Copenhagen and Carlow

All eyes should be on Copenhagen, as leaders from 190 countries gather to try to thrash out a workable treaty to deal with the immense challenges presented by climate change. One of the earliest theories of global warming was put forward in 1824 by the French physicist Joseph Fourier, who explained that gases in the Earth’s atmosphere can trap heat like a glasshouse – the “greenhouse effect”. In 1861 John Tyndall, born in Leighlin Bridge County Carlow, published a work on heat radiation. He was an ordnance survey and railway engineer who studied physics in Britain and Germany (under Bunsen, of burner fame) and became a celebrated mountaineer, touring with Darwin’s right-hand man T.H.Huxley and making the first ascent of the Weisshorn in the Swiss Alps. He showed that water vapour and other gases combine to create the greenhouse effect: “This aqueous vapour is a blanket more necessary to the vegetable life of England than clothing is to a man”.

Tyndall was one of the pioneers of climate science, and is remembered today through the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester. His early work spawned a vast body of research involving chemists, physicists, geographers, oceanographers, geologists, botanists, naturalists and just about any branch of science that you can think of. The unanimity of these scientists is almost total. The Earth is warming, potentially very dangerously. Ten of the thirteen hottest years on record have been since 1995. The planet is at a temperature level not seen for 1300 years, and is overwhelmingly likely to get hotter over the next century. Yes, there is a cyclical element in the rise and fall of global temperature, but this rise is very largely caused by man through use of carbon-emitting fossil fuels to power our industrial revolution and economic growth since the mid-18th century.

There is a general consensus that a 2C rise is the largest that can be safely absorbed by life on Earth and human society. That is what Copenhagen is trying to guarantee, with countries pledging to reduce carbon emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020 This is a worthy goal and achievable if we adopt sustainable sources of energy (wind, water, waves, geo-thermal) or even nuclear power. In itself the consensus is that 20% is not sufficient to contain warming to 2C. Cuts of up to 80% on 1990 levels will have to be implemented within a generation, not easy when there are ”developing countries” wanting to ape the lifestyle of the materially prosperous, energy-greedy west. American and Chinese (and others’) pledges to cut emissions are currently way short of the short-term minimum requirement of 20%.

If you are a climate-change sceptic, or even a denier, then ask yourself if you are being rational. The unanimity of scientific judgement is so great, that to reject it without pointing to creditable research is no longer a valid position to hold. Yes, there is a small chance that tens of thousands of scientists are wrong, that they have colluded to mislead the public, that almost every government is deluded into backing the “20 by 2020” call. If they are wrong, then we should still take the chance to make changes to our lifestyle that will make a decent standard of life and living possible around the globe once fossil fuels run out in a few decades. Changes for sustainability need to be made anyway.

If moderate climate change opinion is right, we will all have to make adjustments to our lifestyle and to our values. Can we any longer place individual and national freedom above other considerations? Global standards and rules will be needed to get emissions to sustainable levels. Personal freedom to pursue economic growth and wealth is perhaps a value that is increasingly out of place in the new global reality. That doyenne of free-market capitalism and personal freedom, Margaret Thatcher, was herself a chemist by training, and as long ago as 1989 told the UN that “we are seeing a vast increase in the amount of carbon dioxide reaching the atmosphere. The result is that change in future is likely to be more fundamental and more widespread than anything we have known hitherto”.

Climate change events are being held around Ireland this coming week. Try Kinnity Co, Offaly this Sunday (13th Dec) at 5.00pm. Show support for what more and more people are realising has to be done.

The Director of the Tyndall Research Centre, Prof. Kevin Anderson, has warned this week that 20% cuts are now simply token gestures. Global carbon dioxide emissions will peak much later than anticipated and will be reduced far too late for temperatures to be held at a mere 2C rise. He thinks we are almost inevitably on course for a 4-6C rise. This is a catastrophic scenario for human society and global life.

