Ireland and global warming – electric cars, but colder winters

In April 2010 the Irish government announced a whole series of measures that would ensure that battery‑powered electric cars gained a significant share of the car market here. Like Dylan at Newport, Ireland is going electric.

The government's plan includes significant investment including: tax breaks to cut the price of electric cars, charge points provided by the government-owned Electricity Supply Board {photo} and other incentives to encourage the purchase and use of electric cars rather than the gasoline/diesel models we're all used to now. The goal was that 2,000 electric cars would be on the road by the end of 2011 and 230,000 by 2020.

I've indicated before that I'm not totally averse to the idea of a battery-powered car, especially as a second car, but I'd forgotten all about the government's plans for electric cars until last week. I had just parked my car in Dublin Airport's new parking garage when I noticed that the three spaces next to mine were reserved for electric cars, that in fact such cars' batteries could be charged there.

The very next day I saw my first new-generation electric car, a Toyota Leaf. It was in front of me as we headed down the highway. And, although I haven't noticed them yet, the ESB has installed charge points all over Dublin. That's probably my fault because I haven't been looking, from what I hear they look like parking meters and would be easy to overlook.

Charge points around the capital city, dedicated spaces in a public parking garage and electric cars on the road, the government's plans are probably progressing just fine, right?

Maybe, but Dublin Airport and ESB 100% government-owned. They'll do as their owner instructs. The one car I saw still had dealer license plates. I haven't seen one for which a buyer has shelled out $43,000 (after tax breaks) or so.

Will the government's targets be met?

I don't know, but ESB's web site says the plan now is only for 1,500 charge points nationwide by the end of 2011. I'd love to know how the sales of electric cars are going and how many people have had charge points installed at their homes.

More important than the targets, however, is whether this is money wisely spent?

All of the incentives and investment from the government are for one reason: to combat global warming. Maybe the earth is warming up and maybe it's not, but last winter Ireland experienced its coldest winter in 40 years and the long range forecast is that the coming winters will be even colder. Our climate seems to be changing for the colder.

All of which begs the question: is all this taxpayer-funded investment in electric cars the best use of funds if our winters are getting colder? Using the same funds to properly insulate our homes and offices seems more sensible.

In fact, it's possible that the money spent in getting electric cars on the road will seem like a a colossal waste of money if we still don't have the necessary equipment to keep the roads clear when it snows. The fact that a few happy electric car owners can charge their cars for free at Dublin Airport will seem like a sick joke if the airport shut for days on end again due to the lack of proper snow-moving equipment.

Even our European overlords, who are heavily promoting the 'green agenda', will be none too happy if our national coffers suffer another let down due to the fall-off in productivity caused by a few inches of snow. It could be a chorus of boos for the government just as it was for Dylan at Newport all those years ago.

{Photo thanks to ESB.ie}

Ireland is green, but her people are not

Ireland's winters and summers will get warmer thanks to climate change, according to a report published last week by a team of experts. The prospect of milder winters and summers is hardly the stuff of climatic nightmares. An Irish summer generally means temperatures in the 60s and winter, although not icy cold, is typically damp and raw, with temperatures around 40^oF.

For the most part the issue of global warming, climate change (what have you) worries Europeans far more than Americans. At least that's my impression. However, the average Irish man or woman is hardly quaking in their boots and reports like last week's are unlikely to scare anyone into changing their ways.

"You have the Green Party in government," you might say. That's true. The Green Party has two seats at the ministerial table. Those ministers and others in the party make a lot of noise, but the party makes up less than 4% of the Irish parliament. And, even that share of the vote can be attributed in large part due the Greens' image as innocently incorruptible rather than as a sign of any great support for the party's views on saving the planet or whatever.

All the other parties utter appropriately green statements on occasion, but it's always obvious that the environment doesn't excite them. EU environmental regulations are strict and, well, membership has a price.

All of which explains how the same people who voted for a government that banned the sale of incandescent light-bulbs also took to SUV's during the boom years like ducks to water. It's a case of appeasing the EU on the one hand and letting the market decide on the other.

I expect this situation to continue well into the future. I mean, after all, why would the people of Ireland want to prevent their climate going from north Atlantic to Mediterranean? All we have to do is carry on as we have been and wait for 2080 to bring the good weather.

Harland & Wolff still at the cutting edge

Harland & Wolff is a name you will certainly know if you're an aficionado of the Titanic story. However, even if you are only familiar with Belfast you will recognize the two massive yellow cranes that loom over the Harland & Wolff shipyard.

I was in Belfast a few years ago and drove over to East Belfast to see what the Harland & Wolff site looked like. 'Desolate wasteland' sums up pretty much what I saw as I stared through the rusted iron gates. Broken glass, broken concrete, broken dreams were all that was visible.

However, on a later visit I toured the site and two things struck me. First, that although it's a modern day ruin, the dry dock where the Titanic was built is still there as is the building where the plans for the great ship were first drawn.

