to help set up and run Citizens for Responsible Solar. She also consulted with a longtime activist against renewable energy who once defended former President Donald Trump's unfounded claim that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer. And when Ralston was launching the group, a consulting firm she owns got hundreds of thousands of dollars from the foundation of a leading GOP donor who is also a major investor in fossil fuel companies. It's unclear what the money to Ralston's firm was used for. Ralston has previously denied that Citizens for Responsible Solar received money from fossil fuel interests.
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1154867064/solar-power-misinformation-activists-rural-america
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Despite broad public support for solar energy, local opposition to large-scale solar farms is on the rise across the UK, Europe and the US. Once seen as a straightforward win for decarbonisation efforts, solar developments are now facing increasing scrutiny, with concerns ranging from landscape aesthetics and agricultural land use to fears about property values and environmental impact
https://www.pv-tech.org/the-solar-backlash-and-how-developers-are-responding/
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In this report, EPI reviews and summarizes key findings from this research in one place for the first time. We identify some of the major players involved in disinformation campaigns targeting renewable energy projects and technologies, including:
Funders from the coal, petroleum, and methane gas industries;
Networks of front groups and political operatives paid by these fossil fuel interests; and
The cadre of top anti-wind and anti-solar activists who have coordinated closely with these front groups and operatives for over a decade
https://energyandpolicy.org/fossil-fuel-funding-opposition-renewable-energy/
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ECO: Offsetting guilt: Eco-minded descendants of billionaire oil barons are PAYING hundreds of activists $25,000-a-year to protest around the world because they feel 'a moral obligation to put genie back in the bottle'
Aileen Getty, Rebecca Rockefeller Lambert, Peter Gill Case paying salaries for eco-thugs through non-profits
Getty, whose granddad created Getty Oil, has so far splashed out $1million through Climate Emergency Fund
Lambert and Case, members of the Rockefeller family, have forked out $30million on The Equation Campaign
They've put eco-activists on the payroll for around $25,000 as well as pumped money into the organizations
It comes as eco-warriors have been continuing to wreak havoc across the world with stunts in recent months
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A North Dakota jury has found Greenpeace liable for defamation, ordering it to pay more than $660m (£507m) in damages to an oil company for the environmental group's role in one of the largest anti-fossil fuel protests in US history.
Texas-based Energy Transfer also accused Greenpeace of trespass, nuisance and civil conspiracy over the demonstrations nearly a decade ago against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The lawsuit, filed in state court, argued that Greenpeace was behind an "unlawful and violent scheme to cause financial harm to Energy Transfer".
Greenpeace, which vowed to appeal, said last month it could be forced into bankruptcy because of the case, ending over 50 years of activism.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c87121e0j4yo
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SOLAR and Wind;
Caroline O'Doherty
Sat 23 Sep 2023 at 01:30
The next round of contracts for wind and solar farms – due to be awarded next week – will provide less green electricity than hoped for and cost the consumer more, industry groups say.
They say delays getting planning approval and agreements on connection to the national power grid meant few projects were able to compete for the contracts.
Contracts covering 16.5 years instead of the 20 years previously offered, and no allowance for rising costs, were also a deterrent. ------------------------------
WEI said, however, it was taking almost two years for wind farms to get through planning while ISEA said it was taking up to a year-and-a-half to get solar projects through An Bord Pleanála appeals.
Subsequent grid connection applications held projects back further.
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Rachel Williamson
Nov 18, 2024
Payments to farmers for hosting renewable energy infrastructure will hit a total of $1 billion by 2030, and could reach up to $10 billion by 2050, indicating just how valuable wind and solar farms will be to sustaining farming operations in Australia.
Farmers in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) will reap the bulk of the windfalls over time, with payments rocketing to the multiple billions to landholders in those two states alone by 2050, according to the latest report from Farmers for Climate Action and the Clean Energy Council.
The 2030 total for landholder payments – the leases paid to landowners for putting a wind or solar farm on their property – is estimated to be between $900,000 and $1.1 billion.
Another $213 million will be paid to regional communities through community benefits funds and other shared benefits offered by developers.
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Abstract
Many policy analysts believe that once electricity from renewable energy becomes less expensive than electricity from fossil fuel, new renewable energy facilities will be built quickly across the United States. Cost-effective renewable energy has largely been achieved, but there appear to be substantial barriers to building new renewable energy facilities. We identified 53 utility-scale wind, solar, and geothermal energy projects that were delayed or blocked between 2008 and 2021 in 28 U.S. states. Using multi-level qualitative analysis, we have identified seven key sources of opposition. Of the projects we studied, 34% faced significant delays and difficulties securing permits, 49% were cancelled permanently, and 26% resumed after being stopped for several months or years. Project delays and cancellations account for potential lost generating capacity of almost 4600 MW. State and local governments and renewable energy developers need to pay closer attention to the full range of socially-oriented sources of opposition to new facilities.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522001471
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Kitson, the administrator of the Facebook page, says he knows that these accidents aren't typical. "Those events are not likely. We know that," Kitson says. But Kitson has seen a broken piece of a fallen turbine blade himself, which got him worrying about how the fiberglass might affect the integrity of the soil and the crops. So he posts the photos and articles, many of which he receives from an anti-wind email list. "I do that just to try to show people what's possible."
Kitson's group is one of dozens in the United States and abroad that oppose utility-scale wind and solar projects. Researchers say that in many groups, misinformation is raising doubts about renewable energy and slowing or derailing projects.
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Solar is Creating Jobs and Driving Economic Growth
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has reported that 280,000 Americans work in solar, as of 2024. Over 10,000 solar companies across U.S. states are responsible for this employment, with workers with a wide variety of backgrounds and job functions supporting the solar industry. In addition, the industry generated over $71 billion of private investment in the American economy in 2024. As solar deployment grows and advanced manufacturing facilities ramp up, more solar jobs will emerge across the U.S.
https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-research-data/
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A solid environmental impact analysis covering all resources also should be conducted to identify any potential adverse impacts of the project. If such potential adverse impacts are found, project developers should proactively create a plan to address these issues, with a particular focus on pre-empting and withstanding any public or legal scrutiny.
https://www.powermag.com/how-local-opposition-can-thwart-renewable-energy-projects/
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Jim Hurley- Nitrogen.
Life has existed on planet Earth for at least 3.5 billion years, and modern humans evolved some 300,000 years ago, so despite any notions we may have about our personal importance, in the great scheme of things, we are relatively recent newcomers among the many life forms that comprise the biosphere.
Long before the origin of humans bacteria had solved the problem of how to get nitrogen from the air.
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SOLAR: Citizens for Responsible Solar was founded in an exurb of Washington, D.C., by a longtime political operative named Susan Ralston who worked in the White House under President George W. Bush and still has deep ties to power players in conservative politics.
Ralston tapped conservative insiders to help set up and run Citizens for Responsible Solar. She also consulted with a longtime activist against renewable energy who once defended former President Donald Trump's unfounded claim that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer. And when Ralston was launching the group, a consulting firm she owns got hundreds of thousands of dollars from the foundation of a leading GOP donor who is also a major investor in fossil fuel companies. It's unclear what the money to Ralston's firm was used for. Ralston has previously denied that Citizens for Responsible Solar received money from fossil fuel interests.
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1154867064/solar-power-misinformation-activists-rural-america
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Despite broad public support for solar energy, local opposition to large-scale solar farms is on the rise across the UK, Europe and the US. Once seen as a straightforward win for decarbonisation efforts, solar developments are now facing increasing scrutiny, with concerns ranging from landscape aesthetics and agricultural land use to fears about property values and environmental impact
https://www.pv-tech.org/the-solar-backlash-and-how-developers-are-responding/
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By Tessa Gervasini
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2025 / 16:48 pm
Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:
Advocates push for EPA to include chemicals from abortion drugs on list of drinking water contaminants
Students for Life of America (SFLA) is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to add the abortion drug mifepristone to a list of drinking water contaminants tracked by public utilities. “It’s a problem only the EPA can fully investigate,” SFLA reported.
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By Tyler Arnold
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2025 / 17:18 pm
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to ease federal marijuana regulations amid support from the cannabis industry but opposition from some Catholic and conservative groups.
Trump’s Dec. 18 executive order directs the attorney general to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug as quickly as federal law allows. This process began under President Joe Biden’s administration and is being continued under Trump.
Schedule I, which includes marijuana, is reserved for drugs that have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,”
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How cheap renewable energy is finally flattening emissions
https://youtu.be/Z8JFCJP70rg?si=9Sp-4B7cxT0-NlwN
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CATL Reveals Sodium Battery With 3.6 Million-Mile Lifespan — 50% Cheaper
https://youtu.be/vJ-arfkRwi4?si=mohFRPD_IZj5oBPm
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The Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough EVERYONE Said Was Impossible
https://youtu.be/_BjIKO1fxs8?si=ECqB6MbQBRcwh20e
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Think of it this way: if a fast-food chain advertises its new “recyclable” cups while ignoring the fact that most recycling facilities can’t actually process them, or if an oil company runs ads showcasing its tiny renewable energy division while investing billions in new fossil fuel extraction, that’s greenwashing. The environmental claim exists, but it’s either misleading in scope or designed to distract from larger environmental harms.
https://csr.education/corporate-ethics-governance/identify-eliminate-greenwashing-claims/
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Triple investments in renewables
At least $4 trillion a year needs to be invested in renewable energy until 2030 – including investments in technology and infrastructure – to allow us to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Not nearly as high as yearly fossil fuel subsidies, this investment will pay off. The reduction of pollution and climate impact alone could save the world up to $4.2 trillion per year by 2030.
