2011

Fairtrade Fortnight
February 15th, 2011
February the 28th marks the beginning of Fair Trade Fortnight, two weeks of events, celebrations and awareness raising aimed at highlighting the difference that fairer trade can make in the lives of small-scale producers in the Global South (or ‘developing world’). Fairtrade partnerships ensure farmers get a just price for their produce, one that reflects the real cost of production, rather than the volatilities of the global markets. Fairtrade producers also enjoy… continue

Seedsaving in India
February 18th, 2011
Daylight is fading as the Hyderabad Express leaves Mumbai, a low mournful whistle marking its passage through dusty, overcrowded suburbs before silence descends and fields of green crops appear, stretching endlessly toward the horizon. After the noise, traffic and chaos of the megacity the effect on this observer is akin to a soothing massage and a hot bath.
My fellow passengers settle themselves, accommodating bags and removing shoes snatching a first glance at their companions for… continue

2010

What’s happening in Haiti?
January 27th, 2010
The news from Haiti is grim but thanks to the media mob we know how many planes have landed today, how many litres of water were distributed and how many tents pitched. However the information experts have failed to answer one important question-How did a country with a thriving economy and a proud people turn into a country where government is invisible and the economy in ruins? In the 18th century Haiti was the world’s richest colony where half a million slaves worked the sugar, coffee and… continue

An energy industry insider’s view on climate change
March 26th, 2010
I have mixed reactions when I’m confronted by the daily headlines evoking images of global famine, flood and drought caused by man’s emissions of greenhouse gases. As a geologist, I know that the planet has been through numerous cycles of climatic variations over the last several billion years and I know that change is part of the natural geological cycle. I… continue

Claiming our Future
November 5th, 2010
One hundred tables waited in evenly spaced rows for the one thousand people who filed into the RDS, armed only with their hopes of a better future. The venue was a giant hall the size of an aircraft hanger, the task improbable – reshaping Irish political life. Most people had no idea what to expect. A stage had been set up halfway down the hall, not to indulge the usual spokespeople but to welcome a gay and lesbian choir, a trio of young Ballyfermot rappers, Mary Coughlan and soul singer Shaz… continue

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
December 21st, 2010
Christmas came early this year, Nov 28th to be precise.  That was the day Wikileaks began releasing secret dispatches exposing the private thoughts of US officials in cables sent home to Washington DC. Back in the 1960s US scientists administered LSD to unwitting citizens in an effort to find a ‘truth drug’ which would oblige detainees to give up their secrets without using traditional torture methods. The Wikileaks… continue

2009

Buy Nothing and Get One Free!
December 2nd, 2009
As the rising floods closed in around the Burren last weekend and all roads to Gort were under water, I staggered home with a car full of supplies and locked myself away from the howling winds and pelting rain which promised nothing good. I cranked up the record player, baked some gourmet bread and visited the neighbours, forgetting all about my plan to go to the cinema and start the Christmas shopping. Seventy two hours later I haven’t budged from my bunker, haven’t driven the car anywhere and… continue

Time for Action as politicians debate climate change.
December 8th, 2009
This weekend, the great, the good and the plain stupid will meet in Copenhagen to find common ground in the battle to combat climate change. The sad reality is that to a large extent, the fight is already lost; from the disappearing islands of the Maldives to the vanishing water sources of Australia and the clock cannot be turned back. Neither can we trade our way out of danger as it is our obsession with economic growth at all costs which has plunged us into the current crisis. Bill Plotkin,… continue