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environment

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>An audit by the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that Uisce Éireann became aware that a bitumen-type liquid had entered the raw water sumps at the Cork Harbour and City Water Treatment Plant at Inniscarra, Co Cork on August 28. File picture: Maurice O'Mahony</p>

munster

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

<p>Dr Michelle McKeown: "In 2004, BP (formerly British Petroleum) amplified the term through a glossy marketing campaign centred around an online 'carbon footprint calculator'. Suddenly, climate responsibility had a personal, almost confessional dimension. You, dear consumer, were being asked, how guilty are you? It was a masterstroke of corporate sleight of hand."</p>

outdoors

Rethinking carbon footprints

<p>A windfarm is being built at almost 2000m altitude, in a previously roadless area of Mount Vermio in northern Greece. Picture: Nick Paleologos/Reporters United</p>

spotlight

Revealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a day

Inadequate State response to fish kill resulted in lack of evidence, committee hears

munster

Inadequate State response to fish kill resulted in lack of evidence, committee hears

Petrol costs

news

Households pay more than half of €5.5bn in environmental taxes collected last year

Image of modern fireplace, woodburning stove, coal buckets, log basket

news

Indoor wood burners cause damage 'in a similar way to cigarette smoke'

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

Wildfires in Spain

Temperature records broken as extreme heat grips parts of Europe

Unprecedented temperatures causing difficulties in south-west France, Croatia, Italy and Spain with wildfire destruction across Europe up 87%

Wed, 13 Aug, 2025

Fish kill probe as 1,000 brown trout wiped out in River Blackwater

Fish kill probe as 1,000 brown trout wiped out in River Blackwater

The impacted area is an 8km stretch of the river between Mallow and Roskeen Bridge in Lombardstown Co Cork

Tue, 12 Aug, 2025

Remembering Glenbower Lake — and keening its loss

Remembering Glenbower Lake — and keening its loss

Coming up... a celebration of the six-acre East Cork lake at Glenbower Woods which was drained nearly four decades ago

Mon, 11 Aug, 2025

Water stock

West Cork holiday spots hit by water restrictions

Uisce Éireann is restricting night-time supplies to Lisheens, Baltimore, Sherkin Island, Ballydehob, Schull, and Heir Island

Thu, 07 Aug, 2025

Plastic pollution disposable gloves and sea turtle

Why the world is divided on plastic as UN treaty talks underway

The volume of plastic in the world and the scientific record of its risks keep rising

Thu, 07 Aug, 2025

Father and son recycling together in the backyard

Julie Jay: It’s hard to think of anything more harmful to the planet than being a parent

Before having kids, I was all about saving the planet, but now as a parent my eco-warrior approach has become a little more compromised

Tue, 05 Aug, 2025

Woman hands applying sunscreen, with the beach in the background

Sun, sea and a slippery slope: What your sunscreen isn’t telling you

Oxybenzone, in particular, is toxic to juvenile corals even at concentrations as low as 62 parts per trillion. This is the equivalent to a single drop in six and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools

Fri, 01 Aug, 2025

litter washed up on a beach in county cork, ireland.

A global treaty to limit plastic pollution is within reach — will countries seize the moment?

Representatives from 175 countries will convene in Geneva next month for crucial negotiations on a UN treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution

Thu, 24 Jul, 2025

Ulster bonfires

The environmental cost of Northern Ireland’s bonfires

In the face of climate change and public health challenges, questions are being raised, not just about what these bonfires stand for, but what they’re doing to the environment we all share

Fri, 18 Jul, 2025

Cork-Limerick motorway will have 'devastating consequences' for farmland, claims group

Cork-Limerick motorway will have 'devastating consequences' for farmland, claims group

Cork-Limerick Alliance Group say the proposed M20 will result in demolition of 20 homes and prove costly to the taxpayer

Sun, 13 Jul, 2025

Pádraic Fogarty: There are signs of positive change at Wild Nephin

S Pádraic Fogarty: There are signs of positive change at Wild Nephin

Far from being ‘unspoiled’, the landscape has been seriously degraded over many decades by a combination of sheep grazing, turf-cutting and plantation forestry — but now there are encouraging signs of renewal notes ecologist Pádraic Fogarty

Sun, 13 Jul, 2025

Fish kill in Cork's Douglas River wiped out 1,500 trout and eels

Fish kill in Cork's Douglas River wiped out 1,500 trout and eels

Inland Fisheries Ireland is investigating the cause of the pollution which was brought to their attention by a member of the public

Thu, 10 Jul, 2025

Ireland

Pádraic Fogarty: U-turn shows Government is unwilling to protect Ireland's sea creatures

Micheál Martin's government has paid lip service to establishing new marine protected areas but the recent backflip on the bill and his government's failure to legislate to exclude large trawlers from coastal waters has increased the public's frustration

Wed, 09 Jul, 2025

Planters replace Cork’s controversial 'robotrees' after €444,000 spend

Planters replace Cork’s controversial 'robotrees' after €444,000 spend

Cork’s robotree saga officially ends as the council replaces the devices with flower planters after spending €444,000

Fri, 04 Jul, 2025

TOPSHOT-SPAIN-WEATHER-HEAT

Spain records highs of 46C and France under alert as Europe swelters in heatwave

Extreme heat ‘the new normal’, says UN chief, as authorities across the continent issue health warnings

Mon, 30 Jun, 2025

‘Extinction crisis’ could see 500 bird species vanish within a century – report

‘Extinction crisis’ could see 500 bird species vanish within a century – report

Researchers say urgent conservation efforts will be needed to mitigate the ‘shocking statistic’ that threatens to unravel ecosystems

Tue, 24 Jun, 2025

Elaine Loughlin: Ireland’s broken infrastructure is no longer someone else’s problem

Elaine Loughlin: Ireland’s broken infrastructure is no longer someone else’s problem

Warnings about catastrophic infrastructure failures are now impossible to ignore — even the quietest experts are raising their voices

Sat, 21 Jun, 2025

Michelle McKeown: Can we feed the world and save it too?

Michelle McKeown: Can we feed the world and save it too?

Rather than choosing organic everywhere or intensification somewhere, many scientists now advocate for a sustainable intensification approach: combining ecological practices with modern science and technology

Fri, 20 Jun, 2025