RENEWABLE ENERGY

This article is time sensitive. Since it was written there are a growing number of eco businesses in Inishowen. (I am waiting for information 2.5.07)


RENEWABLE ENERGY- REDUCING OUR DEPENDENCY ON FOSSIL FUELS

Last week Ian Gomersall from the Inish Times attended the Conference on Renewable Energy Resources organised by the Donegal County Development Board in Letterkenny. The one-day conference looked positively at initiatives currently underway in Donegal to cope with the current global tie with oil based energy. “The conference highlighted the need for more information to be made available to source alternatives to fossil fuel devices in the home ” says Ian. “The time is right for householders and businesses in the North West to embrace new technologies and become a positive influence on the rest of the country and Europe”.

The conference consisted of a series of mini lectures from the government, both national and local, university professors and alternative energy developers. Ms Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture and Food opened the day. And there were talks on renewable electricity, the climate change strategy, renewable materials for energy efficient buildings and also contributions from business leaders who have battled through adversity to set up renewable energy crops such as willow and bio diesel production. One thing that was agreed was that The North West has the potential to not only provide all of its energy needs, it could also supply a large part of the country with green energy, bringing prosperity and jobs to the area.
The North West of Ireland has the strongest, most consistent winds, making it an ideal location for wind energy turbines. Not only for the grid but also for individual homeowners. One problem, highlighted from the day is that anyone building their own house here in Inishowen is finding it difficult to source the new technologies needed for ecologically sound buildings. “I met a few people around the peninsula who are in the process of building houses that are far more energy efficient and carbon neutral than conventional designs. One issue that they find very time consuming is finding suppliers and installers for the energy saving products that they want in their homes.” Commented Ian. “There are no local suppliers of small wind turbines at present. I know of one installer of solar panels (Jim Mullin in Malin, tel. 9370304) who was at the conference. Finding suppliers who deal in wool insulation, unfired bricks, alternative structures for housing such as hempcrete (hemp mixed with lime), is very difficult.” Ian is hoping that he can put together a list of local tradespeople who are dealing in these new ideas to make life a bit easier when homebuilders are sourcing their materials and installers. “ I would also like to hear from anyone who has installed solar panels, turbines, wooden pellet stoves, triple glazing and thermal heat pumps etc to tell me of their experiences” “The grant being made available to install eco friendly and highly efficient appliances in their homes will be lost if we cannot make the process of buying the equipment more easy. The rating system for housing will be introduced soon and if people do not start to include these energy saving techniques into the home, they might find that selling the houses in the future is more difficult” he concluded.

Environmental.

CUTTING EXCESS PACKAGING

I see the council met up recently to assess whether we here in Donegal would benefit by an incinerator being built to get rid of our waste packaging. While the folk sit around a table and potentially turn Donegal into a dumping ground for the rest of Europe there is a group of women in England who are being pro- active and lobbying supermarkets to cut the unnecessary packaging that is causing part of the problem in the first place.

It wants stores to charge for plastic bags, which we have done already, and phase out practices such as shrink wrapping fruit and vegetables and placing them on trays. Supermarkets say they have made efforts to cut packaging in recent years. In a day of action recently, Women’s Institute members returned "excess" wrappers to stores and urge them to do more to address environmental concerns. According to the WI, supermarket groceries still account for 70% of the packaging market. It is calling on supermarkets to only use compostable and recyclable materials in its packaging where required. Supermarkets are trying to please the consumer; it’s where it gets its profits from after all. The Institute also wants stores to buy fresh produce from local suppliers where possible to cut down on transport emissions, give unsold groceries to charities and turn any excess into compost.

Environmental.

FREEZING TIPS

I was talking to a woman at the Summer Gathering who made freezing things an art form. Here are some of the things she did. (I think she also has shares in polythene manufacturing companies!)

FISHY TALE
Empty wax fruit juice cartons can be used for freezing fish in. Rinse thoroughly, add the fish, fill up with water and staple shut. Be careful that the carton is upright when it isn’t frozen ion the freezer compartment or you will get a smelly surprise.