Volunteering and Community

It has been a memorable November for the Cabragh Wetlands Trust. The Star gave great coverage to our manager, Michael Long, who was awarded top prize in the environment category at the Ireland Involved Awards Night in Dublin, where prizes were presented by the President. Michael must take much of the credit for the expanding range of activities at the Wetlands Centre, and thoroughly deserved his moment of fame!

This week a group of us attended an Awards evening in Kilcommon Hall, where the North Tipperary Community and Voluntary Association (CAVA) Awards for 2009 were presented. The guest of honour, our MEP Alan Kelly, spoke about how CAVA was his favourite organization, because it is there to encourage, support and recognise the importance of work done by volunteers in local communities. Voluntary work is at the heart of do much that is good in our society today, and as we approach a very unsettled period in history, with climate change, economic downturn and many other problems threatening our futures, there is more and more recognition that the way forward has to be through local action and voluntary involvement.

Have we become too reliant on governments and local councils to tell us what to do? If more of us had the initiative to tackle problems in our communities by direct involvement and local leadership, the world would quickly be a much better place. One of the best ways of defining the difference between man and other species is that humans are working and creative animals, but we live in a period of history where we have been slowly transformed into consumers of the goods produced by others. Are we in danger of losing our creativity and independence as a result?

Think about your own community. Talk to friends and see what you can identify that could be improved by collective participation. The Cabragh Wetlands Trust came together to conserve an area of outstanding natural interest that was under threat. Do you have something similar in your area? Perhaps there is some old woodland that needs protection, or some waste ground that could be transformed with a bit of local effort. Non-environmental issues may be your concern – supporting local businesses, a farmers’ cooperative, preserving a village shop or local school, provision of cycle routes, help for the disabled or disadvantaged. Over the next twenty years, energy will be a massive issue for all of us. Is there something that could be done to provide renewable energy to your community? Could your local river be harnessed to produce power via a small water turbine? Can wind be used? Friends of mine bought a house in 1949, used a little windmill (about a metre across) on a ten foot pole to power a generator and spent the last 50 years of their lives using their own free and renewable electricity to run the house. Why not do this at a community level?

The possibilities are endless. Already we see farmers’ markets and allotments flourishing, as people recognize the need to take more control of their own lives and their own communities. If we all make sure our own piece of the planet is in good order, the threats we face in the coming century will be much reduced.

CAVA is there to help, developing networks of similar groups, providing training, helping with funding, empowering people, promoting equality and social inclusion, providing a forum where ideas can be shared and issues discussed, lobbying on behalf of member organizations to influence policy at all levels of government. You can contact CAVA at the Council Offices in Nenagh. Find a way to get involved and make use of this excellent organization

Floods

Flooding is a pretty serious issue at the moment, and our sympathy goes out to anyone suffering as a result of the terrible floods that have hit so much of the country. While the extent of the damage is catastrophic for some, it is not entirely unexpected. At this time of year very heavy rains have been the norm for some time now, and if the climate change predictions are right, things will get worse in the coming decades, with winter rainfall in this part of the country predicted to rise by about 20% by the middle of the century. More reasons to re-evaluate how we live and what we can do to reduce our carbon footprints.

Needless to say, flooding per se is not necessarily a bad thing. It has a positive role to play in shaping and managing the natural world. At present Cabragh Wetlands has put on her winter clothes. The swollen River Suir and the Killough stream, following lines of least resistance, are pouring water into Cabragh Wetlands. In a matter of days the landscape has been transformed from a place with a variety of foliage to a watery landscape with sparse clumps of protruding vegetation.

As is the way of nature, the availability of food generally coincides with the arrival of waders from the North to join our resident birds. Waders like greylag geese, whooper swans, wigeon, teal, and mallard duck, lapwing and curlew can be heard singing excitedly in their watery abodes. The source of their excitement is the emergence of food. A large variety of invertebrates, which happily reside in the ground during the summer, are flushed out by the autumn floods. Snails, beetles, earthworms and a huge range of insects now become a valuable food source for arriving waders, as well as the resident bird population.

