Aiysha Teegan argues the Irish government is allowing us to freewheel off a dangerous slope of heart disease and climate destruction. Here she takes a look at how the Irish Farmers Organisation has us by the cajoles and how we are falling behind on our environmental commitments.
Simms City.
The history of public housing in Ireland is, in many ways, a history of failure. Donal Fallon takes us for a trip in his De Loreon and introduces us to a champion of social housing who designed beautiful European art deco buildings for the city that still stand out as visionary models today. Regarded as a legacy of British rule, slumdom still defined much of the heart of inner-city Dublin … Read More
Making Shit Of Our Rivers.
Above: This image encapsulates the problem – the writer is fly fishing on a stream that is choked up with plant growth, cattle look on with full access to the water and no fencing to protect the riparian zones. The farmer’s lobby group is one of the most powerful in the country and they instill a fear into our politicians against speaking out about the damage that farming practices … Read More
The Dirtiest Corner in Europe?
In the shadows of the peace-process and power sharing up North lies an inconvenient truth. Away from the limelight and media coverage, Nathan Thanki argues that Northern Ireland is well on the way to becoming the dirtiest corner in Europe.
Zero The Hero.
The average home wastes huge amounts of food at Christmas but the restaurant industry is the real culprit. The zero waste producing Silo was established in 2014 in Brighton following early incarnations in Australia. Silo has a commitment to local, seasonal and non-industrial ingredients. Caitriona Devery met owner and chef Douglas McMaster at the recent Food on the Edge symposium in Galway. The restaurant has a unique aesthetic, for instance … Read More
The Drill.
Above: Photos submitted to the Don’t Drill Aintrim page by residents of a hydrocarbon spill in a water course which crosses the Infrastrata drill. Followed by the letter from the head of planning to Infrastrata and our own interview with local residents. Some weeks ago rabble traveled to Woodburn outside Belfast to chat to concerned locals about the activities of a company called Infrastrata. Today was a bad day for them. It was announced … Read More
Reservoir Dogs.
Remember that time we met residents who were taking on a petroleum exploration company called Infrastrata outside Belfast? The company was attempting to gain access to the Woodburn Forest to carry out drills. Well, it turns out that local worries were well founded. It was headline news on the Belfast Daily three days ago that two reservoirs were closed by NI Water over fears of contamination caused by drilling. We … Read More
It Heats Up.
Last Friday, we headed up to meet residents in Carrickfergus who were concerned that a company called Infrastrata were about to start drilling works in the Woodburn Forest. After a blockade and an arrest the day before, things were at a lull when we landed. You can take a look at our report here for some background on their concerns. It’s heating up again though, as this report just … Read More
WoodBurn Not For Shale.
On February 18th, petroleum exploration company Infrastrata attempted to gain access to Woodburn Forest to start work on an exploratory drill for oil and gas in the area. They were met with resistance from concerned residents. We headed up North to see what they had to say. Without any public consultation, the Department of Environment and Transport (DETI) has extended Infrastrata’s initial exploratory license, which was due to expire … Read More
We Are Nature.
It may turn out to be a global turning point, at least in the first steps of aspiration and intention. That is yet to be decided. Oliver Moore travelled with the Irish contingent to the Climate Change Talks in Paris. After many months of momentum building towards the Climate Change talks in Paris – COP21, – people had been, very understandably, put off traveling for personal and political reasons. There … Read More