FRUIT
Acid fruit and vegetables such as apples rhubarb and tomatoes should be wrapped in polythene for freezing and not foil. The acid in them will tarnish the foil and taint the produce.

SAUSAGES
When open freezing sausages, line the tray with a sheet of polythene to stop the sausages sticking

FREEZING SOUP
Line plastic boxes with polythene bags to freeze soups. When the soup has frozen solid, the bag can be lifted out and put directly into the freezer. To freeze stock or smaller quantities, use milk or fruit juice cartons and line those with a plastic bag.


OTHER IDEAS
The woman’s skills didn’t end with freezing either; she also was a dab hand with tins too. These are the sorts of life changing tips that you can pick up when you are sitting in a field in the summer sunshine!

TINNED FOOD
If you only use a part of a tin of food, especially something that is acidic, like tomatoes or apple puree, do not leave in the tin or it will deteriorate. Put it in a ceramic container with a lid and put it in the fridge.

TINNED MEAT
If you put your tin of meat in the fridge for a few minutes before opening it will be easier to slice.

Household.

ME AND MY MOTOR JIM MURPHY

Name: Jim Murphy

Address: Moville

Car: Renault Kangoo 1.2

Strictly speaking this is my wife’s car (a practice nurse), but I seem to be driving it more and more these days. I think this is due to it being very practical and economical. : Its like a great big Citroen 2CV but with an engine and not made of cardboard. If its good enough for the Fir an Post its good enough for me!

I use it for my daily commute to Derry. It isn’t a flying machine, but for me that is not an issue. I have been a fire-fighter for over 25 years and have been to some horrific road crashes. There is nothing (and I mean nothing) worth getting mangled for. I stick a cd in the player (Ian Dury or Madness), chill and watch God’s own county sail by. Apart from its commuting function it also is used for getting the kids to activities. It has moulded plastic cargo floor in the boot and moulded rubber mats in the passenger areas. After horse riding, hillwalking or a day at the beach it can be mopped out.

How long have you had the car?
About 18 months, I got it from Kelly’s Toyota dealers in Letterkenny who have been really good to deal with (nearly as good as Frank Faulkner).

Any plans to change?
No, this vehicle is so practical and reliable that we are going to keep it till it dies, which hopefully is a long way off. We are not into shiny new things for the sake of it.

Best thing about the car?
Apart from the floors and the reliability, I like the rear sliding doors, which if you have had kids throwing doors open against other cars you will understand why. The sliding doors also mean you can sit it the car with the doors open. Apparently it drives with the doors open too which would make it a great getaway car if you did not need to escape in a big hurry. When the rear seats are folded down it becomes a proper van. This actually is a van made into a car rather than a car that does van impressions. The stowage is quite phenomenal. We re-cycle to the max and it carries everything to the amenity site. This means we only need to put a wheelie bin out every five to six weeks. There are also overhead storage bins, which is great for stuff that you want to stay in the car but not rattling around the boot. Did I mention the deep tray over the driver’s head? You could get a side of beef in it.

Worst?
What do I not like about it. It still has a locking petrol cap, which is a bit fiddly. Most cars now have a flap, which does not need a key.

How often do you wash it?
Hardly ever washed, perhaps once a month. Life is too short for such nonsense.

Any modifications?
No need, this car is nearly perfect, although some roof bars would be nice for carrying long stuff (does washing count as a modification?)

If you were minister for finance, what would you change?
Firstly I would abolish VRT, it stinks and is nothing more than government theft. Secondly I would exempt cars adapted to run on bio fuel from any duty or taxation, lastly I would stop people killing themselves on the roads by significantly boosting the Garda Traffic Corps.

What would you like to be driving around in?
Anything convertible, I like the wind blowing in my scalp. The ideal car would be a Morris Minor but I would settle for a Sunbeam Alpine or a Triumph TR4

Motoring.