Wetlands are part of the landscape and fulfil a variety of important functions. They act as a sponge to absorb huge quantities of water during heavy rains and then release it in a slow controlled way. They act as a filtration system for water, purifying and restoring to good health the water that passes through. A variety of fauna living in a wetland habitat actually pump oxygen into their roots to support the bacteria; this oxygenates the water. Reed bed systems are increasingly being used to purify waste water from houses and farms.

Wetlands act as a carbon sink by storing in the vegetation huge quantities of carbon, which otherwise would be stored in the atmosphere adding to the greenhouse effect. Wetlands actually contain up to fifty times more bio-diversity than ‘good land’. This in turn attracts a corresponding amount of insects, birds and wild creatures.

The floods carry with them welcome loads of sediment which settles in to fertilise the wetland for the new growth that will emerge next Spring. So as the wetland takes on its winter appearance, it is fulfilling its cycle of life and sustaining huge populations of flora and fauna. We can enjoy the life they sustain and appreciate the role they play in sustaining life on Earth.

Five Minutes to Midnight - Ireland and Climate Change

Cabragh Wetlands Trust is hosting a very special evening on the crucial topic of Climate Change at the Wetland Centre on Wednesday 25th November at 8.00pm. Our speaker is a very distinguished Tipperary man, Dr Kieran Hickey, Lecturer in Physical Geography at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Kieran has taught and studied widely in Ireland and the UK, writing many articles in academic journals, and recently published a very well reviewed book on Climate Change, entitled “Five Minutes to Midnight? Ireland and Climate Change”. He has made a special study of the impact of climate change on storm patterns, coastal vulnerability and sea-level rise in Ireland and elsewhere, and has spoken at conferences as far afield as New Zealand, Slovenia, Spain and the USA as well as Ireland and the UK.



This promises to be an exceptional evening, with a chance to hear a recognized expert talk on a complex subject that could not be of greater significance for each and every one of us. Here at Cabragh Wetlands we are striving to work within the local community to address the important questions raised by the changing climate. Do come. Listen, learn, think, and share your ideas. Let’s work as a community to move towards a better future. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Students (especially budding Third Level Geographers) will be very welcome. Entrance is free, and copies of Kieran’s book will be available.



The UN Conference on Climate Change is meeting in Copenhagen in December to try to hammer out a treaty that will replace the Kyoto Protocols and set new binding targets on carbon emissions, though the latest news is not encouraging. Perhaps the best we can hope for is productive talks, better understanding and a move towards a binding treaty in the next year. One proposal is to reduce damaging emissions by 40% by 2020, with an 80% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050. The changes to our lifestyles could be immense, and the prospect of failure suggests a very bleak future for mankind and the rest of life on Earth.



It is alarming to read this week that a poll of 1500 people in the UK found that two-thirds of them do not believe climate change is happening. Equally concerning are the number of ordinary, decent folk who turn their backs on the problem – “2050? I’ll be dead by then. It’s nothing to do with me.” It makes you doubt that oft repeated cliché, that man is rational. In the last few months we have been able to read reports about Australian states and cities that are debating the abandonment of their coastlines because of rising sea levels – steps to build sea defences are likely to be banned. Outlying islands in the Carteret group north of Australia are being evacuated by their inhabitants because sea level rises are already making them uninhabitable. The Maldives government is openly searching for a new piece of land that they can buy and move to, lock stock and barrel; it is the only way they can keep together as a national community, as their own islands steadily flood. According to the United Nations 300,000 people are already dying each year because of climate change, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.



Essentially this is the fault of the over-material western “developed” world, with their excessive demands for oil-based energy. Questions need to be raised about our morals and values, as well as our lifestyles. Can the planet cope with a population that has gone from 4.1 billion in 1975, to 6.7 billion today and a projected 10.8 billion by 2100, within the lifetime of children born today?



This is not a question that any of us can afford to turn away from. We can look at it on many levels. The massive populations of Asia must be persuaded away from the wasteful materialism that obsesses the West; that can only be done if we lead the way and give up much that we have come to regard as our right. You may prefer to see this as a local issue; every community and every family must take the responsibility for controlling their carbon emissions, preserving biodiversity and habitat, switching to sustainable sources of energy, limiting population growth and reshaping their values so that over the coming decades man becomes again a species that lives within the limits of the planet’s finite resources.