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/raising-ambition/renewable-energy-transition
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Renewables
“We are really keen on the food and beverages sector – that’s huge in Ireland. Dairy is also a huge sector for us,” Marren says.
A recent project with dairy co-operative Arrabawn is “very typical of the projects” that will be funded under the partnership with Aviva. Astatine built a 5.6 megawatt solar farm beside the co-ops processing plant in Nenagh, Co Tipperary. The 12,815 panel project is reducing its draw on the grid by 15 per cent with no upfront capital investment from the co-operative.
“We own that site. We will sell the power back to Arrabawn over a number of years and then we will hand it back,” he says, “It is a no-brainer. The whole site will be paid for, and they will have [the asset] as well as the ongoing energy reductions.”
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Battery
Barry O'Halloran
Tue Oct 28 2025 - 05:00 • 2 MIN READ
Plans to allow energy storage businesses to trade electricity on the Irish market could help in cutting power costs, experts say.
Developers have installed batteries in Ireland capable of storing up to 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity, equivalent to an average power station, but they are used only as a backstop to help ward off potential shortages.
However, from next month, battery storage operators will be permitted to trade electricity on the all-Ireland wholesale market, opening a new source of supply in a move that one industry figure predicts could ease costs.
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WASTE: Tim O'Brien- Tue Nov 18 2025 -
The State is “wasting” up to €2.7 million worth of renewable energy per night, or an estimated €450 million a year, that could benefit communities and households in fuel poverty, TDs and Senators have been told.
Surplus energy is typically available from wind farms at night, but is “dispatched down” because demand does not match power generation.
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SMALL Machine; Compact is a word we hear being applied to many farm machines nowadays as manufacturers attempt to apply more power and performance into ever smaller packages.
It is a logical development as the speed of farming operations tends to correlate to the power available and with the ever increasing power density of engines, smaller, faster machines will take the place of older and more cumbersome units.
Merlo is not slow in recognising this and at Agritechnica it was showing what it terms its Hypercompact Concept.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/merlo-tackles-the-compact-market-with-mini-telehandler/?utm_source=Agriland+Master+List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_20_11+(01KAGS7MF148VZWVF519XVV9FX)
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When the County Went Under
In February 1795, Northamptonshire found itself at the mercy of one of the most dramatic natural disasters in its history.
And it wasn’t limited to Northants! The Great Floods of 1795, referred to as the Candlemas Flood in some parts, turned peaceful rivers into raging torrents, swept away bridges, and left whole villages marooned for days across Britain.
What caused it? A brutal winter of ice and snow… followed by a sudden thaw.
When the frozen rivers finally broke loose, they carried everything – ice, debris, bridges, and hopes of a quiet February – downstream.
https://wordpress.com/reader/blogs/236340048/posts/2628
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More Local History
Sources
Historic England, “Thrapston Bridge”
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1040327?section=official-list-entry
Jane Austen’s World, “The Severe English Winter of 1794-1795 Began on Christmas Day: First-Hand Accounts”
https://janeaustensworld.com/2023/12/05/the-severe-english-winter-of-1794-1795-began-on-christmas-day-first-hand-accounts/
Northamptonshire Records Society, “Great Flood at Wellingborough”, Notes and Queries
https://archive.org/details/nrs0001/page/212/mode/2up
Thrapston History, “Brief History of Thrapston”
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KERRY:
Peace with Creation Workshop Sun. Sept 21st 3pm-5pm. Fossa Parish in collaboration with Diocese of Kerry Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation committee (JPIC) are responding to the call of the Bishops to return 30% of parish grounds to nature. Guided tour, Way of Creation Stations, networking & light refreshments. The day will close with the planting of a native tree.
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Why Earth Is the Only Place in the Solar System That Has Fire
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LIVESTOCK: Experience shows that the adoption of good practices can make livestock systems truly sustainable according to Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
He was speaking today (Monday, September 29) as he opened the second Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/global-conference-on-sustainable-livestock-transformation/
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In 1831, the world experienced one of the strangest and most terrifying events in recorded history, the Sun turned blue, and the planet was plunged into months of eerie cold. For generations, historians and scientists struggled to explain this bizarre phenomenon, but now, nearly 200 years later, researchers believe they have finally solved the mystery.
According to new studies, the event was likely caused by a massive volcanic eruption that sent millions of tons of ash and particles high into the atmosphere. These particles scattered sunlight in a way that made the Sun appear bluish or even green to observers around the world. At the same time, they blocked enough sunlight to trigger a dramatic global cooling effect, leading to months of unusually harsh weather and crop failures.
Eyewitness accounts from the time describe a chilling scene: blue and lavender skies during the day, stars that shone unusually bright at night, and frost forming even during months that were normally warm. Communities were thrown into panic, with some believing it was a sign of the end of the world.
The discovery has not only solved a historical mystery but also highlighted how fragile Earth’s climate can be. Scientists warn that similar events could happen again if a massive eruption or other global-scale disaster occurs in the future.
This revelation is captivating history buffs, scientists, and skywatchers alike. It’s a chilling reminder that even something as constant as the Sun can appear to change when our planet’s atmosphere is disrupted — and that nature holds the power to transform the world overnight.
#BlueSun #HistoryMystery #ScienceNews #VolcanicEruption #ClimateHistory #SpaceAndScience
https://www.facebook.com/deepuniversee
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Tara Cusack
08 Aug 2025 2:00 PM
BUSINESSES, organisations, community groups and individuals in Limerick are being called on to enter the Repak Resource Awards, joining previous county winners Limerick Polymers Production Ltd and Castletroy College.
Replacing the Pakman Awards, the national environmental awards will celebrate not only Ireland’s recycling and waste management leaders, but also innovation in circular design and thinking, responsible resource use, and grassroots environmental action.
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Seán Ó Sé 89 who will perform at Puck Fair 2025 for 50th time
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AUSTRALIA: Accidental migrants?
Regarding the 2000-2015 cohort McCorry came to the conclusion that many were ‘accidental migrants’. Most had tertiary education, came for adventure, had not prepared and did not intend to stay. This resulted in a sharp increase in demand for services of Irish welfare organisations: e.g., some still had mortgages to pay in Ireland.
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On its face, this makes sense. Morality often has a radical character. Doing what is right can be accompanied by inconvenience, uncertainty, or loss. From an early age, we are told that we should “do the right thing” even when it costs us something—maybe everything. But Singer’s universalism is also thinly constituted—it tells us what we ought to do, but not how we become the kind of people who will do it.
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"The time is always right to do what is right." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/doing-the-right-thing.html
"It's not always easy to do the right thing. But, doing the right thing makes you strong, it builds character, it forces you to make decisions based upon your beliefs and not what other people think. In life, and in business, you have to stand for what you believe in and sometimes you have to stand alone. But, what makes you a leader is having the courage of your convictions." ~ Queen Latifah
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823. Letter from William Hull, Lemcon, Skibbereen, County Cork, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, referring to his former letter, emphasising the need to provide a simpler and less expensive means for the lower classes to recover small debts owed to them. Encloses, in support of his claim, a document entitled ' "a Manor Court Decree" taken by Richard Connell against Edward Butler, both of Kealfada, County Cork, demonstrating that the legal costs far outstrip the amount of the original debt; decree originally signed by John Sweetnam, seneschal [of Aghadown and Schull Manors], 4 October 1823. .
https://durrushistory.com/2025/08/11/west-cork-sweetnams-seneschals-land-agents-doctors/
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SAFETY: In response to a spike in farm deaths in 2014, which included five children, Alma wrote a series of story books for children on the theme of farm safety.
She also founded AgriKids, a farm safety educational platform specifically for children, which provides tools, resources and learning aids for teachers to use in the classroom.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-videos/keeping-children-safe-on-the-farm-farm-safe-farm-well-series
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The parade of tractors and trucks, bedecked in Christmas lights and tinsel, will travel through the town of Listowel, Knockanure and continue through to the village of Moyvane.
From there, the entourage will head for the village of Tarbert and onwards to the village of Glin. The bedecked tractors and trucks will then move to the Knockdown Arms where the event will conclude.
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TRIP: LIC Ireland are giving a limited number of Irish farmers an opportunity to explore the heart of New Zealand’s agricultural industry.
LIC Ireland believe that this trip in November 2025 will turn doubt into discovery of their genetics which is paving the way for profitable, grass based systems in New Zealand.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/want-a-chance-to-tour-farms-across-new-zealand
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SOLAR: installing solar panels above crops, Germany’s “Dual Harvest” farms are reshaping agriculture and energy.
