Climate change is affecting all regions in Europe, causing a wide range of impacts on society and the environment. Further impacts are expected in the future, potentially causing high damage costs, according to the latest assessment published by the European Environment Agency. The report, ‘Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2012’ finds that higher … Read more
Fota Wildlife Park is the first Zoological Institution in Ireland to be accredited with the prestigious international ‘Green Flag’ award. The accreditation, granted by An Taisce, was for their work on the An Taisce ‘Eco-Centre’ Programme and followed two years of sustained work and a rigorous assessment by an expert panel. The An Taisce ‘Eco-Centre’ … Read more
Marine litter is a serious threat to the coastal and marine environment. Marine habitats are contaminated with man-made garbage and other waste, posing growing environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problems. Marine litter is composed of up to 80 % plastic, and originates from a diverse range of sources. Plastics tend to persist in the marine … Read more
The emergence of exploration for shale oil and shale gas in some EU countries should be backed up with “robust regulatory regimes”, the European Parliament has said in two resolutions. Member states should also be “cautious” about permitting exploitation of unconventional fossil fuels pending further analysis of whether EU-level regulation is appropriate, say MEPs. Each … Read more
An artistic schoolboy from County Donegal has won his classmates a €10,000 eco-garden, after wowing judges with his winning design of a ‘little litterbug.’ Paddy Gallagher, aged 10, from S.N. Naomh Brid in Letterkenny won the Viking for Schools ‘Little Litterbug’ drawing competition – beating off stiff competition from 500 entries from across schools in … Read more
Dublin City Council spends over €31 million euro every year on litter removal and street cleaning, employing over 500 staff working around the clock to keep Dublin clean. It is hugely important that the city looks its best at all times from a business, tourist and leisure point of view and indeed for the citizens … Read more
Data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 2007-2010 E-Pollutant Release and Transfer (PRTR) reporting to the European Commission is now available on the national PRTR website. The map-based website is a database of chemical substances and pollutants emitted to air, water and soil, and transferred off-site for treatment or disposal. A total of … Read more
Offsetting by European companies grew by a staggering 85% last year, according to new research by the environmental campaign group Sandbag. The companies policed by the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) submitted a total of 254 million credits to offset 13% of their carbon emissions. But Sandbag observes that the vast majority of these offset … Read more
The Government has launched a user-friendly guide to planning enforcement in Irelandand a shorter summary leaflet on the same subject. The two documents on planning enforcement are available on www.environ.ie. Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan, TD comments: “Rebuilding public confidence in the planning system is one of my key aims. For too long … Read more
Dr Alan Belward from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Italy will provide an evening lecture on the power and potential of earth observation from space as part of the EPA’s Climate Change Lecture Series. The lecture will be held in the Mansion House on Tuesday 20th November at 18:30. Global challenges require global … Read more