"Green" policies are destroying this country

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118072650#Comment_118072650

You really think inaction on climate change won't also lead to increased poverty? May take a bit longer but it certainly won't be a quality of life improvement.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118072650#Comment_118072650

How are Irish farmers out of work? The carbon budget plan had nothing in it for agriculture as far as I know, it's a sacred cow that wont be touched and there are no plans to reduce herds or anything like that, so farmers wont be affected by any Green policies in Ireland. In fact dairy farmers income went up by 13% last year, so they're doing quite well don't worry

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/national-farm-survey-the-average-dairy-farm-income-increased-by-13-in-2020/

Climate change action = a certain level of doing things differently and maybe even **shock horror** a little inconvenience. How people think we can carry on living as we are is beyond me.

iColdFusion

Anyone know the formula or basis for how the EPA produced their recent report saying Ireland's emissions only dropped 3.6% in 2020? Even the drop of only 16% in transport emissions makes no sense considering we went from one lockdown to the next!

Is it all just x amount of cars by y average km per year kinda stuff? To be any way accurate you'd have to get the NCT mileage for every car and multiply it by that cars efficiency with some guesstimation for new cars and averaging over 2 year NCT cycles but still im guessing they don't have access to that data or that is too much work for them.

Seems a bit suspicious that no-one is challenging these figures from the Environmental Protection Agency who have a clear bias against any form of pollution.

Whenever fuel prices drop Americans buy bigger pickup trucks. This has been observed a number of times in the last few decades.

That is what you are up against. Europeans can be as frugal and virtuous as they want and it just gives the Americans an opportunity to consume more.

The current EV support system in the U.S. which is to be voted upon isn't an environmental subsidy. It is a state support scheme for U.S. manufacturers and the United Auto Workers. It excludes companies like VAG, Polestar and Tesla by intention.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118072693#Comment_118072693

"If you believe Ireland is at risk from climate change then build flood Defences because it is clear that others aren't reading from the same hymn book."

This indeed may be a better way to spend the money raised from carbon taxes.

Well Holland has show it is possible to live below sea level. Ireland won't turn in to an arid desert any time soon and it doesn't look like the iceage will return so grass will still grow and beef/dairy isn't going out of fashion.

When your supposed allies in fighting climate change aren't playing ball then it is time to step back and reassess your strategy.

Beechwoodspark

Eamon Ryan is laying out the challenge excellently on RTÉ right now

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073640#Comment_118073640

I assume he was, as usual, devoid of ideas of how to make it happen.

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118053730#Comment_118053730

Love to know what population of Dublin live near a train station connected to a trainstation near where they work.

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118072773#Comment_118072773

lol

Climate change doesn't care about "per capita" buddy.

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073313#Comment_118073313

Climate change is going to happen whatever Ireland does, so what are you saying, we go through all this pain to try hit targets that even if we did hit, we'd still suffer the impacts of climate change?

The assholes making decisions live in a different world. They want us to use public transport yet I took a train for a course for a couple days and the train was wedged and I had someones sweaty arse a few inches from me on the way in. On the way out, it was wedged, sweaty, had no seat for the journey. You want us to buy electric cars? Not enough of them available and too expensive!

Why are these lads who care sooo much about climate change gone back to in person meetings in the EU when the world didn't collapse doing them on zoom?

SupplyandDemandZone

The constant fear mongering over climate change is reaching ridiculous levels now. Several articles on the Journal alone this morning pushing the agenda. This guilt tripping psychological warfare on the population will backfire in a big way as people just going about their daily lives grow sick and tired of constantly being told it's their fault.

I predict the Greens will be absolutely eviscerated at the next election anywhere outside the D4 snob brigade who have no idea what it's like to live in the real world.

SupplyandDemandZone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073640#Comment_118073640

In between cleaning his glasses with his covid mask?

Kermit.de.frog

All this stuff will destroy the greens at the next election. Which is good.