Germany to launch the world’s first commercial-scale AirBattery system which stores clean energy using compressed air. This system uses no lithium or rare earth materials, can store 3 to 8 GWh of energy.------------------------------------------
Brackish groundwater is a major potential source of drinking water in underserved areas of the world, but desalinating it affordably is a challenge. A new system developed by mechanical engineering professor Amos Winter, Jon Bessette, SM ’22, and staff engineer Shane Pratt manages to do the job entirely on solar energy, with no need for batteries or grid power.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/23/1107395/solar-powered-desalination-2/
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FOOD Waste
Sophie Trueman is Too Good To Go’s country director for the UK and Ireland, and says that reducing the environmental impact of food waste remains the company’s number one priority. “We believe that we cannot afford to waste food,” she tells me. “It’s too valuable – for the planet, for society and for the economy. That’s why we’re doubling down on solutions that are scalable, flexible and designed to drive long-term impact… We believe that at scale, small actions make a big impact. And every meal matters.”
With food waste estimated to cost the UK £22bn every year,
=======================
Chester Hartranft Snyder, Sr.: From Ches to Bingo
13 Mar 2025
Chester Hartranft Snyder, Sr., 1956. (© Snyder Family Archives. All rights reserved.)
A grandson of a twice-wounded veteran of the American Civil War and the second youngest child of a telephone industry pioneer, Chester Hartanft Snyder, Sr. began his work life as an employee of a communications company that was co-founded by his father.
Choosing to forge his own path professionally, he advanced up his personal career ladder through a series of increasingly responsible positions in America’s insurance industry during the mid-twentieth century. At the time of his retirement, he was a sales manager for The Prudential Insurance Company of America.
https://wordpress.com/reader/blogs/68978391/posts/24134
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As Vice President Vance said earlier this year in Paris, now is our chance to “catch lightning in a bottle.” AI gives us an opportunity to improve the lives of people everywhere — we have a responsibility to not let that opportunity slip through our fingers.
Make no mistake: Policy decisions will shape the outcome of the current global AI competition. A pro-innovation approach that protects national security and enables widespread benefits will help us realize AI’s transformative potential and ensure that America’s lead endures. Google is committed to doing its part, including by working with the federal government to ensure the success of the AI Action Plan.
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/google-us-ai-action-plan-comments/
==================================
LENT: Could Silence Be the Secret?
Lent isn’t about piling on endless devotions. It's about changing our hearts through quiet intimacy with God.
Jones says that by “learning to sit in silence with the Lord for 10 minutes, there is nothing more incredible than the contemplative relationship that the Lord calls us to in this silence."
What could happen in your spiritual life if you committed to these 10 minutes of silent prayer each day?
https://www.churchpop.com/is-this-the-secret-to-a-more-fruitful-lent-one-prayer-habit-that-could-change-your-spiritual-life/?utm_campaign=ChurchPop&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=352960064&utm_content=352960064&utm_source=hs_email
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BATTERY: Australia is embarking on an unprecedented engineering feat—the AAPowerLink, the world's longest undersea power cable, spanning 4,300 kilometers to deliver solar energy from the Australian Outback directly to Singapore. This groundbreaking project marks a crucial milestone in Australia's renewable energy transformation, featuring some of the world's largest and most advanced battery storage solutions. But how does such a massive battery system work, and why is Australia uniquely positioned to lead this renewable energy revolution? Explore the technology behind major projects like the Eraring Battery, Limestone Coast Energy Park, and the Victorian Big Battery, and discover the enormous challenges Australia faces in achieving energy sustainability. From soaring construction costs to environmental hurdles in battery recycling, learn how Australia plans to tackle these challenges and secure a cleaner, more resilient future.
https://youtu.be/M4IrGN3b65I?si=Hi2OpAnCSVYVS6cE
=================================
CARBON: Published on Tuesday, March 11, the study highlights the potential of the carbon credits for adverse impacts on Maasai pastoralist communities. It critically examines two major soil carbon projects, namely, the Longido and Monduli Rangelands Carbon Project (LMRCP) and the Resilient Tarangire Ecosystem Project (RTEP) targeting various districts in Northern Tanzania.
CIDSE expresses concern that the findings of the study reveal significant pressures placed on Maasai communities to enter the carbon business, raising serious ethical and legal concerns about their lack of free, prior and informed consent.
https://www.aciafrica.org/news/14643/catholic-agencies-call-for-action-as-tanzanian-indigenous-community-duped-into-signing-dubious-carbon-credit-projects?utm_campaign=ACI%20Africa&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=351410400&utm_content=351410400&utm_source=hs_email
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HOUSE:
Doing these 10 things occasionally likely isn't a big deal, but over time and with repetition, they can contribute to some major headaches.
=====================
By: Amelia Soth
February 27, 2025
The icon indicates free access to the linked research on JSTOR.
The year is 1467, the place, the northeast coast of what would eventually be known as Vancouver Island. Deep in the forest, someone drags a carefully crafted stone blade down a cedar’s trunk, peeling away a long strip of bark: the raw material for a basket, clothing, or other craft item.
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Solar Sheep Takeover: China's Unexpected Solar Power Success Story
https://youtu.be/VSYDC1GnKKk?si=10tTWJy9IJkL_9nR
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: New CARBON free advice service launches to help residents across parts of England, Scotland and Wales switch to low carbon technology
Homes across parts of North West England, Central Scotland and North Wales can now get free help to plan energy efficient home improvements. The new service, Energywise, aims to help people save money on their energy bills and improve their carbon footprint.
https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/
==============================
SOLAR: The world’s largest solar and battery power plant has 1.9 million panels
https://youtu.be/tcFT5kraYpw?si=vBFhVdy7QQeWeFDV
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students worldwide
10 March, 2014
Geneva, 10 March 2014. Each year in spring, research institutes and universities around the world invite students and their teachers for a day-long programme to experience life at the forefront of basic research. These International Masterclasses give students the opportunity to be particle physicists for a day by analysing real data from CERN1’s Large Hadron Collider, the LHC. This year’s edition will attract more than 10,000 high-school students from 40 countries2, celebrating the 10th edition of the initiative between 12 March and 12 April 2014.
While a Higgs boson has already been discovered by scientists at the LHC, the data hold many other interesting secrets waiting to be found. In the International Masterclasses, high-school students work with real data collected by the experiments at the LHC. The main idea of this annual programme is to let students work as much as possible like real scientists.
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NEW lithium sulphur battery made in Australia doubles energy density
https://youtu.be/NFJ3VsFXvSQ?si=M30rmTqbifLAWzT0
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Solar power
CERN signs long-term solar power agreements
Projects can now begin so that 140 GWh/year – about 10% of CERN’s annual electricity consumption during accelerator operation years – will be provided by renewable sources from 2027
29 November, 2024- By Kate Kahle
https://home.cern/news/news/engineering/cern-signs-long-term-solar-power-agreements
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Aerosols are microscopic particles suspended in the atmosphere that arise from both natural sources and human activities. They play an important role in Earth’s climate system because they seed clouds and influence their reflectivity and coverage. Most aerosols arise from the spontaneous condensation of molecules that are present in the atmosphere only in minute concentrations. However, the vapours responsible for their formation are not well understood, particularly in the remote upper troposphere.
The CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) experiment at CERN is designed to investigate the formation and growth of atmospheric aerosol particles in a controlled laboratory environment. CLOUD comprises a 26 m3 ultra-clean chamber and a suite of advanced instruments that continuously analyse its contents. The chamber contains a precisely selected mixture of gases under atmospheric conditions, into which secondary beams of charged pions are fired from CERN’s Proton Synchrotron to mimic the influence of galactic cosmic rays.
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Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/7f8a1a4e-e5a9-4f18-9473-9f0c08e3dc76
In addition, the costs are currently still too high to make lithium-ion batteries economic for longer-term storage of energy, to cover periods when renewable energy is unavailable due to the weather. The batteries also eventually degrade after being charged and discharged thousands of times, although their lifespan is improving. China’s CATL, the world’s largest battery producer, says its energy storage batteries can last for 25 years.
https://www.ft.com/content/7f8a1a4e-e5a9-4f18-9473-9f0c08e3dc76
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Snow
Japan's Mount Fuji has seen its first snowfall after going through the longest period without snow since records began 130 years ago. ------------------------
The weather agency’s office in Kofu officially confirmed the presence of snow on Mount Fuji's peak on Thursday. It could not do so on Wednesday due to clouds obstructing the view of the summit.
This was the most delayed sighting since 2023 when snow was first seen on the summit on 5 October, according to AFP news agency. The previous record was 26 October - that happened twice, in 1955 and 2016.
Located south-west of Tokyo, Mount Fuji stands at 3,776m (12,460 ft). It last erupted just over 300 years ago and is visible from the capital on a clear day.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgw14gqenqo?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-gb
===================================
Election Victory 2024!
Priests for Life <[email protected]> Unsubscribe
November 6, 2024
James,
Priests for Life National Director Frank Pavone issued the following statement on the morning after the 2024 elections:
“The pro-life movement, and America herself, have been given a reprieve from the onslaught of a Democrat regime that would have tried to erase every protection for unborn children across America, and to take away the very tools we need to protect them. But another term of President Trump will strengthen our freedom of speech, of religion and of protest, and will set free the peaceful prolife prisoners. Moreover, with Republicans reclaiming the US Senate, we can look forward to hundreds of new pro-life judges who will serve in the federal courts for decades to come.