ROSE TULIP

MULTI HEADED TULIP

I went over to visit Rose Porter’s garden in Buncrana this week. Rose had purchased some tulip bulbs late last year from a shop in the town. Unbeknown to her these tulips were not the conventional type that we normally see. They had multi flower heads on them. I counted ten, perfectly formed cream coloured specimens. I haven’t seen tulips like these before. There are thousands of variations of the flower but maybe this one is growing just for Rose. It has a nice ring to it don’t you think, the Rose Tulip!

We have been busy in our own garden this week. I have finally got around to fencing off the front garden so that we can plant a few veggies and sweet peas. I have used hazel rods and woven willow in such a way that the front garden now looks just like a twenty foot by ten foot wicker basket. It will do the job of keeping the dogs off so the seedlings can have a chance to establish. There are a few things to do before we can start planting. The soil needs building up with some well rotted manure and organic matter and there needs to be a path put in so we don’t tread on the soil where the veggies will go. We have some seeds germinated already in pots ready to go out when I have prepared the ground. Peas, beans, courgette, and broccoli are all shooting up as well as the salad crops.

CAMPHOR BALLS
Rose gave me a good tip when I went to visit. Her garden has a problem with cats and it was costing a fortune in imaginatively named products such as Cat Off or Feline Be Gone from the DIY shops. Instead of forking out lots of money she has now started to use camphor balls, or mothballs as they are also better known. They are far less toxic than the chemicals on the market.

TIP CUTTINGS
Tip cuttings may be used now to increase herbaceous plants. Take firm 3-4 in. shoots of new growth and insert them into peat and sand around a pot. Cover with polythene. They should root in 2-3 weeks on a warm window ledge, or use a heated propagator.

Horticultual.

RAGWORT UPDATE

RAGWORT-IS IT A PROBLEM?
In many fields around Inishowen we see the plant, Ragwort. I have heard stories that they are toxic to livestock and I have written about the matter in the past. Ragwort is poisonous to horses, cattle and sometimes sheep and can cause acute liver damage in young stock and chronic liver damage in older animals, but actually, this is rare. Ragwort, however is now thought to be distasteful to horses and cattle, and they will eat it only if they are half-starved on a pasture that is bare of almost anything else.

In the agricultural depression of the 1930s and during the Second World War, there was far more Ragwort around than there is today. There were no selective weedkillers available, so it had to be controlled either by hand-pulling or by allowing sheep to graze off the young plants, which are less poisonous. There were also many more horses in the country, working on farms or pulling delivery vans. Ragwort poisoning was a recognised disease, but not a major problem.

RAGWORT TYPES

Ragwort (Senecio Jacobea) is also known as ragweed, buachalán and buachalán buidhe. It is a common weed of Irish pastures and thrives on a wide range of soils, but competes best on lighter free draining soils where fertility is reasonably high and grazing not intensive.

There are four main types of ragwort to be found in Ireland according to An Irish Flora (1996) namely:
Common Ragwort -Senecio jacobaea - found everywhere.
Marsh Ragwort Senecio aquaticus - wet fields, marshes
Ragwort Senecio squalidius - mainly in larger cities, rare elsewhere.
Ragwort Senecio erucifolius – found especially in Dublin and Meath.
All four can interbreed where both parents are found.
BENEFITS OF RAGWORTAt least 30 species of insects and other invertebrates are totally dependent on Ragwort as their food. Many other species of insects that eat Ragwort, or require the nectar and pollen from the flowers, can also use alternative plants, however, Ragwort is often significant in supporting viable populations, especially in districts where such alternative plants may be absent or scarce. Ragwort is a major nectar source for many insects,including bees, hoverflies, butteflies and moths.

Harsh chemical action to control Ragwort could have detrimental consequences on the balance of nature in Inishowen. For more on the subject check out the following sites;


http://www.ragwortfacts.com/





Environmenal,horticultural.