I'm all for cleaning up our act but not when it will damage the country in the process.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074022#Comment_118074022

Then you're not really all for cleaning up our act at all because its quite obviously not going to be free.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073949#Comment_118073949

The Greens will be gone yes, but does it really matter, the FG introduced Carbon Taxes wont be going anywhere.

iColdFusion

Good bit on Matt Cooper about this, basically he asks EPA if we can only manage a 3.6% reduction during the worst pandemic in 100 years how the hell are we meant to be doing 7% a year! EPA throwing the farming sector under the bus also.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0WYnYsUZpIAx7G7HvPTQGd?si=h54ozigITKeNRBfXvTDfQQ

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074338#Comment_118074338

What have the EPA done to the farming sector? There are no plans to reduce production of any farmed products as far as I know, the opposite in fact.

Dyr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074022#Comment_118074022

As long as we have an education system that turns out kids terrified that the end is nigh, the greens will have votes.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073733#Comment_118073733

Good point, underground needed urgently. As I said, less motorways, more public transport. That being said, the point has already been made that urban people have much less of an impact on the environment.

SupplyandDemandZone

There's already talk of the hauliers and farmers bringing the country to a standstill in the lead up to Xmas over this. I worked in logistics for years and i really don't think people realise how under pressure the hauliers are at present with fuel prices, Brexit and the driver shortage.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074639#Comment_118074639

that is not factually correct. Those living rurally live more sustainable lifestyles and don't consume products and experiences that aren't available to consume. Now, those who build and live in McMansions within a few KM of their local town may not fit that mold but those who live rurally are often impacting the environment less than those who live in cities. I'm not searching for the article which I read about this topic.

10000maniacs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118073959#Comment_118073959

In between his Dáil naps does he clean his glasses with his Covid mask too?

We would have BBC 1 and BBC 2 on Saorview if it wasn't for him caving into TV3's whinging and whining when he was Minister for Telecommunications.

Don't rate him much as a politician for many reasons.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074873#Comment_118074873

Don't bother, it doesn't exist! Believe me, city and urban dwellers have a much smaller impact on the environment.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwellers-smaller-carbon-footprints

You are telling me I'm lying. I read this and digested the content. If the services are on your doorstep you consume them. You go to events. You go to restuarants. You buy socks rather than darning old ones. It isn't even remotely unplausible that a rural dweller would have a lower footprint than a city dweller.

Beta Ray Bill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074873#Comment_118074873

They absolutely do not.

Simple things like going to the shops or dropping the kids to school require a significantly longer car journey for rural people than it does for city dwellers.

The cost of providing services on a per person basis is off the scale for rural Ireland, which is why there is SFA Broadband, Decent water services, sub par electrical infra, crap roads, no gas pipes etc.

I've cousins that live in Westmeath, if they want anything basic such as milk/bread/bog roll, they have to drive to Killucan (10km round trip), If they want to do their weekly shop, they've to go to Kinnegad (25km round trip)

The School run is 20km round trip a day for the oldest and 10km for the youngest and in the afternoon has to be done at different times (50km per school day)

That's a total of near 300km per week and no one has even gone to work yet or done something on the weekend.

I get people need to live in Rural Ireland to support the agricultural industry (I believe it's important and there is no way around it) but saying that they are living sustainably relative to city dwellers is not correct.

I do accept you're argument however that people in cities do avail of more services such as lunch places etc, than those living rural would.

This isn't the report I read but it touches upon the point.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2020/02/the-unexpected-drivers-of-carbon-footprints/

Those who are wealthier i.e. city dwellers generally produce more CO2

If you live in leafier part of Dublin you think you are a city dweller but you aren't. You are suburban and the worst polluter of all.

A McMansion on to the approach to a rural town is suburban too.

Proper rural dwellers are generally poorer so consume less and travel less. When they are in for the night, they are in for the night.

It might be one of the sacred cows of the Green movement but city dwellers do not necessarily have a lower footprint than a proper rural dweller.

It isn't contrarianism. It is a truth that some find hard to swallow.

elperello

I think it's fair to say that you can live lightly on the earth in both city and rural locations.

It's the way you live that determines your environmental impact not your location.

Nermal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118074338#Comment_118074338

We could deliberately cause a collapse in economic output equivalent to say, the fall of the Soviet Union.

Each year. Every year.

For the best part of two decades.

Net-zero here we come.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118075184#Comment_118075184

There are fewer temptations out in the back and beyond unless you like burning Gorse bushes.