“As for the abortion ballot measures, six of the ten that were voted on will go into effect: AZ, CO, MD, MO, MT, and NY. In Nevada, a second vote in the 2026 elections is required for passage. In FL, SD and NE the pro-life movement defeated the radical pro-abortion amendments, and secured an amendment in NE protecting babies in the second and third trimesters. In the states where these amendments passed, we will immediately begin the work of repealing them.
“Priests for Life worked intensely with all ten states that had these ballot measures, including our home state of Florida. We convened meetings of the state and national pro-life leaders to maximize collaboration.
“Moreover, we are proud of our nationwide voter education and mobilization project, headquartered at ProLifeVote.com. The comeback of Donald J. Trump, the most pro-life President ever, is a moment in history that we are privileged to live through.”
“Now it is crucially important to continue our prayers and outspoken advocacy for President Trump, because his enemies will try to do everything possible to interfere with the next two phases of this transition, namely, the vote of the electors and the certification by Congress. His victory in the popular vote takes away a key tool that the Democrats would have used to undermine this election. So let us all be loud and clear and vigilant in our support over these next three months.”
Sincerely,
Pro-Life Leader Frank Pavone
Pro-Life Leader Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
Priests for Life
PO Box 236695
Cocoa, FL 32923
Phone: 321-500-1000
Toll Free: 888-735-3448
Email: [email protected]
==================================
Over half of the world’s 117 million lakes freeze during the winter. But as temperatures rise, the average length of ice cover on lakes has fallen by over 30 days in the past century and a half. Thousands of lakes that used to freeze for part of the year no longer have any ice at all, according to a recent review in Science. As winter warms faster than any other season across much of the United States, researchers are grappling with what that means for lakes and the communities and creatures that depend on them.
===================================
GREEN: The first half of 2024 marked a high point for Nvidia, the leading U.S. company in the chip industry. The firm tripled its global shipments of semiconductors, underscoring a prevailing truth of our time: the world is hungry for this tiny technology. However, the production of these semiconductors faces a significant challenge: the growing demand for electrical energy required for their manufacture. Experts warn that fulfilling the surging market demand for microprocessors may hinder the green transition. The sophisticated and intricate equipment used to print cutting-edge chips consumes vast amounts of electrical energy, which is essential for advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence and data centers.
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SOLAR: The world’s largest solar and battery power plant has 1.9 million panels
RiverMersey 8 months ago
You say 870Mw is the world's largest solar park? Nope, not even top 10!
Visual Capitalist shows that India’s Bhadla Solar Park is the world’s largest solar park as of the time of the dataset. It has the capacity to generate 2,245 megawatts of electricity alone.
https://youtu.be/tcFT5kraYpw?si=xI9OtgELdxsNf0OO
===================
CHARGERS: Tesla has launched the “Oasis” project, claimed to be the largest Supercharger station in the world, with 168 stalls and a solar farm.
The station will use solar energy and Megapack storage to lessen grid reliance.
------------------------------------------
FOOD: BY Nate Berg
In residential buildings, people throw out a lot of garbage, and a huge portion of it is food. An estimated 30% of the garbage of a typical household is food scraps and food that’s gone to waste. When it comes to garbage day, all this food waste—which is mostly water and quite heavy—gets trucked away at great environmental expense.
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SEABEDS: author avatar image
By Lucie Heath
Environment Correspondent
September 19, 2024 6:00 am(Updated 6:01 am)
Hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide are being stored in the UK’s seabeds, according to a world-first report that sets out to quantify the role Britain’s coastal waters can play in the fight against climate change.
The study, known as the Blue Carbon Mapping Project, found the UK’s seabed habitats have the potential to capture up to 13 million tonnes of organic carbon every year, almost three times the amount sequestered by the UK’s forests.
But despite the role it plays as a huge carbon sink, the UK’s seabeds are not protected in the same way as other carbon sequestering habitats, such as forests and peatlands.
Bottom trawling and the development of off-shore wind are posing a significant threat to the UK’s “blue carbon” stores, the report conducted by the Scottish Association for Marine Science on behalf of a group of wildlife charities found.
https://inews.co.uk/news/uk-secret-weapon-against-climate-change-under-sea-3278801
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ELECTION: American Bridge 21st Century PAC Donors
American Bridge 21st Century intends to spend about $140 million on advertising campaigns to support Harris’ candidacy.
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ESSAY: 2024 Pro-Life Essay Contest
Stand True, the youth outreach of Priests for Life, is excited to announce our first annual pro-life essay contest! We invite students to apply their writing skills to galvanize and educate others about the pro-life cause across the country!
We will have three age groups with cash prizes for all groups. Essays should be between 500 and 800 words.
https://www.standtrue.com/EssayContest/
=================================
Construction has started on the 13-story Livonia C-3 Senior Residence, aimed at affordable and sustainable housing for low-income seniors. Developed by Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, the building will offer over 140 eco-friendly, all-electric apartments.
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. Reveal Your Own Flaws
You would think that, when meeting someone for the first time, you would want to come off as "perfect" as possible. That's not exactly true — in fact, you might want to go out of your way to reveal a flaw, or at least be a little self-deprecating. One study found that people will like you more after you make a mistake — as long as they already think you're a competent person. So, once you've shown that you're smart or competent, you can then feel free to make a mistake or talk about a flaw you have. It's endearing!
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A rather long explanation of the background to the conference. No mention of Ireland
“21 July 1932
The New York stock market crash in October 1929 marked the start of the Great Depression. Over the next three years, the global economy contracted at an alarming rate. Matters were exacerbated by misguided economic policies in major countries, aimed in part at maintaining the gold standard. In an effort to prop up demand for U.S.-made goods, the United States introduced the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariffs in 1930. Tariffs on tens of thousands of U.S. imports were raised to levels not seen in over one hundred years. In retaliation, Canada and other countries introduced tariffs against American goods to protect their industries. The combination of high tariffs and slumping domestic demand sent international trade into a tail spin. In the three years to mid-1932, Canadian exports fell by roughly 50 per cent, while imports declined by more than 60 per cent. Canadian gross domestic production shrank by 24 per cent in the 1929-32 period. The global economy fared better, but still contracted by more than 10 per cent; unemployment soared everywhere.
Against this backdrop, the leaders of the United Kingdom, the Dominions, and India met in Ottawa during the summer of 1932 to discuss the disastrous economic situation, and to try to mitigate its effects through closer imperial economic association. The conference had been requested by Canadian Premier R.B. Bennett at the end of the previous Imperial Conference held in London two years earlier. At that conference, Britain had rejected a Canadian proposal for members of the Empire to institute a reciprocal imperial trade preference aimed at boosting intra-Empire trade. Through much of the previous century, Britain had pursued a free-trade policy, confident that its manufactured exports could compete at home and abroad, while importing food and other raw materials from countries like Canada, Russia, and Argentina. But by 1932, the situation had radically changed—the key U.S. market was largely closed to British goods, Britain had been forced off the gold standard, and a protectionist-minded government was now in power. The new National government, which consisted of members of all three major political parties but dominated by the Conservative party, broke with tradition and introduced a general tariff of 10 per cent against non-Empire countries, and threatened to extend them to the Dominions that had already raised their own tariffs against goods from the Mother Country. Now, all members of the Empire had something to gain from successful trade negotiations.
For Canada, the conference was of vital importance. With Canadian exports to the United States in sharp decline, redirecting trade toward imperial markets was critical for the economy, especially its farmers. To ensure the conference’s success, the Canadian government made meticulous preparations, including the compilation by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics of six volumes of trade and other statistics to provide a common reference base for conference delegates.
Leaders, their delegations, and wives began to arrive in Ottawa in mid-July. In preparation for the social battles about to be joined, it was reported that some ladies had brought maids as well as 20-30 pieces of luggage filled with gowns, shoes, and hats to wear at the many gala events and garden parties. The Globe reported that “Ottawa will be a gay and delightful centre of social activity for the next six weeks.” The Indian delegation provided an exotic touch when the wife and daughter of Haji Sir Abdullah Haroon, member of the Indian legislature for Karachi and a senior member of the Indian delegation, arrived wearing Indian saris of bright coloured silk, embroidered in gold thread. But it wasn’t to be all fun and games. Underscoring the importance of the conference, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin arrived with more than half of his cabinet and their wives. Delegations were met at Union Station by Prime Minister Bennett and his sister, Mrs Mildred Harridge, who acted as the Canadian hostess.
The conference officially got underway on the morning of 21 July 1932 with the arrival of the Governor General, the Earl of Bessborough, in an open landau on Parliament Hill amidst full vice-regal pageantry, including a guard of honour and a marching band. Delegates subsequently convened in the chamber of the House of Commons, Parliament having adjourned for the summer. The Canadian delegates sat on the government benches to the right of the speaker’s throne, next to the Australian and New Zealand delegations. The British team sat to the left of the speaker’s chair. The Governor General started the proceedings with a message of goodwill from the King, followed by his own personal greetings. Bennett was unanimously elected conference’s chairman. There were nine keynote speeches from each of the heads of delegation. Bennett, going first, re-submitted his proposal for a reciprocal imperial trade preference. The British Prime Minister cautiously supported the idea but noted that a trade preference can be achieved by lowering tariffs on intra-Empire trade, or by raising tariffs on non-Empire trade; the British government favoured the former. The conference broke up into committees that afternoon, followed by a gala dinner for 900 guests hosted by the Canadian government at the Château Laurier Hotel.
