Should the burning of Turf be made illegal now in Ireland these days?

Graces7

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

How does one dry a tank of slurry?

Ignorant culchie!!

Graces7

All the complainers here run cars? Tractors?

Sure I could use coal and have to but turf cut and given is cheaper and easier to handle so stop with the emotional blackmail! It does not impress

Kevin McCloud

Graces7 wrote: »

Ignorant culchie!!

Thanks for not answering the question there, fair play to you.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Graces7 wrote: »

A modern responsible country would dry it not pollute the air and water for miles around.

And a modern responsible country would not dig up bogland to burn it either! Let's be consistent at least.

MadsL

MadsL wrote: »

Other countries pass environmental protection orders and spend thousands on bog rehabilitation.

Ireland ignores EU law and drains and cuts bogs that took hundreds of thousands of years to form then burns them.

Draw your own conclusions but burning turf is not just horrible in the emissions caused but also prevents bogs from absorbing CO2 and being the very effective carbon sinks they naturally form when left alone.

F*cking with ecosystems is generally a bad idea.

Turns out that they are not as old as first thought and many were actually man made, from felling of trees that locked in water

joela

Deleted User wrote: »

Turns out that they are not as old as first thought and many were actually man made, from felling of trees that locked in water

Really? Really? Like really? :rolleyes: I despair I really do.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Deleted User wrote: »

Turns out that they are not as old as first thought and many were actually man made, from felling of trees that locked in water

Why how old were they first thought to be? We were always told they were, naturally, post the last ice age and were form through the neolithic into the bronze age. Don't tell me they are younger than that!

joela

joela wrote: »

Really? Really? Like really? :rolleyes: I despair I really do.

oh really...
Well that poster mentioned hundreds of thousands of years as to form, except the last glaciation period ended here what 15,000 years ago.

People only arrived C.10,000 years ago and only then caused the conditions for blanket bogs. They are recent, man made and not natural so only undoing our original damage.


Raised bogs are different to be fair.

Anyone getting a lot of smoke from their turf habe poor quality or not dried it enough. Should be burned in a stove anyway over a bed of coal.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Deleted User wrote: »

oh really...
Well that poster mentioned hundreds of thousands of years as to form, except the last glaciation period ended here what 15,000 years ago.

People only arrived C.10,000 years ago and only then caused the conditions for blanket bogs. They are recent, man made and not natural so only undoing our original damage.


Raised bogs are different to be fair.

Anyone getting a lot of smoke from their turf habe poor quality or not dried it enough. Should be burned in a stove anyway over a bed of coal.

Cutting turf is not undoing damage unless you can you tell me everybody cutting turf is planting thick forests of native trees. The eco system that formed over the past 7000 years has become vital over that period.

Galwayguy35

It would be a foolish Government that would ever put a stop to turf cutting, I don't cut my turf on a disputed bog so I'm obeying the law and carrying on a longstanding tradition here in Ireland.

end of the road

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

bit cheeky that - receiving a payment incentive not to cut it .. but still cutting cutting it anyway ...... and still taking the payment!:rolleyes:

good for them. they are right. if you can get why not take it

Braelynn Scruffy Somewhat

Braelynn Scruffy Somewhat wrote: »

Cutting turf is not undoing damage unless you can you tell me everybody cutting turf is planting thick forests of native trees. The eco system that formed over the past 7000 years has become vital over that period.

Vital to what exactly?

joela

Deleted User wrote: »

Vital to what exactly?

Just for a start:

1. Biodiversity
2. Flooding regulation
3. Flooding prevention
4. Water filtration
5. Carbon storage

All meh. Trees would be better for flood control or carbon storage

joela

Deleted User wrote: »

All meh. Trees would be better for flood control or carbon storage

Nope. Peatlands hold far more carbon and water.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Deleted User wrote: »

All meh. Trees would be better for flood control or carbon storage

Absolutely wrong. I take it you have never studied the environment and the impact of various changes to the environment versus flood risks. I did just that for decades and can assure you trees are inferior to bogland for flood prevention and come nowhere near bogs as a carbon trap. I would be fascinated to see what you base your assertion on.

Deleted User wrote: »

Vital to what exactly?

I suggest you read up on the eco system of a bog, marsh or wetland. Vital to the survival of many plants and animal species, and water levels just for a start.

Grayson

Graces7 wrote: »

All the complainers here run cars? Tractors?

Sure I could use coal and have to but turf cut and given is cheaper and easier to handle so stop with the emotional blackmail! It does not impress

Nope I don't. And it's a choice since I've actually been given old cars in the past.

These aren't emotional arguments. Their factual. If they strike an emotional chord, there's a reason.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Graces7 wrote: »

That is a huge exaggeration re the London smog comparison..:rolleyes: You are getting totally obsessed..

Thankfully I don't suffer from any breathing problems but spare a thought for those who suffer from Asthma, Bronchiectasis, Sarcoidosis, Chronic bronchitis, Emphysema and many other ailments. Turf smoke carries much more particle matter than smoke from coal or oil burners. It is also, as a result, more dense or heavier so does not disperse upwards very efficiently. The irritants it carries can have a life altering affect on people living with a myriad of chest complaints. I'm sure if your health was adversely affected you too would be obsessed about it.
A pity of empathy goes a long way.

Kevin McCloud

Ban the chinese burning coal first anyway.

Green Fish

Deleted User wrote: »

Anyone getting a lot of smoke from their turf habe poor quality or not dried it enough. Should be burned in a stove anyway over a bed of coal.

