Environmental Issue in Ireland: Climate Change

1. Environmental Issue in Ireland:Climate Change Colaiste Mhichil, Sexton Street, Limerick

3. Why We Chose This Project • We chose climate change because it is a major global issue and it is also affecting our lives and Ireland drastically. • Weather conditions have become unpredictable and our “seasons”are unrecogniseable in recent times. • Irelands mild winters and warm summers have now become freezing winters and wet summers due to changing climate. • In the summer of 2009 we had some the highest rainfall ever and the winter of 2010 brought snow and extreme cold. • Even members of our class have noticed climate change in their life time : • ‘I can only remember warm and sunny summers in Ireland during my childhood, but for the last 3 or 4 years it has been wet & gloomy all summer long. It has led to Irish people going abroad in search of sun instead of holidaying in Ireland’.Eoin • ‘When I was 7-12 years old, summer holidays were filled with sunshine and long warm days but due to climate change this is now a thing of the past. Time spent outside playing football and meeting friends have turned to staying inside, watching T.V. And playing video games.’ Adam.

4. School Holidays 2009 We expected sunshine and long warm evenings, days at the beach . Instead we got little sunshine and plenty rain

5. November 2009 Flooding NEWS PAPER HEADLINES Worst rainfall since records began! Summer in Ireland,2009: more drizzling than sizzling. Wettest year on record for some areas. Farmers warned of problems after floods. Climate change - a burning issue. 'There are families with nowhere to go for Christmas’ Met Éireann issues severe weather alert as increased risk of flooding likely.

6. Areas Effected

7. Statistics • In 2006 Ireland's total greenhouse emissions were 25.5% above 1990 levels. Our target was 13%. • Between 1890 and 2004 Ireland’s average temperature went up by 0.7 degrees Celsius. • Floods which wreaked havoc across Ireland in November were the worst since records began almost 150yrs ago. • Valentia Observatory recorded 360mm of total rainfall in one month. This was the highest in one month since 1886. • The rainfall for 2009 exceeded the highest previous annual total of 1923mm in 2002.

8. How people were effected The flooding had severe social and economic effects: • In some areas the water supply became contaminated by oil, slurry and sewage so clean drinking water was very scarce. • While the floods and heavy rainfall occurred we got some very cold conditions which led to ice. As a result, roads were destroyed with potholes and some crumbled to nothing. • With the water level being so high during the floods people got cut off and some people had to be air lifted out of their homes because the roads were inaccessible. • Businesses were badly affected by flood damage. People could not access the shops so the businesses lost money. • Many elderly people were isolated from friends, family and vital medical supplies. Aid had to be air lifted in to them. The farmers suffered the worst as their land was submerged by the flood waters. They had difficulty getting food for their livestock as it was scarce and expensive. Their winter stock of hay was destroyed and their winter tillage got washed away. Now that the flooding has drained away their land is worthless to them as it is still waterlogged.

9. December 2009/ January 2010 Snow • The months of December and January were the worst winter months since “The Big Snow” of 1982. Heavy levels of snow hit Ireland during this time. • Ireland lay in a very cold northerly airstream with widespread rain, sleet and snow. • The snow was a good setting for the festive season and gave much joy to some!

10. Road Accidents There were many road accidents because of the black ice on the roads during December and January. The Irish Government responded by gritting roads with salt and sand, but their stocks soon ran out. This caused people to be stuck in their homes and people in many rural areas were angry at the length of time they’d been waiting for their roads to be gritted.

11. Freezing Temperatures • Temperatures were well below normal throughout, with severe frost and freezing fog. The daytime temperatures did not rise above 0 degrees. • December was the coldest month in 28 years. The lowest temperatures were recorded in late December, when Mullingar's air and ground temperatures hit -10°C and -13° C respectively. This is very unusual for our climate.

