Page 170 - Guerin Media Ltd | Active Retirement Ireland Members Annual 2016
P. 170
COMMUNITIES IN TRANSITION ENVIRONMENT
a thriving source of local fruit and vegetables. A “50 mile faster. Alas, our planet cannot sustain infinite growth.
meal” award encourages local restaurants and chefs to And while it is known that the amount of C02 in the
source food locally thus lessening the towns “Carbon atmosphere must not be allowed to rise above 2 degrees
Footprint”. Fun gatherings or Meitheals are organised Celsius – fossil fuel companies possess reserves of fuel
locally to maintain the community orchard and develop that, if burned, would amount to five times the amount of
edible landscaping in the town. Anyone can get involved Carbon our atmosphere can cope with – so you can begin
and this builds community spirit as children and elderly to appreciate the colour and the shape of this elephant in
alike get stuck in. Kinsale’s Anaerobic digester project is the room!
an exciting development for the local farming community.
When established, this will be the only community run So, now it is no longer is a question of what to do as oil
project of its kind in the country, saving farmers €000’s per or gas runs out but about how to bring about a change
annum on chemical fertilizer, reducing the trucking miles in lifestyle and values, so that we can take our place
that food waste needs to travel to landfill. The Anaerobic within our local community and start to work together
Digester will also bring improvements to soil & water in harmony with the needs of our planet. Knowing that
quality while providing local employment, and retaining our neighbours, friends and family are the most valuable
up €700,000 in the local economy which currently goes resource that any of us have, alongside our health is a
elsewhere. wonderful realization. Even more exciting is knowing that
this beautiful planet can and will sustain us once we start
Back in Dublin speaking to my neighbour, I learned that to work in harmony with it.
he can recall the first time they had a loaf of white bread
from the shop – that was just after the war and he was While fossil fuels speak of a linear world of limitations,
a young teenager. He can recall a time when sweets and the Energy from the sun, wind, water and the earth itself
bread were a luxury. It is startling when we consider is infinite in potential. Local energy solutions rather than
how much has changed in our lifetimes. The doctrine of centralized schemes would offer increasing employment
economic “Growth” which is the older sister of Climate and resilience across Ireland.
Change has meant that the pace of life continues to get
170 Active Retirement Ireland www.activeirl.ie
a thriving source of local fruit and vegetables. A “50 mile faster. Alas, our planet cannot sustain infinite growth.
meal” award encourages local restaurants and chefs to And while it is known that the amount of C02 in the
source food locally thus lessening the towns “Carbon atmosphere must not be allowed to rise above 2 degrees
Footprint”. Fun gatherings or Meitheals are organised Celsius – fossil fuel companies possess reserves of fuel
locally to maintain the community orchard and develop that, if burned, would amount to five times the amount of
edible landscaping in the town. Anyone can get involved Carbon our atmosphere can cope with – so you can begin
and this builds community spirit as children and elderly to appreciate the colour and the shape of this elephant in
alike get stuck in. Kinsale’s Anaerobic digester project is the room!
an exciting development for the local farming community.
When established, this will be the only community run So, now it is no longer is a question of what to do as oil
project of its kind in the country, saving farmers €000’s per or gas runs out but about how to bring about a change
annum on chemical fertilizer, reducing the trucking miles in lifestyle and values, so that we can take our place
that food waste needs to travel to landfill. The Anaerobic within our local community and start to work together
Digester will also bring improvements to soil & water in harmony with the needs of our planet. Knowing that
quality while providing local employment, and retaining our neighbours, friends and family are the most valuable
up €700,000 in the local economy which currently goes resource that any of us have, alongside our health is a
elsewhere. wonderful realization. Even more exciting is knowing that
this beautiful planet can and will sustain us once we start
Back in Dublin speaking to my neighbour, I learned that to work in harmony with it.
he can recall the first time they had a loaf of white bread
from the shop – that was just after the war and he was While fossil fuels speak of a linear world of limitations,
a young teenager. He can recall a time when sweets and the Energy from the sun, wind, water and the earth itself
bread were a luxury. It is startling when we consider is infinite in potential. Local energy solutions rather than
how much has changed in our lifetimes. The doctrine of centralized schemes would offer increasing employment
economic “Growth” which is the older sister of Climate and resilience across Ireland.
Change has meant that the pace of life continues to get
170 Active Retirement Ireland www.activeirl.ie
