environment

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

Who are CHASE and why are they holding public meetings this month?
Who are CHASE and why are they holding public meetings this month?
Nearly 25 years ago waste management comapany Indaver applied for planning permission a hazardous and non-hazardous waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy, County Cork.  This was refused permission by Cork County Council and then appealed to An Bórd Pleanála. There was considerable opposition including from environmental campaign group Chase. Oral hearings and court proceedings ensued and permission was eventually refused. This application has now been reactivated. We put some questions to CHASE...

Mon, 03 Nov, 2025

Cork water: EPA's approval of Uisce Éireann action plan challenged in High Court
Cork water: EPA's approval of Uisce Éireann action plan challenged in High Court
Residents are being 'misled' that clear water is safe, and manganese levels are above safety limits, according to the legal challenge

Sun, 02 Nov, 2025

Kerry councillors condemn approval for commercial salmon farm to continue, despite serious breaches
Kerry councillors condemn approval for commercial salmon farm to continue, despite serious breaches
The licence was revoked in 2019 when it was found to have harvested twice the allowed tonnes of salmon in 2016

Fri, 31 Oct, 2025

Flat Lay of Shattered Pumpkins After the Exciting Pumpkin Drop Event
Ireland’s frightening Halloween habit is a curse that can be broken by sustainable choices
Nature’s décor is unbeatable: fallen leaves, pinecones, bare branches, and candlelight (ideally in a glass jar rather than a plastic skull). They’re biodegradable, beautiful, and cost nothing

Wed, 29 Oct, 2025

‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head
‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head
‘Devastating consequences’ now inevitable but emissions cuts still vital, says António Guterres in sole interview before Cop30

Tue, 28 Oct, 2025

Empty chair at wedding ceremony
Something borrowed, something green: How I found a sustainable wedding dress
Weddings can generate significant waste. Studies estimate an average Irish wedding produces 10–20 kilograms of plastic from decorations, catering, and more, though this varies by event size and style

Sat, 25 Oct, 2025

Call for end to 'light touch' enforcement in wake of country's biggest ever fish kill
Call for end to 'light touch' enforcement in wake of country's biggest ever fish kill
Salmon Watch Ireland believes the EPA, the IFI, and the Marine Institute were overwhelmed by the scale of the fish kill on the Blackwater River in Cork

Thu, 23 Oct, 2025

Prosecutions fall despite rise in enforcement actions against environmental breaches in 2024
Prosecutions fall despite rise in enforcement actions against environmental breaches in 2024
The EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement director, Dr Tom Ryan, said: 'This report shows that most local authorities are responding to the challenge, but some are lagging behind and need to do better.'

Thu, 23 Oct, 2025

Draining sewage from pipe into river, pollution rivers and ecology.
Mick Clifford: Our rivers are not the only places to have been polluted under the IFI
It seems there has been a complete disregard for the protection of rivers and lakes under Inland Fisheries Ireland, writes Mick Clifford

Mon, 20 Oct, 2025

I am almost done!
Rake expectations: should we be picking up leaves at all?
Leaves aren't litter — they’re the forest’s own recycling system, a slow-release nutrient pack designed to feed soil life and shelter small creatures through the colder months. When they decompose, they release essential nutrients, improve soil structure, and even help lock away a little carbon

Fri, 17 Oct, 2025

Skims’ Ultimate Bush Knickers: The fashion trend no one asked for
Skims’ Ultimate Bush Knickers: The fashion trend no one asked for
Let’s consider the obvious: women have been wearing underwear for centuries — briefs, boyshorts, high-cuts, thongs, you name it. The idea that we now need an undergarment featuring fake pubic hair feels like a satirical sketch from 'Saturday Night Live', not a serious offering from a billion-dollar brand, writes Pat Kane, founder of Reuzi

Thu, 16 Oct, 2025

Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds
Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds
Analysis of 800,000 European cars found real-world pollution from plug-in hybrids nearly five times greater than lab tests

Thu, 16 Oct, 2025

Bitumen spillage forced Cork City water treatment plant to close for 12 hours during summer
Bitumen spillage forced Cork City water treatment plant to close for 12 hours during summer
The facility provides drinking water to a population of almost 144,000 in Cork City and the wider Cork Harbour area

