Horizons

SAVING YOUR ENERGYEighty million euro of taxpayers money could be saved if our public buildings used energy better. This figure is extrapolated by Dublin Friends of the Earth (DFOE) from the Office of Public Works report that showed €4 million could be saved in two years if 250 public buildings used energy better.

“Lights are still left on at weekends, windows are opened while radiators blast out heat,” says a spokesman for DFOE. Ireland is rated as the sixth most polluting country in the developed world. The environmental group is calling on the Irish Government to put in place a mandatory action plan to reduce energy use in public buildings (see foe.ie).

WAKE UP TO THE WEST

Eminent archaeologist Michael Gibbons and environmentalist Gordon D’Arcy will lead a series of cultural and heritage weekends in the historic stone village of Cnoc Suain, An Spidéal, Connemara, this summer. The residential weekends go ahead on July 17th-19th and August 14-16. See Conocsuain.com; tel: 091-555703

Meanwhile, a new resource pack for primary school teachers on the Burren,

Co Clare, was launched this week. The Lamha Suas Education Resource Pack gives pupils the chance to work as a historian or geographer with detailed guides to the spectacular Burren landscape and culture. Tel: 065-7088030

SPEED IS KILLING CYCLING

Speeding is killing cycling according to the Dublin Cycling Campaign (DCC) which is calling on local authorities and the Gardaí to enforce speeding laws. “Ireland needs to cop itself on about vehicle speeds and the safety of our roads,” says Will Andrews of the DCC. “Cities like Portsmouth in the UK and Graz in Austria have applied 30km/h limits and they have much safer, quieter streets as well as great growth in cycling.” Less than one in five drivers complied with urban street limits (50 km/h) while three in four exceeded the limits on urban national roads, according to a recent survey by the Road Safety Authority.

transitiontownsireland.ning.com

ECOWEB

A new social networking site with up-to-date events listings, information on various transition towns, initiatives to develop sustainable urban living, a forum and specific interest groups. Looks like a site that will grow and grow.

sthompson@irishtimes.com