Delegates agreed to work every day and evening except for Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays which were devoted to social events. That first weekend, the Governor General hosted the heads of delegations and their wives at a formal dinner at Rideau Hall. Other members of delegations were invited to less formal functions at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club and the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. On Sunday, churches across Canada and the Empire prayed for the success of the conference. In Ottawa, Dr. Clare Worrell, the Anglican archbishop of Halifax and Primate of Canada led prayers for leaders at St. Mathew’s Church, while His Excellency, Mgr. Andrea Cassulo, the Papal Legate, did likewise at Notre Dame Catholic Basilica.
Despite resolves to work for the common good and avoid bargaining for parochial gains, delegates haggled like fishwives over the next six weeks. Initial cheers for Canada changed to jeers when news leaked that Canada was the sole hold-out preventing an agreement. However, when negotiations wrapped up on 18 August, all countries had cobbled together a series of bilateral arrangements between each other based on Bennett’s idea of imperial preference. In essence, Britain agreed to keep in place the exemption for Empire products from its general 10 per cent tariff. It also gave in to Dominion demands to impose new tariffs and quotas on the imports of agricultural products from outside the Empire. Canada didn’t give Britain much, agreeing not to raise tariffs further on British goods, and to lower them on 200 items, many of which weren’t even made in Canada.
The Imperial Conference was a boon for Ottawa businesses which enjoyed a marked pick-up in sales as the hundreds of visitors bought summer clothes, souvenirs, and novelties. Department stores, like Murphy-Gamble and Freiman’s, noted that even the locals were buying. In the long run, however, the trade preferences negotiated at the conference did relatively little for the Canadian economy. Canadian trade continued to be oriented in a north-south pattern with the United States; geography trumped imperial ties. Canadian exports did rise somewhat in the years that followed the conference, but the upturn was more likely due to the recovery in the global economy that anything else. Moreover, later in the 1930s, Canada negotiated lower tariffs with the United States, its most natural trading and investment partner. Britain was the big loser. Going into the conference, it had hoped to lower intra-Empire tariffs while keeping tariffs on foreign countries unchanged—a modest step toward freeing global trade, while at the same time strengthening intra-Empire political and economic ties. Instead, by raising tariffs and instituting quotas on non-Empire agricultural goods, it exacerbated the global retreat from free trade, raised domestic costs, and undermined Britain’s leadership role in the world.”
todayinottawashistory.wordpress.com/tag/imperial-preference/
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Shroud
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1173135590645768
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Francis Kennedy
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1009597873837325
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Hell
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1211412210193607
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Fr Tony Mullins
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Best of Cork
https://www.corkbeo.ie/all-about/best-of-cork
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SHOEBOX: Christmas Shoebox Appeal. Since 2010, the Appeal has delivered 2.5 million shoeboxes to children in countries across Eastern Europe and Africa. Shoeboxes should be dropped off at one of hundreds of drop off points nationwide, or at your local DEALZ store by the 10th November. How to take part online https://www.teamhope.ie/christmas-shoebox-appeal/take-part-online/
=======================
Every now and then I have days where I just don’t feel like doing a damn thing.
The idea of being productive makes my brain hurt. These little funks can be extremely frustrating, especially when there’s a lot I need to accomplish.
I haven’t quite figured out why I get hit with these bouts of “don’t-want-to-do-anything-itis.”
Maybe it’s burnout. Maybe it’s the vagaries of fluctuating mood. Maybe it’s the stars. It’s a mystery.
While it might be nice to lean into the feeling and take the day off, I typically don’t have that luxury.
==============================
September 2, 2024
For me, the Season of Creation contains a lot of surprises.
The first: why it's observed in the days closest to autumn (in the northern hemisphere), when this half of the planet is in the process of moving toward dormancy.
But, then, as I thought about it, the southern hemisphere is in the throes of spring at the same time, so we just need to remember that this planet has different cycles of seasons.
Second: the Season of Creation is not necessarily a recent development. As EarthBeat's Brian Roewe wrote in 2020, "Orthodox Christians have been marking the Season of Creation for decades. It started in 1989, when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed Sept. 1 a day of prayer for the environment." That day coincides with the beginning of the Eastern Orthodox liturgical year (like Advent does for Roman Catholics). The World Council of Churches later expanded the idea to span 34 days, concluding on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi who, as patron saint of ecology, transcends the boundaries of specific religious institutions.
===========================
Mr. Marks was active in civic and philanthropic affairs. In 1913 the City Fusion Party nominated him for Aldermanic President. He defeated his Democratic opponent, Dr. Thomas Darlington, by 129,269 votes to 104,140. While in office he founded the first three open markets in the city, was responsible for forming a new joint trial board for the trial of civil service employes and helped organize welfare work among municipal employes. In 1917 he ran for reelection but was defeated. While in office he started advocating the introduction of daylight saving time in New York State.
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GARBAGE Dump
By ACI Africa Staff
Kampala, 20 August, 2024 / 10:41 pm (ACI Africa).
Religious leaders in Uganda have expressed their solidarity and spiritual closeness with victims of the August 9 garbage landslide that left at least 35 people dead.
The 36-acre garbage dump known as Kiteezi is the only one serving the whole of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala, home to an estimated 4 million people, according to an August 12 BBC report.
The high piles of garbage were loosened by heavy rains, sending it tumbling down onto houses that had been constructed near the dump.
On August 18, Ugandan police reported that at least 35 people were confirmed dead, with 28 still missing; rescue teams have continued to search for the missing persons.
===========================
Kenneth Baune
Looks like climate change started in 1696. Major drought till 1742 then lots of moisture till 1792 then less moisture again. I wonder where all the fossil fuel vehicles went from 1696. That is what they are claiming causes climate change.
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Matthew Truitt
Right now, we are sitting at 400 ppm of CO2 in our atmosphere. Climate change activist are screaming that for the last 80,000 years we were at 350 ppm, and claiming this is unprecedented territory, but what they failed to say is that for the previous 25 million years we were at 1200 ppm. There were no humans then, so what caused our atmosphere to have three times as much CO2 as it does now, And the answer is geology. climate is cyclical. We can’t control it. Take care of your planet, and be a good person, but you can’t change the climate.
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Beaver Slivinski
I used Redwood reclaimed from an 1850 Oregon mine for making muskie lures. Some of the boards from rafters appeared to have stripes. Upon further examination, the stripes were actually growth rings so close together that you could only see them with a magnifying glass.
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IRELAND 1841, population density. This map is taken from The Atlas of the Irish Famine, John Crowley, William J. Smyth and Mike Murphy, Cork University Press 2012. The population density of the populated areas is calculated by excluding mountain, lake and bog. The result is a density comparable to China, India and Haiti.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oo91DNzZmJwsRyNdvt-K5nr_XvlbNTOXKLKsg-K5BsE/edit
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JSTOR Daily isn’t new to the biofuel conversation. Many contributors have written optimistically about the contributions of the biofuel industry to sustainable aviation, bringing back prairie landscapes, and even finding a new use for massive seaweed deposits. Biofuels made from corn, wheat, soy, rapeseed oil, palm oil, woody biomass—even algae—have been positioned as key transitional fuels on the pathway to net zero carbon emissions and to energy sovereignty. While this feels intrinsically environmentally positive, biofuels can also have serious implications for environmental justice and land-use competition, affecting food security, sustainable infrastructure, and land-based carbon sinks.
=================
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Archaeologists excavating the site of a church in southern Austria have unearthed a marble shrine containing a relic they believe may be tied to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.
The archaeologists, from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, said in a press release that the shrine contained a 1,500-year-old ivory box, adorned with Christian motifs, that was discovered under an altar inside a chapel at the summit of Burgbichl, a small hill, in the municipality of Irschen.
Archaeologists from the university have been carrying out excavations in Irschen, part of the Carinthian Drava Valley, since 2016. “We know of around 40 ivory boxes of this kind worldwide and, as far as I know, the last time one of these was found during excavations was around 100 years ago,” said lead archaeologist Gerald Grabherr. “The few pyxes [boxes] that exist are either preserved in cathedral treasures or exhibited in museums.”
==================================
MANURE: The US produced 5,823,000 dry metric tons of biosolids—the end product of wastewater treatment plants—in 2018. In terms of its chemistry, the stuff is like your average dirt, albeit with a smell. In an ideal world, biosolids—potent fertilizers high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—would be returned to vegetable and dairy farms to replenish the nutrients we’ve extracted or grow the trees we cut. Scientists call this concept circular ecology, which is key to sustainable living in the 21st century. Yet at the moment, only half of our biosolids come back to farmlands. The other half rots in landfills, releasing greenhouse gases—or, worse, is shoved into incinerators that spit smoke into the air. The reasons for these wasteful approaches span from financial to logistical to the general yuck factor.
https://www.popsci.com/environment/human-poop-fertilizer/
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FLOWERS: But the truth is, whether purchased or picked, cut flowers don't last forever.