Wed, 15 Oct, 2025

A large number of different human footprints in the sand, background
Rethinking carbon footprints
By focusing public attention on individual choices, your commute, your cup of coffee, your weekend city break, the 'carbon footprint' campaign diverted scrutiny from the systemic scale of fossil fuel extraction and combustion

Fri, 10 Oct, 2025

Revealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a day
Revealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a day
Investigation shows extent of green land lost across UK and mainland Europe to development from 2018 to 2023

Wed, 01 Oct, 2025

Inadequate State response to fish kill resulted in lack of evidence, committee hears  
Inadequate State response to fish kill resulted in lack of evidence, committee hears  
The Oireachtas committee on climate, environment, and energy heard from a series of witnesses

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Petrol costs
Households pay more than half of €5.5bn in environmental taxes collected last year
Each year, the rate of carbon tax rises by €7.50 per tonne, aiming to reach €100 per tonne by 2030

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Image of modern fireplace, woodburning stove, coal buckets, log basket
Indoor wood burners cause damage 'in a similar way to cigarette smoke' 
Study links the growing popularity of domestic wood burning to lung damage

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Irish Examiner view: We need monitoring tech in the wake of Blackwater fish kill disaster
Irish Examiner view: We need monitoring tech in the wake of Blackwater fish kill disaster
EPA and Inland Fisheries Ireland should heed Cork County Council's proposal on water quality monitoring

Mon, 29 Sep, 2025

Blackwater fish kill: Angling clubs 'appalled' at report's failure to find culprit
Blackwater fish kill: Angling clubs 'appalled' at report's failure to find culprit
Multi-agency taskforce's failure to identify the cause of the State’s biggest fish kill described as 'shocking and unacceptable' 

Fri, 26 Sep, 2025

Book review: Greed and duplicity pollutes our politics and environment
Book review: Greed and duplicity pollutes our politics and environment
The Irish farm and food lobby enjoys an incredible, anti-democratic influence, that has had a disastrous and escalating impact on our countryside, our waterways, and our mountains

Fri, 19 Sep, 2025

Autumn weather Nov 18th 2021
Global water cycle is more erratic and harder to predict, UN scientists warn
Last year was the sixth in a row to show an erratic cycle and the third where all glacier regions reported ice loss

Thu, 18 Sep, 2025

Asian Hornet: 24 verified sightings of invasive species which can 'wreak havoc'
Asian Hornet: 24 verified sightings of invasive species which can 'wreak havoc'
Two nests have been discovered in Cork

Wed, 10 Sep, 2025

Second Asian hornet nest removed in Cork as NPWS rules out breeding risk
Second Asian hornet nest removed in Cork as NPWS rules out breeding risk
NPWS rangers removed two Asian hornet nests in Cork, saying no queens survived, preventing the invasive species from breeding

Tue, 09 Sep, 2025

Council calls for reopening of hatchery to combat Cork fish kill
Council calls for reopening of hatchery to combat Cork fish kill
Search is still on to identify cause of death of an estimated 50,000 fish

Tue, 09 Sep, 2025

Shocking indifference to catastrophic Blackwater pollution is a sign of the times
Shocking indifference to catastrophic Blackwater pollution is a sign of the times
The Blackwater fish kill is part ecological disaster, part culture war, part climate change confrontation and, worst of all, a gross denial of responsibility

Fri, 05 Sep, 2025

Blackwater disaster: EPA finds no link between discharges and fish kill
Blackwater disaster: EPA finds no link between discharges and fish kill
Environmental Protection Agency has not identified a causal link between discharges and the disastrous fish kill in the Blackwater and Clyda rivers

Wed, 03 Sep, 2025

Mating Ned Devine? The New Zealand snail turned global celebrity
Mating Ned Devine? The New Zealand snail turned global celebrity
"Most snail shells spiral clockwise, but Ned’s curves the other way — an unusual genetic quirk found in roughly one in around 40,000 snails."

