Sparks fly as minister and students talk energy

THERE were plenty of sparks flying yesterday when Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte picked the brains of students who have their own ideas about tackling climate change and promoting energy efficiency.

The minister, had been invited to Dublin Castle to present finalists in the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) search for One Good Idea with their prizes but surprised organisers by spending a lot more time quizzing the students.

Almost 1,000 students from 82 secondary schools had entered the competition and Mr Rabbitte spent the best part of an hour examining the work of the 20 projects showcased at the national final and talking to the students involved.

“Students at almost every project mentioned that their peers do not have an especially high awareness of climate change issues and explained why they are so concerned about the future of the planet,” said Mr Rabbitte.

“It is important that we do promote better awareness about our lifestyles, the way we live and the waste of energy and the implications of that,” he said.

The minister commended the SEAI for the work it did in encouraging more sustainable energy structures, technologies in and practices but warned that there was still a way to go to changing people’s attitudes.

“We are still contending with a great deal of ignorance in our society, laziness and a certain amount of selfishness as well: that energy savings and conservation are for others to achieve, not them,” he said.

The overall winner of the competition, now in its third year, was Loreto Secondary School, Balbriggan, for their project Tree to One.

The school’s biology and science teacher, Olivia Derwin, said students had worked hard to raise awareness of trees among primary school pupils and how they should be embraced as carbon sinks.

“They have created a teachers’ pack and that has been sent to all of the schools they visited that can help them organise an annual tree awareness week every year,” she pointed out.

Fourth-year student, Deirdre Harford, said they used both the print and broadcast media to highlight the important issue of deforestation and climate change.

“It was a very difficult project because we were working with younger students. Everything had to be pre-arranged and timed perfectly,” she said.

Senior runner-up winners were students from Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí for their project, Green Snake Movement, that raised awareness about the use of game consoles.

One of the students, Laura Ní Orgáin, said they found the Nintendo Wii uses 11 times less energy than the Playstation 3, the least energy-efficient game console available at the moment.

“Unfortunately, most young people own a Playstation 3. We can’t stop them playing console games but we can urge them to buy the Wii,” she said.