Here, gardening expert Sarah Raven has shared some of her simple tricks for keeping them fresh and healthy - meaning you can maximise their life span and enjoy them for longer.
How to keep cut flowers alive
Sear your stems, more at
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Jack’s project is entitled ‘Global carbon sinks and remote sensing for monitoring peatland restoration’. The case study focuses on an automated approach for mapping the rehabilitation of carbon sinks using satellite-based data of Irish raised bogs.
https://jesuit.ie/news/international-award-for-clongowes-student/
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Environmental Project
Chris Barron in Rathmore, and Knocknagree Fairfield Committee have already done much to make our church
grounds ‘a haven for pollinators and biodiversity’ Kerry Diocesan Youth week encourages us to build on that work,
by mapping our church grounds.
In the weeks ahead we will seek to expand on what is already done. The avenue up to the Presbytery also offers
wonderful opportunities in this regard. We encourage young people to read the information provided below, and
forward their contact details to the Parish Office if you would like to become involved in this project. (
Church Grounds Mapping for Biodiversit
You might also like to watch this video from Heritage in Schools to give an idea of what a biodiversity map looks
like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kkwadM-MY0
With your group, walk the grounds and draw a simple map of the church grounds as they are now. Include the
church, the boiler- house etc.
Include any area that is covered in concrete/tarmac. Include any existing featuresi.e. flower beds, shrubs, trees,
hedges, stream, ponds. nesting sites, seating, carpark, bike stands.
• You have to take into account the following elements:
• Where is north and south in relation to the site?
• Make a note of the path of the sun from east to west
• Which direction is your prevailing wind coming from?
• Is there a slope and which direction is it facing?
• Is the site at the bottom of a hill, or in the shadow of any forestry or mountains?
• Is any of the land generally wet, or even liable to flooding?
• Using the above information assess, which areas on your map could be used for
biodiversity and planting projects? Remember this is only a wish list, so don’t let
barriers stop you from adding the elements, (e.g. a pond). Apply all the elements of
the site audit and don’t forget to use your imagination to think of any other potential ideas:
Herb area…….. Sensory area…….Quiet/meditation area…….Paths between………A living willow structure
native……..Compost area for grass cuttings, leaves, small twigs, branches……. Other ideas: e.g. bird/bat boxes, native
hedging, apple trees…….. Signage
“St. Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wildflowers and herbs could grow
there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty.” – Pope Francis in Laudato
Si’, 12
Formulated by Kerry Earth Education Project for Sustainable Environmental Projects, Kerry Earth Education Project,
Gortbrack Organic Farm www.gortbrackorganicfarm.com
https://www.rathmoreparish.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Parish-Bulletin-21st-April-2024-.pdf
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Part of the challenge of decarbonizing the grid is spreading out electricity use so that not everyone is using energy at the same time. Currently many electricity grids rely on so-called “peaker plants”—high-emitting power plants that provide electricity when demand surges. With increased demand for AC, more carbon dioxide is emitted from the grid during the summer than at any other time of year.
https://time.com/collection/time-co2-futures/6767962/thermal-storage-climate-air-conditioning/
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A pro-Israel media watchdog is taking aim at CBC Kids for being an “unfettered platform for anti-Israel accusations.”
Plus, figures showing the expenditures for MPs were released in late March, showing that NDP leader Jagmeet Singh spends the most of all party leaders, while Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre spends much less than his counterparts.
https://tnc.news/2024/04/16/db-cbc-kids-hamas-crimes/
====================
LONDON- Afghanistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with worsening droughts and flash flooding destroying livelihoods and fuelling hunger.
However, the Taliban's seizure of the country in 2021 means it has been excluded from global climate change talks and will not be represented at the COP28 summit starting in Dubai on Thursday.
Here's a look at Afghanistan's climate crisis and its wider repercussions:
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LAWN: I was shocked to learn that my cousins in a suburban community were fined by their homeowners association (HOA) for having clover in their lawn. Doing a little research I discovered this is not unusual; in fact many HOA’s have rules that forbid a wide array of beneficial species including native grasses and wildflowers.
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By Chris Baraniuk
23rd February 2024
From Australia to Ontario, cities are taking up unnecessary stretches of concrete and asphalt, allowing nature to take hold in their place.
On a hot July day, Katherine Rose picked up a sturdy metal pole and jammed it under the tempting lip of a pre-cut concrete slab. Rose, communications and engagement director at Depave, a non-profit in Portland, Oregon, was sweating in the heat – but she was going to win this fight.
The grubby, rectangular section of urban crust in front of her was about to move. Pushing down on her metal bar, applying it like a lever, she eased the concrete covering up and away. Now sunlight could fall once again on the ground below. A mess of gravel and dirt that was, to Rose, just bursting with potential.
"It feels like you're liberating soil," she says, recalling the summer gathering where she and around 50 volunteers removed roughly 1,670 sq m (18,000 sq ft) of concrete from the grounds of a local church. "It's envisioning and fully realising a dream that I think we all have," says Rose. The dream, that is, of bringing nature back into our midst.
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One make-ahead meal I’ve been enjoying recently is a high-protein breakfast bake. I got the idea from a fella named Johnny Hadac on Instagram who serves up easy, affordable meal prep recipes for people looking to lose weight/eat better.
This breakfast bake takes about 15 minutes to prep. The thing that takes the most time is dicing up your veggies. Bake time is about 35 minutes.
When you’re done, you’ll have six tasty, high-protein, low-carb mini breakfast casseroles that will leave your belly feeling nice and full, but without a ton of calories.
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The press are interested in selling papers and the TV companies want to gain viewers. Threat of world-wide disaster makes a good story, and the statements and actions of politicians together with great increase in scientific publications gave global warming an apparent authority. The media began to proclaim the worst imagined horrors. For example, massive floods were predicted due to melting of polar ice. and one UK TV programme went so far as to assert that the polar bears would die out because their habitat would melt. The public rely on the media to provide them with their information, so they came to believe the global warming scare because they were only given one side of the story. Politicians respond to public concern, so the politicians actions began to gain popular support.
On face value global warming is an environmental issue. Many environmentalists joined the bandwagon. Governments were offering money and the public were concerned at global warming. Any environmental issue which could be linked to global warming was said to be involved in the matter. But the environmentalist interest was aroused by the impact of the issue. Contrary to common belief, environmentalists did not raise awareness of global warming, they responded to it. Simply, environmentalist organisations were part of the general public and decided to use the issue when it became useful to them.
http://john-daly.com/history.htm
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authors later corrected the paper to say tree restoration was only “one of the most effective” solutions, and could suck down at most one-third of the atmospheric carbon, with large uncertainties.)
Crowther, who says his message was misinterpreted, put out a more nuanced paper last month, which shows that preserving existing forests can have a greater climate impact than planting trees. He then brought the results to COP28 to “kill greenwashing” of the kind that his previous study seemed to encourage—that is, using unreliable evidence on the benefits of planting trees as an excuse to keep on emitting carbon.
“Killing greenwashing doesn’t mean stop investing in nature,” he says. “It means doing it right. It means distributing wealth to the Indigenous populations and farmers and communities who are living with biodiversity.”
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/stop-planting-trees-thomas-crowther?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-gb
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BATTERY: Benoit said that the bill to fix one car battery at his shop might run upwards of $10,000 — more than most consumers are willing to pay. Instead, he said, many choose to sell or donate their old vehicle for scrap and buy a brand new Tesla.
“It’s getting to the point where [the car] is almost like a consumable, like a TV,” Benoit said.
Benoit’s experience heralds a problem that early adopters of EVs, as well as electric micromobility devices like e-bikes and e-scooters, are beginning to face: These vehicles contain big, expensive batteries that will inevitably degrade or stop working over time. Repairing these batteries can have sustainability
==============================
The Home Energy Saving Kit is available to borrow, free of charge, from selected libraries across Ireland.
Check where your energy is going
The kit contains five tools you can use to measure how your home uses energy and where energy might be escaping.
https://www.codema.ie/think-energy-home-hub/the-home-energy-saving-kit/
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Common Joint Issues in Women
Regardless of your activity level, every woman is prone to joint issues. Some of the most common woes involve the lower extremities. “Knees are probably the most common, followed by hips, ankles and shoulders,” says Antonia F. Chen, M.D., associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School and director of arthroplasty research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Why the knees? Chen blames it on women’s anatomy, namely the angles of the bones from the hips through the knees and down to the ankles.
Of course, there are hereditary issues, like rheumatoid arthritis, that can be difficult to prevent. But even arthritis comes with good news. “Arthritis is manageable and treatable and shouldn’t be feared,” says Sridhar Yalamanchili, PT, MSPT, physical therapist with Atlantic Spine Center in West Orange, New Jersey.