Mon, 01 Sep, 2025

Woman listening music with her mobile phone in first snow
Local radio stations ask young listeners to help them record sounds of nature in Ireland
16 local radio stations will consult with schools and youth groups on the collaboration with climate scientists at Harvard and Copenhagen universities

Sun, 31 Aug, 2025

Asian Giant Hornet - Vespa Mandarinia
Small but deadly: Asian hornets that have arrived in Ireland can pack a powerful punch
Less than an inch long, the invasive species of predatory wasps — a nest of them was discovered in Cork recently — can be deadly to humans and honeybees alike

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025

Asian hornet from Catalonia - portrait
Search ongoing in Cork for further nests of Asian hornets
Wildlife experts continue to scour the undisclosed location where a nest of the potentially deadly invasive wasp was found

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025

Driver Delivering Online Grocery Order
Donal Hickey: Food waste is a big problem for our pockets and for the planet
When food is wasted, all the resources used in bringing food to our tables are wasted too. Reducing your food waste is a key action you can take to help the environment and save money too

Thu, 28 Aug, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Robot trees try to clear the air as they say goodbye in exit interview
S Michael Moynihan: Robot trees try to clear the air as they say goodbye in exit interview
Michael Moynihan sits down with the robot trees for a root and branch review of their time in Cork

Thu, 28 Aug, 2025

Watch: Chemical spill suspected to be cause of Cork's River Blackwater fish kill disaster
Watch: Chemical spill suspected to be cause of Cork's River Blackwater fish kill disaster
Test results are due this week to establish the cause of pollution that killed an estimated 50,000 fish in the Munster Blackwater

Tue, 26 Aug, 2025

Irish Examiner view: A new battle begins in the United States
Irish Examiner view: A new battle begins in the United States
Battle lines are being drawn as Donald Trump's administration seeks to tighten its authoritarian grip on the US by sending national guard troops into Washington DC

Tue, 26 Aug, 2025

Improvement in litter levels at Cork's Blackrock Castle but Dingle slips down ranking
Improvement in litter levels at Cork's Blackrock Castle but Dingle slips down ranking
Aome 50% of beaches and waterways surveyed had improved their litter status to 'clean', the annual survey of coasts and inland waterways by business group Irish Business Against Litter found

Mon, 25 Aug, 2025

Sunny background, blue sky with white clouds and bright sun
'Urgent action' needed to protect workers from heat stress in warming world, UN says
Worker productivity drops by 2% to 3% for every degree above 20C, the report said

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

River Blackwater disaster: 'I have seen fish infections before but nothing like this'
River Blackwater disaster: 'I have seen fish infections before but nothing like this'
Anglers describe heartbreak, fear and frustration as a mass fish kill devastates the River Blackwater and threatens its future

Wed, 20 Aug, 2025

Irish Examiner view: Blackwater fish kill is nothing short of an ecological disaster
Irish Examiner view: Blackwater fish kill is nothing short of an ecological disaster
First reported in the 'Irish Examiner' last week, the suspected fungal infection outbreak is a catastrophe that clearly demands urgent action

Wed, 20 Aug, 2025

FAMILY Family Column 5
Action needed on plastic additives linked to sperm decline, experts warn
Amid collapse of global pollution treaty, scientists highlight environmental factors causing fertility crisis

Tue, 19 Aug, 2025

Nature restoration will need farmers, family farms, and grazing animals, so where is the funding?
Nature restoration will need farmers, family farms, and grazing animals, so where is the funding?
Farmers need to feel that they are part of the nature restoration journey, and need to be paid for their work, writes Malcolm Noonan

Tue, 19 Aug, 2025

A year in the woods — with its community of wildlife
A year in the woods — with its community of wildlife
An extract from Paul Clements' book about a year spent in a cottage on the grounds of Montalto in County Down

Mon, 18 Aug, 2025

Beautiful Sunset Reflection Over The Water Lough Erne Enniskillen
Letters to the Editor: We have the competence to resolve housing and environmental issues
The Government cannot do everything but, if our democracy is to remain valid, it must do much better on issues that go to the heart of life in Ireland

Mon, 18 Aug, 2025

A close-up of a clean-up volunteer wearing protective gloves and holding small pieces of microplastic pollution on a beach.
What are nurdles and why are they polluting our oceans?
Buoyant, the size of a lentil and almost impossible to recover, millions of the tiny plastic pellets are being washed up on the coast of Kerala in India in the latest in a series of global spills

Sat, 16 Aug, 2025

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