I have some old turf that is almost like coal. I always try and keep some 2 year old turf in one corner of the shed. It is completely dry and absolutely perfect for starting the fire. It means I only burn turf, don't need coal or logs.

Satriale

Green Fish wrote: »

I have some old turf that is almost like coal. I always try and keep some 2 year old turf in one corner of the shed. It is completely dry and absolutely perfect for starting the fire. It means I only burn turf, don't need coal or logs.

I try to burn logs as well, if you mix tree hugger tears with bog myrtle it makes a great balm that keeps the midges off when I'm cutting turf.

OpenYourEyes

Deleted User wrote: »

All meh. Trees would be better for flood control .......

You couldn't possibly say that if you had ever walked on an intact bog.

joela

Satriale wrote: »

I try to burn logs as well, if you mix tree hugger tears with bog myrtle it makes a great balm that keeps the midges off when I'm cutting turf.

Oh how funny and original you are!:rolleyes:

OpenYourEyes

Satriale wrote: »

I try to burn logs as well, if you mix tree hugger tears with bog myrtle it makes a great balm that keeps the midges off when I'm cutting turf.

If only p**sed off scientists and well-informed people produced some sort of by-product you could work into a fairly poor attempt at humour too! :rolleyes: Because poor attempts at humour are obviously easier than asking questions or having a conversation or debate

joela

joela wrote: »

Nope. Peatlands hold far more carbon and water.

Yeah and it stays there great, then you go and burn oil/coal/wood/gas releasing the carbon anyway.

Plant a tree, cut it down and release carbon yes BUT you replant the tree. The carbon stays locked into the system.
So while the turf is a great way of trapping the carbon, the same amount gets released anyway through heating homes with other fuels.

OpenYourEyes

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah and it stays there great, then you go and burn oil/coal/wood/gas releasing the carbon anyway.

Plant a tree, cut it down and release carbon yes BUT you replant the tree. The carbon stays locked into the system.
So while the turf is a great way of trapping the carbon, the same amount gets released anyway through heating homes with other fuels.

The thing is, bogs are active carbon sinks i.e. as long as they aren't drained and cut they will keep taking in more and more carbon every year. Coal, oil and gas are not taken from active carbon sinks - the various mines and pockets of those fossil fuels are not still taking in carbon.

So by damaging bogs you are having a double negative effect by releasing carbon from burning the fuel, and stopping the habitat from taking in carbon in the future. While some bogs can be restored to a certain degree, theyre not nearly as effective as if they weren't destroyed in the first place.

twin_beacon

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Should it be made illegal to burn turf in fires and ranges now in Ireland? - it may be quaint and remind us all of old Ireland but when you drive into towns and villages these days the smell is acrid and irritates the throat and causes a lot of smoke in the air and visibility becomes poor especially in the freezing cold weather and when its misty/foggy. I thought these days 'smokey fuel' was banned anyway ? (not sure whether just for Towns or towns and villages?) we have to shut windows when people are burning turf but the smell still gets into the house through the wall vents you cannot close off.

well if you ban turf, people will just burn timber.
I have never seen visibility become an issue because people are burning turf

twin_beacon

Grayson wrote: »

In that case we can import rubbish and burn it. We're hardly making a dent anyway so what's a bit more.

Bogs should be preserved at this stage. they're practically endangered. We've already destroyed over 95% of our raised bogs and over 80% of the peatland in total. Ignorant culchies think they can keep chopping it up and burning it.

I grew up in the countryside and we burned turf but back then people knew feck all about conservation. People who actually know all the facts but still decide that it's ok to burn a rare and endangered ecosystem are fecking selfish morons.

you realise the vast majority of the damage was done by Born Na Mona, the semi-state company?

twin_beacon

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

Price of heating oil is low at the minute. €570 or thereabouts for 1000lts.

that wouldn't heat a house for the year though.
around €300-400 on turf would

Grayson wrote: »

* Three findings
1) Climate change is real
2) The main cause is man
3) it's getting worse.

and how is not burning turf going to help, as the alternatives all involve burning another fossil fuel

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Yeah well I think you'll find a lot of laws are out for the comon good - I can't build a skyscraper in the middle of Roscommon despite owning the site, and some people aren't allowed destroy the last measly few percent of a rare and useful habitat that we all benefit from. The "I can do what I want" argument simply doesnt apply to a developed society.

Yeah water filtration - in Leitrim, and everywhere else. Ming held up a glass of water that was orangey-yellow in the Dail last year and complained about how undrinkable it was. He failed to realise that the orangey-yellow colour was most likely caused by peat-run-off from a degraded bog! If you're implying that the water quality in Leitrim is crap, you're proving my point!

And yeah, tax payers money! In case you havn't noticed, water quality and how we should pay for it is a very topical issue at the moment!

am, no. This is a result of rusty water pipes. Hence why he was complaining.
Yes the bog filters water, but only in the summer. in the winter when we get lots of rain, the water that enters the rivers from the bogs doesn't get enough time to "settle" and deposit all the silt, as a result the water is brown leaving the bog.

Graces7 wrote: »

A modern responsible country would dry it not pollute the air and water for miles around.

???

Graces7 wrote: »

Ignorant culchie!!

please explain how you can "dry" 50k gallons of cow sh1t?

John_Rambo

I always liked the hint of turf in the air when I travelled up and down the country, but lately it's gotten too much. The pollution is pretty bad with cheap coal and turf with so many people burning it.

It's nice to get back to the cleaner, coastal air in Dublin.