Come along to Cabragh on 25th November and join the debate. If you think those who are concerned about climate change are wrong, come and tell us why. If you have ideas on what we as a community can do, come and share them. Local councillors? Churches? Energy suppliers? Farmers? Scientists and engineers? You all have important contributions to make. Let’s hear from you.

Garden Birds

There will be a talk on "Garden Birds and How to Attract Them" on Wednesday 18th November at 8pm. Further details here

Our Ancestors in Cabragh 2

Last week we noted that there were more as many as ten historical sites mapped in the area enclosed by the Cabragh wetlands in the elbow of the River Suir. Most of these sites were ringforts, where families lived for centuries in relative safety, sheltering in the protection given by the marsh and river on their east, north and west sides.

These circular ring forts were used by pastoral Celtic people. Most of them are thought to have been built between 500AD and 1000AD, but it seems likely that some of the sites were occupied many centuries before. In places the ringforts are barely a hundred metres apart, suggesting that expanding families necessitated the building of new homesteads close by, which would have been another source of protection and tells us something about the cooperation between family groups.

For centuries then humans lived with the wetlands, adapting themselves to the natural rhythms and cycles of the local environment, growing crops, grazing cattle and moving livestock to seasonal pastures.

The rectangular enclosures or moated sites were built by the Anglo-Normans, probably dating from the late 13th century. They are mainly defensive sites with a wide fosse (ditch) or moat on the outside. This was often filled with water. Inside this was a substantial bank enclosing a flat area where wooden dwellings and outhouses would be erected. The total area of one of these enclosures at Fertiana is about 1500 sq. metres.

What changes these Anglo-Normans brought to Cabragh / Fertiana can only be imagined. Did they clear the forests and replace them with their rundale system of farming? Had they long fields of ploughed land and some fallow strips? Did they save hay in the area and introduce the mute swan and rabbit to the river and fields? We can only speculate, but they have left their marks on a place that adds variety and interest to a beautiful landscape. It is our duty to preserve them so that future generations can encounter them and unfold their secrets.

What we do know is that in 1326 Thomas Stapleton, Lord of Fertiana, living in his grand house on the high ground west of Fertiana, gave permission to the monks of Holycross Abbey to cross the wetlands. It is probably too speculative to suggest that the monks carved that beautiful barn owl into the wall of the old Abbey as an expression of appreciation for his gesture.

There has been a symbiosis between man and the wetlands sine time immemorial. It is this that the Cabragh Wetlands Trust is committed to preserving.

Autumn leaves

It’s autumn, and the oak tree is in the process of sending out countless invitations to a great feast. One by one the yellow leaves float and drift down to the ground where the feast will be held. Hundreds and thousands will be invited; so many, that the guests cannot all come at once. Instead they come in waves.

The first wave of guests don't have far to travel; in fact they already live on the leaf. They are the bacteria that have lain dormant on that leaf; only waiting for the dew from the grass to wash out the bitter tasting compounds. The bacteria are present in such great numbers. Colonies of them are so large, that dark blotches of them appear on the leaf. Take a look next time you are out and you will see them.

The next to arrive are the spores of fungi that arrive by wind. These fungi bring with them special enzymes, which enable them to break down the parts of the leaf that are quite difficult to break down. These decomposers are invaluable.

You might know some of the next guests. They include the millipedes, springtails, mites and worms. Among the worms is a very modest hard working member of the community that we all know; the earthworm. The leaf by now is shredded into small parts.

The earthworm leaves to attend to other important business, however the feasting continues with more invertebrates arriving. The leaf is reduced to microscopic particles and another wave of bacteria and fungi have second helpings and enjoy these remains until the leaf is fully decomposed.

The invitations continue throughout the autumn, until they gradually begin to subside. The oak tree still stands tall, but now begins to reveal its stark bare brown branches. It will rest for quite some time now, and deservedly so.