In this process truly poetic rather than scientific, in which consortia of species succeed in building an environment increasingly rich and varied, every plant, every animal, every micro-organism has its contributory role, being the man for the first time in history, leaving his sad protagonist role of stingy tormentor of nature and life and move creatively to assume the coordination of the construction process.
Throughout the process disappears the necessity of introducing the classic Fordist agriculture inputs: the live system produces himself the nutrients needed, regardless of chemical fertilizer, all seeds and seedlings can now be obtained locally, are not required the pesticides, pests are controlled by the multiplicity of species that evolve together, there is no monoculture, there is work, activity, harvesting, planting and management throughout the year. read full story / add a comment

Last Thurs 24th Jan 2013, the Irish and British governments agreed on a memorandum of understanding for energy trading between Ireland and the UK. This will pave the way for the export of Wind Energy to the UK. This would likely make use of the electric interconnector completed last year between the UK and Ireland although it may need additional cables.

The wind resource in Ireland is probably greater than what the Irish electrical grid can cope with and hence the idea is that the surplus wind energy can be exported to the UK which has a far larger electrical demand than here and could probably take every watt exported.

Unfortunately it seems that there is a bit more to this though the official green good news because apparently there are plans by a number of companies to erect up to 2,300 wind turbines in the Midlands of Ireland. Is blighting our landscape for the UK the way to solve the energy problem? read full story / add a comment

An insight into prison life in Ireland, namely Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon. On 21st April 2010 I was convicted of assaulting a number of Gardaí in relation to Shell to Sea protests and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. Remission for good behaviour means that prisoners will have their sentences reduced by a quarter, once you keep your nose clean. I was given credit for 2 weeks time served previously in 2009, before I was bailed out pending my appeal. So I spent 4 months in jail from April to August in the summer of 2010. read full story / add a comment

If you can't trust the messenger, how can you trust the message? read full story / add a comment

Protest aims to highlight hare coursing cruelty permitted by the Irish government... read full story / add a comment

Occupation camp website:

https://zad.nadir.org/

You can show some solidarity by mailing, or coming!

Please sign:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/268/029/343/save-french-...port/ read full story / add a comment

A Plea for some compassion from Fine Gael, a party officially backs recreational cruelty to animals! read full story / add a comment

Coastal erosion is a slow process as winter high tides take a few more feet into the sea every year. read full story / add a comment

This pipeline from the Alberta Tar Sands would be shipping millions of tons of unprocessed Bitumen, of the dirtiest sort, and it will cause pollution eventually along the pristine Canadian West Coast. This enbridge pipeline deal is owned by the Oil Monopolies of Canada, United States, and China. It is a threat to the very oxygen that is in the atmosphere which is already gone by 38% to carbon-dioxide. You can see that no coal, gas, oil or atomic energy is safe and in fact the globe is in the fail-safe mode now because more carbon-dioxide is cascading into the atmosphere than oxygen which cannot be replaced fast enough to plus the air for the air breathing oxygen needed to live on. You cannot live on the carbon-dioxide replacement. read full story / add a comment

Our political parties are at it again. They can't seem to stop. They are rezoning land in areas where the County Manager has already strongly opposed it and as usual FF councillors are at the forefront with FG very close behind. You would think that something might change after FF has led this country to economic ruin and has saddled everyone with debt that has nothing to do with them, restarted emigration and condemned the young, old and sick to cutbacks and poverty for an indefinite period with no end in sight. It all just goes to show the huge democratic deficit in this country and the fact that these self-serving political parties and their developer friends don't give a damn about anyone, the environment or our common future. And so we feel it is important to featurize this local but important story below.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors are to vote on a murky rezoning project near Tibradden in the Dublin Mountains on December 10th, which breaches the county development plan and national policy, as well as policy on siting of facilities for older people. Most crucially it breaches the current limits of the no-building areas in the Dublin / Wicklow Mountains, which are a vital amenity for the whole community.

To date a majority of local councillors have been in favour, against the advice of the planners and even the County Manager - but have not explained their reasons for voting yes to this development. It will create a "retirement village" cut off from library, churches and other community contacts: perhaps isolation facility would be a better term. Despite all the scandals, it seems to be "business at usual" over at DL-Rathdown... read full story / add a comment

According to Teagasc, farmers in the 26 counties now get two thirds of their income from state grants and schemes, paid for by the landless worker. read full story / add a comment

On Tuesday the 13th of November reports had come in that Shell had begun expanding the Glengad compound.

Around midday few of us at the camp house decided to head down for a look, and to see what could be done. read full story / add a comment

Notre Dame des Landes, near Nantres, in France
Facing the evictions: Demonstration of reoccupation! To rebuild - against the airport!
Pitchforks, wooden beams, planks, nails and tools in hand... Meeting Saturday November 17th in the morning. read full story / add a comment

Celebrity conservationist and ecologist Elissa Sursara, who gained more than eleven kilos during recovery from staph and tetanus, was targeted by Twitter trolls who called her "fat".

Just weeks after recovering from a deadly disease, Australian conservationist Elissa Sursara went on the defense against Twitter trolls and internet bullies who called the former actress “fat” and suggested she check into “a concentration camp.”
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Last week two activists from Bhopal in India came to Ireland seeking solidarity and support for their campaign to force the American transnational corporation Dow Chemical to take responsibility for toxic waste abandoned in Bhopal by Union Carbide, which Dow Chemical took over in 2001. read full story / add a comment

Amy Hall meets outspoken Filipino campaigner Lidy Nacpil, who shares her thoughts on floods, solidarity and ramming home the climate-change message.
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On Monday (10th Sept) Members of Rossport Solidarity Camp and Shell to Sea, occupied the steps of Knockranny hotel, to show their outrage with Fine Gael TD’s for turning a blind eye to the plight of a small rural community at the hands of Shell’s tyrants.

Monday saw a group of protesters- equipped with banners- braving the early morning drizzle at the gates of Knockranny Hotel Westport, where Fine Gael planned to have a party ‘Think-in’ later on that day. read full story / add a comment

A look at the ongoing GM potato trials in Ireland, the European context, a little bit of history and analysis as well as important information on patent holders.
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From the 10th to 16th of August, Rossport Solidarity Camp hosted it's 3rd wind turbine building course. You can read a report of the first one here: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/95731. As the 3 previous turbines that were built are still going strong (and powering both the camp and camp house), this year it was decided to go for something bigger and more challenging. This year it's was decided to build a 4.2 metre turbine that is planned eventually to be connected to the grid at the house of a local Shell to Sea campaigner. read full story / add a comment

This morning members of Rossport Solidarity Camp disrupted Pat Rabbitte while he spoke at a conference at the Science Gallery in Dublin entitled "The Future of Energy: Dreams and Responsibilities"[1] read full story / add a comment