LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Farmers’ climate efforts will take time to filter through

EDITOR – I must say I found Tony Lowes’ recent letter from Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) both interesting and understanding towards farming, which was not a surprise coming from an environmental organisation located in West Cork. 

I fully agree with Mr Lowes about the impact of nitrous oxide as a lethal greenhouse gas pollutant. However, those of us who have served our time in farming would probably be more aware than Mr Lowes about current measures being taken and the huge progress that Irish farmers are now making in curtailing all types of emissions. Unfortunately, results from those efforts will take a few years to achieve results leading to a substantial reduction in farm emissions. 

This will apply in particular to nitrous oxide with the use of protected urea which has been treated with a urease inhibitor which prevents the conversion of urea to ammonium. 

Studies investigating the performance of protected urea versus calcium ammonium nitrate have shown the same yield output but with vastly lower N2O emissions, which is in sharp contrast to the 40% under-reported emissions claimed in Mr Lowes’ letter.

Many of us continuously wonder why environmental and climate action groups don’t target the predominant world polluters, especially China, which is reputed to have emitted almost 30% of all global emissions in 2021, in contrast to 0.100 reported for Ireland in 2021.

China has an embassy in Dublin. Yet I can’t recall ever seeing a climate change protest outside the Chinese embassy in Dublin. 

In addition, it’s also important to highlight who FIE are. I believe Friends of the Irish Environment is a non-profit company limited by guarantee and a charity registered in Ireland that receives annual core funding from the Department of Environment, Communications and Climate Change, via the Irish Environmental Network.

According to FIE, a legal challenge against the current government is about to commence on November 6th. 

This is an extraordinary situation where FIE is funded by the Irish taxpayer and yet, is still prepared to take a legal challenge against the Irish Government, allegedly over its failure to meet its legal obligations on climate change.

Surely it would be reasonable for any taxpayer to expect that their elected representatives who form the serving government would ensure that any organisation pursuing a legal claim against a serving government would be permanently banned from all future government funding.

Diarmuid Cohalan,

Ballinhassig,

Co Cork

Sad to see renewal of war in Middle East

EDITOR – It is very sad to see a renewal of war in Palestine and Israel resulting in thousands of civilians dead and injured again on both sides of this 76-year conflict. 

Israel’s stated aim is to occupy ‘all of the lands between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean sea’, thus ethnically cleansing the indigenous Palestinians from their native land. Gaza, with a population of two million, is the world’s largest open area prison, blockaded by Israel, and the Palestinian West Bank is under Israeli military control.  

Israel’s colonial intent is enabled with the support of a compliant US administration which bends to the will of the wealthy and powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Israel’s far-right government has been ruthlessly escalating its ethnic cleansing, siege, killings, incarceration, and daily humiliation of millions of indigenous Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

It believed that its unmasked brutality would force Palestinians to simply surrender and accept oppression as a fate worse than death.

Don Teegan,

Union Hall,

Co Cork

Two sides to every conflict – even this one

EDITOR – I spent more than 30 years with United Nations peacekeeping operations. I have served with various UN missions in the Middle East. Let me begin by stating – I am totally opposed to violence. We should bear in mind almost daily incursions into Gaza by Israeli forces.  

These incursions target individuals or buildings. Many are killed, including innocent bystanders. Similar incursions also take place into the West Bank.In addition, airstrikes are carried out on targets, not only in Gaza, but also in Lebanon and Syria – often resulting in deaths of civilians.

Furthermore, Israeli ‘settlers’ have begun unprovoked attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank – killing and injuring many civilians. Destroying crops and homes, with the ultimate intention of forcing the Palestinians off their land. Possible ethnic cleansing. The ongoing failure of Israeli governments to reach a negotiated settlement with Palestinians has contributed to the situation. There are two sides to each story.  

But I would also ask the question – who approved a music festival so close to Gaza?An obvious target, surely.

Michael Moriarty,

Rochestown,

Cork

Misplaced ideology is hindering Barryroe site

EDITOR – Ireland is not very rich in natural resources. The Corrib gasfield was eventually developed after much opposition. The source of gas has proved vital to the country over the last two years. Misplaced ideology is now stopping the development of the Barryroe oil and gas field off the coast of Cork. In non-joined-up thinking, we are now importing oil from Saudi Arabia. In non-joined-up thinking, we are now at the mercy of the wind blowing every day. We have no back-up plan.  Transport, agriculture and heating will, for many more years, be dependent on fossil fuels. The green lobby are not able to manage growing trees.

Hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels has not yet been developed, but we have to live in the real world now. 

Michael Hallissey, 

Bandon