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Meet the Old Irish Goats Who Are Helping Mitigate Wildfire Potential
The Goat Surf Club is about more than surfing, but that doesn’t mean the crew can’t dedicate quality time to finding the best surf spots on their trip to Ireland. In episode three of the new series from filmmaker Roo Smith, the three friends battle strong wind and cold waters off the Irish Coast before meeting up with the Old Irish Goat Society. The organization’s endangered goat herd is helping mitigate wildfire potential through conservation grazing in Mulranny, a village in County Mayo.
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Pocket worthyStories to fuel your mind
How to Microwave Eggs 4 Different Ways
You're one minute away from poached perfection.
Good Housekeeping
Gabriella Vigoreaux
Read when you’ve got time to spare.
Good Housekeeping
More from Good Housekeeping
How to Get Rid of Milia Safely, According to Dermatologists
I Don’t Need Meditation Apps. I Need Real, Genuine Solitude.
How to Use Habit Stacking to Boost Your Productivity
bowl of eggs
Keiko Iwabuchi//Getty Images
Yes, making eggs on the stove is pretty simple, but the microwave can do the trick when you’re without full kitchen, in a rush, or just feeling lazy. When we experimented with four different methods in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, tasters in our blind test actually preferred the poached and hard-boiled eggs done in the microwave over the ones cooked on the stove!
Whether you’re in the mood for scrambled, poached, sunny-side up, or hard-boiled, here’s how to whip eggs any style with a few short zaps.
How to Make Scrambled Eggs in the Microwave
Compared to what you’d get from the stovetop, the microwave scramble tastes more like a broken-up omelet. They can soufflé up a bit, so you’ll see a bigger volume too.
Crack two eggs in a mug. Add a splash of milk if you want them fluffier.
Beat to combine.
Microwave for 2 minutes on high, stopping and stirring in 30-second increments.
How to Make Poached Eggs in the Microwave
poached-eggs-royalty-free-image-829599390-1548874552.jpg
clubfoto//Getty Images
While the whites won’t fully wrap themselves around the yolk like they would in a pot with the whirlpool method, our tasters preferred this microwave version because of its perfectly cooked texture.
Fill a bowl or mug with 1/2 cup water and slip in the egg, making sure it’s submerged.
Lightly prick the center of the yolk with the tip of a knife.
Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 1 minute.
How to Make Sunny-Side Up Eggs in the Microwave
This is the fasted method we tried, with less than a minute of cooking time.
Spray a microwave plate with cooking spray or lightly grease with butter.
Crack an egg onto the plate and lightly prick the yolk with the tip of a knife.
Microwave on high 45 seconds.
TIP: Your yolk might look runny and undercooked, but cut into it and you’ll probably find that it’s done.
How to Boil an Egg in the Microwave
hard-boiled-chicken-eggs-on-rustic-wooden-table-royalty-free-image-989213926-1548874648.jpg
ToscaWhi//Getty Images
Another win for the microwave: Our tasters truthfully preferred these zapped eggs over traditional hard-boiled ones, praising the “fudgy yellow yolk.” But note that you must use caution with this method. Make sure you reduce the microwave power to 50% when you cook the egg: The first time we tried this method, we used full power, and the egg exploded, which could cause injury.
Microwave a bowl of water (deep enough to submerge the egg) for 3 minutes until hot.
Lightly prick the bottom of the egg with a safety pin or thumbtack to prevent the egg from exploding.
Place the egg into the bowl of hot water, cover with a plate, and microwave at 50% power for 4 minutes for a hard-boiled egg. Be sure to use 50% power to avoid exploding the egg. (If you like a runnier yolk, experiment with your microwave at 50% power for 2.5 to 3 minutes.)
Transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking and to make the egg cool enough to handle before peeling.
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Britain Is Building The World's Largest Tidal Power Project
https://youtu.be/R-CCOjwn46Y?si=6thvTHEGK7bI7--h
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Film Notes
The Hollywood sign, the film industry’s most celebrated and evocative symbol, was built on the slopes of Mount Lee in 1923, when much of today’s Los Angeles did not yet exist. Not many know that the sign was then conceived as part of a massive marketing campaign to publicise an elegant new real estate development called Hollywoodland, created in the hills north of the Hollywood district by a syndicate of wealthy entrepreneurs, including “Los Angeles Times” publisher Harry Chandler. The grandiose sign, spelling out the name Hollywoodland in large letters, was built with tons of metal sheets, hundreds of telegraph poles, and thousands of light bulbs that were intermittently illuminating it at night. Intended to be dismantled just after 18 months, it soon became too popular to be torn down and remained standing, until in 1949 it lost its final “land” portion, which had by then deteriorated beyond repair. On 27 November 1923, Fox News cameraman Blaine Walker climbed the hills around Mount Lee and filmed “the largest sign in the world” nearing completion. These unique images convey the grand scale and ambition of the project, as well as the labour needed to carry it out, and won’t fail to impress the viewer.
Daniela Currò
https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/film/hollywood-sign-outtakes/
===========================
ABOUT US
Place your trust in DP Solutions LTD, we have been established for many years providing a wide range of electrical work all over the world. Due to our determination, hard work and commitment our company is recognised for its success.
We take pride in our reputation as oil and gas specialists based in the UK. We work very hard to maintain our quality of service and strive to keep it where it is. At DP Solutions LTD we can assure you that you will be more than satisfied with our work, professionalism and efficiency.
https://dpsolutions.uk/
===========================
Onshore wind and solar
Whilst large scale offshore wind projects can deliver significant volumes of renewable energy and has a huge role to play in our future energy mix, onshore wind and solar PV also have a parallel role to play in the race to decarbonise. DP Energy is developing both ‘offshore wind scale’ multi hundred MW wind and solar projects onshore in Australia and Canada (including a 450MW wind project in mid Queensland, and a 325MW solar project in Alberta) and smaller distribution scale projects (sub 50MW) across both of these markets. DP Energy believes there is a need for a balance of generation asset sizes at different levels within the electricity network and a balance of technologies. At a smaller scale, DP Energy is actively supporting the proposed Buttevant Solar Farm, a 5MW community led project. Such local renewable projects enable people to engage directly with the technology, and contribute directly to our mutual decarbonisation goal and should be an important part of the renewables mix.
https://www.energyireland.ie/dp-energy-leading-ireland-to-a-cleaner-renewable-future/
==============================
Tue, 21 Sep, 2021 - 12:09
Alan Healy
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Cork energy firm DP Energy has completed work on Australia's largest hybrid wind-solar farm with Spanish firm Iberdrola.
The Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park in South Australia saw the installation of its final wind turbine this week.
It comprises 50 wind turbines and 250,000 solar panels to produce 320MW of renewable energy.
Headquartered in Buttevant the company has submitted foreshore site investigation licences for three offshore wind projects around the Irish Coast, off Cork, Clare, and Wexford.
DP Energy is also partnering with Iberdrola for the development of these Irish projects.
DP Energy’s first wind farm project was completed in Tyrone in 1995, and since then the company has delivered energy projects in Ireland, Australia, Canada, and the UK.
The company is led by co-founders Maureen and Simon De Pietro — a mother and son partnership.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-40702832.html
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DP Energy is also expanding another solar farm proposed for Medicine Hat from 200 MW to 300 MW.
Kerr said the Calgary and Medicine Hat projects are unique to the company because they are located within city limits. The company has been involved in wind power generation for 25 years with facilities in the UK and Ireland and one in Ontario.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-solar-energy-dpenergy-1.5403001
A spokesperson for the Alberta Utilities Commission says DP Energy has not yet filed its application with the regulatory agency.
The agency says approximately 35 solar projects have been approved by the commission for a total of 1,300 MW. However, the spokesperson points out, approval does not guarantee construction.
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N22 Macroom & Ballyvourney bypass Sept 23
Aindrias Moynihan
189 subscribers
386 views Sep 22, 2023
DJI drone footage with day and night views of the new N22 Macroom and Ballyvourney bypass. Flying west to east during mid September 2023, this clip covers the western tie in at Sliabh Riabhach, bypassing Ballyvourney village and eastward to the meet the recently opened section at the Tonn Láin junction immediately east of Ballyvourney village.
Road signage, sound barriers along with road surfaces suggest the near completed state of construction.
This 6-7km section of the new road includes
The big cut at Sliabh Riabhach, over 30m deep and nearly 1km long;
The largest structure along the entire new road, the 120m bridge over both Abha na Biochaille and a local road;
2 pedestrian underpasses including the Beara/Brefni way
2 over bridges and multiple underpasses
Leirionn an clip seo an dul chun cinn deanta leis an mbothar nua N22 mórthimpeal Baile Mhuirne. Síneann sé 6-7km soir ón Sliabh Riabhach, mórthimpeal Baile Mhuirne agus Baile Mhic Íre, go dtí an Tonn Láin. Tá an droichead is mó ann.Thar Abha na Biochaille. Tá an gearradh mór tríd cnoc Sliabh Riabhach. Dhá droichead thar an mbóthar agus dhá cosán coise faoin mbóthar, ina measc siúloid Ó Suillabhan Beara.
https://youtu.be/r8To0FK-ebA?si=I-Ezh9sh-bJw8UXO
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Global greenhouse gas emissions at all-time high, study finds
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Carbon emissions of richest 1 percent more than double the emissions of the poorest half of humanity
Published: 21st September 2020
Learn more
Tackling the climate crisis
Climate and Food Crisis in East & West Africa
The fight against hunger must top the EU agenda for a fair and green recovery
Cyclone Harold and Covid-19: Disaster and Inequality in the Pacific
The richest one percent of the world’s population are responsible for more than twice as much carbon pollution as the 3.1 billion people who made up the poorest half of humanity during a critical 25-year period of unprecedented emissions growth.
