Isolation, Energy, Handball

September Meeting of Cooley Environmental and Health Group

The monthly meeting of this small but innovative group heard disappointing news about the sale of The Pringle Report but some encouraging detail about preparations for their winter workshop.

The monthly meeting of Cooley Environmental and Health Group commenced with breakfast on Sunday 11 September 2005 at 11.00 a.m.

The meeting heard that sales of The Pringle Report (Cancer Mortality and Morbidity in County Louth) have been disappointing.

The secretary, Dr Michael Desmond Hynes, said that he would try to get handball included in plans for developments at Greenore. An alley in "The Cutting" perhaps, he suggested.

Three speakers have already accepted invitations to address the sixth annual winter workshop organised by Cooley Environmental and Health Group, to be convened in The Strand, Omeath, on Saturday afternoon 28 January 2006. Two other speakers are considering the theme of the workshop (which is "Isolation") to see if they can find any possibilities in it. Names of a further four speakers to be contacted were pencilled in.

Treasurer Sean Crudden undertook to seek funding for the workshop.

Discussions on the topics of hard water, litter and garden waste were postponed sine die.

The secretary read correspondence, dated 29 August 2005, from The Environmental Protection Agency about the dust in Greenore. The secretary said he would try to get Louth County Council to sweep the dust off the road on the approach to Greenore village.

Discussing energy the treasurer, Sean Crudden, recalled the workshop on energy which was held in January 2002 by the Group in Bush Vocational School. He opined that it would be prudent now to source energy, preferably renewable energy, locally rather than to be depending on internationally traded commodities for our energy needs.

The next meeting of the Group was fixed for 11.00 a.m. on Sunday 9 October 2005 in The Strand, Omeath. All are welcome.