There are now ? privately owned cars in the Republic of Ireland, with CO2 emissions and other greenhouse and poisonous gases coming out of the exhausts. In an effort to reduce these emissions, and reduce Ireland's fines, the government has introduced a scrappage scheme for 2010. Encouraging people to trade in their old bangers could go someway towards this - but let's look at the potential problems of relying on this.......

  1. When the car is traded in, it MUST be destroyed, so adding to the junk in this country - it is possible that some of the vehicle could have been recycled, but probably won't be now! It is not an option to take the car to a scrapyard for dismantling.
  2. The energy required to get raw materials out of the ground, shipped to the manufacturing plants to make the parts, bodywok, electics, etc. will be enormous, and probably a lot more than keeping that old banger on the road for another year.
  3. The energy required to ship the finished new car into Ireland will also be substantial.
  4. Garages who specialise in repairing old cars will have a reduced income.
  5. As we neither make parts nor assemble vehicles, we are actually helping foreign companies, not Irish.

So, even if your car is 10 years old, don't automatically think that scrapping it is the way to go, especially if it's a 2nd car in the family, and doesn't get used very much.

 

Personal transport can be in many forms. We should all make a conscious effort to reduce our personally attributable emissions.

  • 27th July 2007 - Stephen Sitch of the Met Office told Reuters that, against previously agreed scientific assumptions that increasing CO2 in the atmosphere would increase plant growth and thus increase CO2 absorption, high levels of traffic-created street-level ozone that we are seeing actually reduces the ability of plants to absorb carbon dioxide, and actually stunts plant growth. Due to this latest news, we can expect global temperatures to increase by between 2.4 and 6.4 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, far bigger increases than our current expectations.

So, if you're travelling into a city, try to use public transport, park and ride, or car share to get there, at off-peak times to avoid congestion (which increases ozone levels significantly when traffic is going nowhere, but still creating emissions).

Dublin is especially congested, so take a look at the www.freeflow.ie website to attempt to alleviate some of this. Many modes of transport are covered on this site, with Luas, DART and rail timetables online.

September 22nd was World Car Free Day. Did you use an alternative? It wasn't well publicised, so probably not.

A planning application has been made in Dublin (October 2007) for a billboard company to supply free bicycles in return for advertising hoardings. Could be the start of something good - other European cities have managed to do this, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality and public health at the same time.

Using the following 'hierarchy' will help you make a more informed choice to get to where you want to go, or even if you need to make the journey at all. Try to factor in more than one purpose for the journey, so call in at the shops on your way home, or take the empties to the recycling centre. Visit a friend while you're out for the day. If you must use your own vehicle, then remove the roof rack and box when not in use, don't tow a trailer 'just in case', and empty the boot of unnecessary stuff.

  • Shanks' Pony (walking)
  • Bicycle
  • Motorised 2-wheels
  • Small energy-efficient car
  • Family saloon
  • Estate car
  • SUV
  • Van
  • Truck
  • Tractor

But of course, there may be other options that you haven't even considered, or may need to use. Check out public or shared transport, and park-and-ride schemes. Get your children to walk to school if close enough, and if the roads have footpaths - this reduces the congestion on the road and gives your children exercise too. If the car is the only option, see if there are other children in the area who could carshare.

  • Bus
  • Train
  • Ferry
  • Plane

It may be that your work takes you abroad for meetings, conferences or training. When travelling by plane, try to offset your emissions by planting a tree, or donating to an organisation that will do so (or get your company to do this). The CO2 released by air transport is higher in the air than that of other ground-based transport. Consequently, 1kg of air-travel CO2 is equivalent to 2.7kg of land-based emissions (Open University). I did hear, but I can't remember where, that flying during daylight rather than darkness reduces very slightly the impact - something to do with the Sun's energy and some chemical reaction. Watch this space for details. 

Of course, everyone enjoys (and deserves) a holiday in sunny climes, and you don't have to cut that out of your plans. But, consider your transport options and the impact your trip might be having. Most of the fuel on a flight is burned during take-off and landing, so the actual distance doesn't make that much of a difference. Taking one holiday of longer duration has less of an impact than several shorter ones.

If you prefer to take weekend breaks - perhaps you're self-employed and can't afford to take time off - there are many activity holidays available in Ireland that you and your family could enjoy. Climbing, horse-riding, sailing, fishing to name a few. Or just enjoy our beautiful Irish landscapes, so you can appreciate what your stewardship is protecting. Apparently, plans are afoot to re-open some of the tow-paths along canals in and around the Dublin area, for cyclists, walkers, horse-riders and disabled access will also be provided (watch this space for updates).

Once you're at your destination, be it home, work or on holiday, think about your long-term health. It is advised that you walk (briskly) for 30 minutes every day. Think about how you can achieve this.

  • Leave your car a bit further away in the car park
  • Use stairs rather than the lift
  • Go 'the long way round' to your next meeting

 

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