ATHBHLIAN faoi mhaise daoibh! I hope you had a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas.
It is now the special time of the year when the tin of Afternoon Tea has been decimated, the recycling bin is fit to explode, and we decide to make promises to ourselves that we won’t keep.
I’m here to tell you there is no need to vow to lose weight, run a marathon or take up Zumba. You can, of course, if you want to, but instead of making resolutions doomed for failure, why not consider a 2024 ‘to do list’ full of positive things that you’d like to achieve in the coming year?
A visit to a dear friend that you haven’t seen in years, book tickets for a gig of a favourite artist, or learn to cook a delicious new dish that will become part of your weekly repertoire?
After the over-indulgence of Christmas, the New Year is also the perfect time to set some personal promises to help the planet.
Faced with all that’s going on in the world, many people are suffering from climate anxiety. The problems seem so big and intractable, it can seem hard to know what to do, but committing to achieving a few sustainable goals over the next 12 months will be good for the planet and good for you too.
Before Christmas, we got the good news that, in Ireland, we managed to reduce our emissions just under 2% between 2021 and 2022, even with a growing population and economy.
A reduction in emissions of up to 5% is expected for 2023. We need to keep up the work and keep the trajectory acutely downwards.
If you are interested in being sustainable, aim to achieve one or two big ticket items this year. Don’t cod yourself that carrying a reusable water bottle or bag for life is going to save the planet - insulating the attic, replacing an old draughty front door, or upgrading your car from diesel to electric will make big differences.
Here are a few suggestions to add to your 2024 ‘To Do’ List:
1. Fly less
Irish people love to travel, but while those cheap low-cost airline flights might be easy on the pocket, they are costly to the environment.
A return flight from Cork to London releases a little less than half a tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere, roughly the same as driving a diesel car 1,500km.
In 2022, 128,000 return flights from Irish airports released more than three million tonnes of CO2.
How about a flight free year?
Could you holiday in Ireland this year, or use the ferry to leave the country and connect to the UK and Europe?
Changing our mindset around flights is a great way to help the planet. Thinking of flying as a special occasion, reserved for important events like weddings or family reunions, and not just to pop to London for a night because the flights were cheaper than the taxi to the airport, will help cool the planet.
2. Build a pond
Installing a pond in your garden is one of the best things you can do to support nature.
Ponds are extraordinary reservoirs of biodiversity and have a critical role to help Ireland reverse biodiversity loss.
More than 50% of Ireland’s amphibian wetlands have been lost to drainage, industrial peat extraction and pollution in the past 100 years. Even a very small pond can help sustain a whole web of life.
Last summer, a gang of small children spent an afternoon playing ‘digging a hole to Australia’ in my garden so a lot of the hard work has been done for me.
An Taisce has a great resource online about how to create and manage a pond that is going to guide me in my pond exploits. I’ll report back later in the year.
3. Grow it Yourself
Growing some of your own fruits and vegetables is a hands-on way to engage with nature and food.
It is not going to save you time or money, and you won’t be able to entirely feed your family, however, if you have children it is a lovely activity to involve them in and it gives the whole family an appreciation of the time and effort that goes into growing the food we pluck off the supermarket shelf and chuck in our trolley.
This year, I’m going to grow three foods that we like to eat regularly in the summer. Cucumbers, courgettes, and cherry tomatoes.
Cucumbers and courgettes are very easy to grow, even for novices like me. A glut of cucumbers can be turned into cucumber pickle (which makes all food extra delicious) and a glut of courgettes can be shared with friends and neighbours.
Giy.ie is a fantastic resource to get you going.
4. Here comes the sun
2024 is the year you will see solar panels exploding across the country. Not literally, of course, more like a gentle mushrooming.
With the high cost of energy, the available government solar grants, and the realisation that power generated on your own roof can help the planet, many homeowners are installing panels.
From 2022 to 2023, Ireland increased its output of solar generated energy from 13 to 400 gigawatt hours and that trend is going to get sunnier in 2024.
5. Get active
Yes, walking and cycling instead of taking the car is important, but so is getting active in your community to make the changes you want to see.
Join an environmental organisation or community group. There is no point huffing and tutting and complaining to your friends about the poor bus service in your neighbourhood or lack of cycle lanes or green spaces. A dumb priest never got a parish.
Write an email to your local councillors, relevant departments in Cork City and County Council, and TDs, asking for the changes needed in your community.
It’s often said that we are a rich country with poor public services and perhaps part of the reason is we are not demanding enough citizens.
We’re great at ringing Neil Prendeville to complain about something but maybe we should be spending that time demanding better from the people with the power and responsibility to do something.
Read More
You are what you eat: A Cork expert’s warning on your gut More in this section
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