A PIECE of salted ling, barely visible among many common and even exotic species in the fish department of Cork’s throbbing English market the other day, evoked memories.

WE could yet pay a high price for failing to protect nature sites.

ON a wet, overcast day in late October, the impression might be that we get hardly any sunshine. But, solar energy in Ireland is not a myth and we are not short of solar energy resources.

THE huge basking shark is the latest creature to be seen moving northwards, another case of wildlife responding to climate changes.

IT'S been a season of mellow fruitfulness, with juicy blackberries, especially, growing in profusion and tasting very good indeed.

A GLANCE at people coming out of supermarkets these days gives an insight into changing attitudes towards waste: the plastic shopping bag has all but disappeared.

HARD to believe in an era when items from our past are disappearing by the day that more than 100,000 industrial sites from previous centuries still survive.

THE mysterious world beneath the waves is a continuing source of fascination which, through the use of ever-improving technology, is giving up more of its secrets.

FARMERS are often described as custodians of the environment, but that’s not always true. They could have an even more important future role as custodians — with more financial sweeteners being given to farmers that do most for our landscape, which has already suffered so much destruction.

THE summer just past was one of the best in living memory for drying turf.