Oxfam’s new report, ‘Confronting Carbon Inequality,’ is based on research conducted with the Stockholm Environment Institute and is being released as world leaders prepare to meet at the UN General Assembly to discuss global challenges including the climate crisis.
The report assesses the consumption emissions of different income groups between 1990 and 2015 – 25 years when humanity doubled the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It found:
The richest 10 percent accounted for over half (52 percent) of the emissions added to the atmosphere between 1990 and 2015. The richest one percent were responsible for 15 percent of emissions during this time – more than all the citizens of the EU and more than twice that of the poorest half of humanity (7 percent).
During this time, the richest 10 percent blew one third of our remaining global 1.5C carbon budget, compared to just 4 percent for the poorest half of the population. The carbon budget is the amount of carbon dioxide that can be added to the atmosphere without causing global temperatures to rise above 1.5C – the goal set by governments in the Paris Agreement to avoid the very worst impacts of uncontrolled climate change.
Annual emissions grew by 60 percent between 1990 and 2015. The richest 5 percent were responsible for over a third (37 percent) of this growth. The total increase in emissions of the richest one percent was three times more than that of the poorest 50 percent.
Tim Gore, Head of Climate Policy at Oxfam and author of the report said: “The over-consumption of a wealthy minority is fuelling the climate crisis yet it is poor communities and young people who are paying the price. Such extreme carbon inequality is a direct consequence of our governments decades long pursuit of grossly unequal and carbon intensive economic growth.”
Carbon emissions are likely to rapidly rebound as governments ease Covid-related lockdowns. If emissions do not keep falling year on year and carbon inequality is left unchecked the remaining carbon budget for 1.5C will be entirely depleted by 2030. However, carbon inequality is so stark the richest 10 percent would blow the carbon budget by 2033 even if all other emissions were cut to zero.
During 2020, and with around 1C of global heating, climate change has fuelled deadly cyclones in India and Bangladesh, huge locust swarms that have devastated crops across Africa and unprecedented heatwaves and wildfires across Australia and the US. No one is immune but it is the poorest and most marginalized people who are hardest hit. For example, women are at increased risk of violence and abuse in the aftermath of a disaster.
‘Confronting Carbon Inequality’ estimates that the per capita emissions of the richest 10 percent will need to be around 10 times lower by 2030 to keep the world on track for just 1.5C of warming – this is equivalent to cutting global annual emissions by a third. Even reducing the per capita emissions of the richest 10 percent to the EU average would cut annual emissions by over a quarter.
Governments can tackle both extreme inequality and the climate crisis if they target the excessive emissions of the richest and invest in poor and vulnerable communities. For example, a recent study found that the richest 10 percent of households use almost half (45 percent) of all the energy linked to land transport and three quarters of all energy linked to aviation. Transportation accounts for around a quarter of global emissions today, while SUVs were the second biggest driver of global carbon emissions growth between 2010 and 2018.
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WATER: Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine having a conference on water quality taking place from November 7-9, this year, at the Clayton Whites Hotel in Wexford town, with attendees drawn from scientists, regulators, and practitioners engaged with water quality and gaseous emissions in agricultural river catchments.
PLANNING: The number of landowners who have lodged appeals with an Bord Pleanála over the inclusion of their land in Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) maps has jumped from six to 600 in the space of just three weeks.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/big-increase-in-number-of-landowners-lodging-rzlt-appeals/
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BIRD FOOD: The establishment deadline has been moved to May 31, winter bird food crop time for establishment has been extended under the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme.
GREEN Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly praised the commissioner for stating that Europe and Ireland had previously got it wrong in pushing for a particular form of agriculture, which she said had done a disservice to farmers given the direction of policy today.
“It is really important to point out that nobody is pointing the finger at farmers. I hear this quite a lot and it boils my blood slightly.
“People are playing politics with farmers’ lives and with the climate. No Green Party member will ever point the finger at a farmer.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/mcguinness-some-farming-policy-choices-were-not-the-right-ones/
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Solar flares are happening a lot more. How you'll know if one's a problem.
"It's the space equivalent of hurricane season."
https://mashable.com/article/solar-flares-sun-active-why?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=catholic_news_pope_francis_on_monday_of_the_angel_easter_monday_share_the_good_news_of_christ_s_resurrection_with_others&utm_term=2023-04-10
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Referencing Ireland’s target of 51 % reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 – and specifically in relation to agriculture’s target reductions of 25% by 2030, Minister McConalogue said the focus for agriculture is “on reducing nitrogen and methane emissions, while increasing carbon capture and storage”.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/goal-to-produce-world-class-milk-with-lower-emissions-minister/
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By: Katrina Gulliver- April 27, 2023
The meaning of a tanned body has evolved in the West over the course of three centuries. As scholars Phillip Vannini and Aaron M. McCright explain, in the eighteenth century, “tanned skin connoted humble class origins, as most unskilled workers and farmers would be tanned from protracted sun exposure during the workday.”
Today, however, we’re bombarded with ads for vacations and swimwear presenting tanned bodies as aspirational: healthy, attractive, and affluent.
It was in the twentieth century that meaning of tanned skin flipped. The fashionability of tanning rose with the popularity of outdoor leisure, particularly for women. After the 1920s, browned summer skin symbolized wealth rather than field work: someone with the freedom to play tennis or go to the beach. Tanning became a fashion imperative, especially after Coco Chanel stated, “The 1929 girl must be tanned. A golden tan is the index of chic!”
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'What Percent Of Our Atmosphere Is CO2?': Doug LaMalfa Stumps Entire Panel With Climate Questions
.04% was the figure in my head before this guy even said it - I'm not a Climate 'Scientist' nor a Global Warming alarmism advocate and I guessed this correctly whilst these guys weren't even within 2 decimal places of the correct answer! Now how does anyone expect them to know the maths to determine how much their policies are going to negatively impact the economy and everyone's lives? "Oh but don't concern yourself with that - we're saving you all (from a non-existent threat)".
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Flying to Ireland to inhale the seaside air as you drive a golf ball into the scenic distance. Crossing the country to reach your enormous yacht, which is ready for your
Hudson River pleasure cruise. Hosting a governor’s wife on your very own aircraft. These are only a few of the joys that the richest Americans have experienced in recent years through their
private jets. And what made them all the sweeter is that they came with a tax write-off. ------------------------------
two planes netted them a tax deduction of $14 million.
Tony Alvarez in 2008 Credit: Brendan McDermid/Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo
Last August, their Gulfstream V took off from Westchester County Airport in New York state for Ireland. About an hour later, their Gulfstream IV left for the same destination, a small airport in County Kerry near their club. Both planes can comfortably seat over a dozen passengers, but flight records don’t show who was on board. Over the coming month and a half, the two planes crisscrossed the Atlantic several times.
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes contribute largely to the greenhouse effect and climate change. One of these industries is the cement industry, which contributes around 8% of CO2 emissions caused by mankind. Two promising and interesting ways to reduce CO2 emission are the utilization of alternative cementitious materials and carbon capture and utilization through CO2 mineralization. In this study, peat-wood fly ashes from fluidized bed combustion were used as a construction material for mineral carbonation. A self-hardening characteristic of this type of fly ash was utilized, and simultaneous carbonation and hydration reactions were studied. The study showed that fly ashes from the fluidized bed combustion of peat and wood could be used to capture and mineralize CO2 during hydration reactions.
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China’s pollution scourge has its roots in trade agreements set in motion by President Bill Clinton in the early 1990s that allowed U.S. companies to take advantage of cheap labor and lax environmental standards in the world’s most populous nation—where coal energy reigns supreme. Many times the United States helped China finance dirty sources of energy.
As much as one-third of China’s carbon load on the atmosphere can be traced to exports of cheap clothes, electronics, machinery and other goods consumed by Americans and Europeans, experts say.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06032014/us-trade-deals-90s-set-china-pollution-haven/
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A Bold Plan to Beam Solar Energy Down From Space
The European Space Agency is exploring a unique way to dramatically cut carbon emissions by tapping sunlight closer to the source.
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These staggering numbers came at a huge cost.
In the last two decades, Indonesia lost nearly 25 million acres of forest, an area larger than the entire country of Ireland. Roughly a third of that deforestation was caused by palm oil, according to a 2022 study. In Borneo, an island split among Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, the palm oil industry caused roughly 40 percent of deforestation between 2000 and 2018, or roughly 6 million acres of forest loss. That’s almost five times the size of Delaware. --------------------------------
“We can now see deforestation in near-real time,” said David Gaveau, a landscape ecologist at TheTreeMap, a research organization, and lead author of the 2022 paper on palm-driven deforestation. “It’s not the Wild West it used to be.”