12. Impact on People • Many people were stuck in their homes because of the freezing weather and icy paths. People in the rural areas were especially isolated as they did not live near any shops and had difficulty getting supplies. • People found it difficult to get to work or their local shop for food and other everyday essentials. • It was especially dangerous for elderly people. Our local hospital had 85 patients with fractured and broken limbs in the 24 hours of Christmas Day. This is the number of cases they would normally see in a week. • The freezing temperatures caused water pipes to burst which meant people were left without any water.

13. Impact On Schools • Many schools around the country decided to remain closed as a result of the adverse weather conditions. • To prevent accidents, Minister for Education, Mr. O’Keeffe officially postponed the reopening of schools. • Schools in urban areas such as Limerick city, not directly affected by snow and ice, also decided to remain closed because their pupils are travelling from outlying rural areas. • People who benefited from this were children. They enjoyed many hours of tobogganing, building snowmen and having snow fights.

14. Impact On Farming • Farmers lost a lot of money because of the snow. • Hundreds of sheep died in the Kerry Mountains . Many of them were in lamb. Farmers also found it difficult in trying to get fodder to flocks on the snow-covered hills and mountain slopes. • Potato farmers were also affected as the potatoes were frozen under the ground. It is said that 6,000 acres of potatoes across the country were unharvested. • Dairy farmers were forced to discard their milk because milk tankers could not reach them on the icy roads. This is a big loss for many farmers.

15. Impact of Climate Change on animal life • Between 20 and 50,000 dead star fish were washed up on Lissadell beach in Sligo. It was thought it was the result of a storm or freak wave • Dolphins as well as Minke whales have been spotted off the south west coast. The sea on the south west coast is getting warmer and these creatures are following the fish. • A 20m (65ft) long fin whale died on a west Cork beach after it became trapped on a sandbank.

16. Greenland White-fronted Geese • There has been an increase in the number of Greenland White-fronted geese migrating to Ireland for the Autumn and Winter. • Flocks of up to several hundred birds can be found in the counties of Donegal, Roscommon, Westmeath and Offaly. However, Wexford is their most important site in Ireland, hosting up to 10,000 birds. • Rising sea levels of climate change could rapidly invade many of the coastal margins, salt-marshes and estuarial mud-banks that have provided the traditional haunts of wildfowl.

17. What is causing this change? • People are responsible for much of this climate change • We are wasteful with our use of resources such as oil, gas, electricity. • We are careless with our waste • Our carbon footprint is greater than what it should be

19. Global Carbon Footprint

20. The Carbon Footprint of Our Class Information on global figures was taken from : Guardian.co.uk The students in our class calculated the carbon footprint of their families on www.change.ie. We calculated the class average and found that we are above the national average.

21. Our Thoughts on Climate Change We carried out a survey amongst the class and here is some of our thoughts on climate change: • Students are concerned that if we don’t deal with climate change then we will ruin our world • Students are angry that the people who have the power to stop ongoing climate change are not taking action to prevent further change. • Students are worried that their children and grand-children will have to suffer due to our carelessness. ‘It makes me feel worried for future generations. It won’t effect me but my kids and their kids will be effected by changing climate’. Wayne • We all are responsible for the world’s changing climate and now its time to make a change for the better. • We know that our carbon footprint is far too high and now it is time to change. But are we willing to change our habits ? • Our government was under-prepared for coping with the recent flooding and snowfall.

22. What Can We Do to Change ? We can reduce our carbon footprint by doing the following: • We can take showers instead of baths . • We can turn off the tap when brushing our teeth and only use water when necessary. • We can use renewable energies such as solar power, wind power and hydro-electricity. Our government must make a greater investment in these energies • Use C.F.L bulbs in our homes and work places. • We can turn off lights in rooms that are not in use. • We can pull out plugs when we’re not using appliances e.g television , computer , phone charger. • Turn down the heating thermostat in our homes by just a few degrees. • We can walk or cycle to school instead of unnecessary car journeys. • Recycle more of our waste • Buy products with small amounts of packaging • Buy hybrid cars or environmentally friendly cars. • It goes with without mention that all of the above will save us lots of money !