It didn't take me long to realize that the site had great potential as a tourist attraction. I'm not the only one – there are plans to transform the area from a derelict site into one that tourists will flock to. Whether it's all going to be ready for the 2012 100th anniversary of the Titanic's maiden (& only) voyage is hard to say.

The second thing that caught my eye was a strange red tower just off to the side of the yellow cranes. I knew that H & W were still doing some shipbuilding or repairs, but I knew it was nothing like the old days. However, this red tower was not a ship, but a wave power generator.

As I learned, H & W have diversified into ocean based renewable energy engineering projects. Wave power generators are only part of the project because H & W are also building wind turbines and in July they won a contract to build a tidal turbine, which will produce electricity from the tidal flows.

Harland & Wolff is at the cutting edge of 21st century technology, just as it was at the cutting edge of 20th century technology at the time of the Titanic.

TV program shows off Irish island in full glory

There are few times when television takes my breath away, but I just watched 30 minutes of television that did just that. It was a half hour documentary on Skellig Michael, the rock in the Atlantic off the southwest coast of County Kerry.

I've seen Skellig Michael in many photographs and even one or two video clips and other documentaries, but I've never seen it like it was presented in tonight's show.

Not only was the island looking great, but we got to follow the show's host as he climbed all over the rock, up to the rocky summit and down the narrow ledge of the ancient pilgrim's trail. All the while he was providing a great lesson on the rock's 1500 year history as a monastery and lighthouse location.

If you have 30 minutes to spare, you won't be sorry if you spend it watching this. You can see Part 1 here and Part 2 here. If you do you'll finish with a desperate urge to visit Skellig Michael yourself.

{It's in Irish with subtitles. I hope that TG4's web site does justice to the video and photography of the program.}

No need to ban plastic bags

I read recently that lawmakers in Vermont may tax plastic shopping bags and some in California want to ban them completely. If the Irish experience is any guide there is no need to ban them. The tax will do.

It's been 8 years since Ireland introduced a 15c tax on every plastic bag. During that 8 years the plastic bag has almost disappeared from view. Oh sure you can still find them and every so often you'll see some sucker paying (now 22c) for a bag, but mostly you see people using reusable canvas bags rather buying the plastic.

I can't recall all the arguments in favor of the plastic bag tax when it was introduced, but I do remember what I think was the main one: blowing plastic bags seemed to be everywhere. No matter whether you were in a city or in the country you'd see plastic bags hanging from bushes and trees or lying in the gutter. They made the place look trashy.

It didn't take long for that to change. Most Irish people seemed to immediately vow that they would never pay for a plastic bag. And they didn't. Within a few months plastic bag use had declined by 90% and the blowing bags were gone. They have never reappeared.

I doubt many people would thank the government if it repealed the tax now. I'm probably as negative on the law as anyone and even I can't deny the benefits.

What's my problem with the law? Well, first of all, I don't like the idea that law-abiding citizens must be punished because the state is incapable of enforcing its laws (on littering). Also, I won't pay for a cheap plastic bag, I don't like having to remember to bring a bag with me and (mostly) I don't like walking to the store with an empty bag swishing along with me.

One of the more amusing effects of the law in our family is that my daughters love having shopping bags from stores you don't find around here. So we have bags from Wal-mart, Hannaford Brothers, Sainsbury's (UK) and Carrefour (France) in our vast collection.

So, when I was in America at Easter time I thought I'd try something that might appease me on those walks to the store. I took a cue from my daughter and decided I'd buy a bag I'd feel better having with me as I walk along. Hence, the bag in this picture here {left}. And it helps, a little, but it still swishes.

No planes on a beautiful day in Wicklow

With every passing day I feel more guilty about taking the ash cloud so lightly last week. I never expected it would go on and on and on and ...

I don't see anything beneficial about people being unable to get home or get away on vacation or to sporting events or whatever. I'm not at all like those environmentalists who are openly thrilled that the ash cloud has caused a fall in carbon dioxide emissions across Europe.

Still, I did find myself in a very quiet Sally Gap, Co. Wicklow {photo} last week and I took this short video of the silence.

Electric cars will be rolling down Ireland's highways by year's end

Have you heard of the Nissan Leaf? I hadn't until a day or two ago, but I'm not what you'd call 'an environmentalist', so maybe those of you who are 'environmentalists' are already familiar with the Leaf.

The Leaf is Nissan's electric car, which is powered by a large battery. Nissan expects to have them on the road in America and Europe sometime around the end of this year.

The Irish government is very keen that people here buy and use electric cars. So keen, in fact, that they are going to give buyers a grant of €5,000 ($6,800) to purchase one AND they will waive the Vehicle Registration Tax (up to 30% extra) on a new car.

Ireland is - according to the enthusiasts anyway - ideally suited to lead the way on electric cars. Obviously the country's pretty small, so there are no 1,000 mile journeys. In fact, while people spend a lot of time in their cars, they don't cover the distances Americans do. By the end of 2011 Ireland will be leading the world in the electric car use and infrastructure. That's the plan, anyway.

The cars themselves are pretty small by American standards and even towards the smaller end of the scale by Irish norms. They can get up to a decent speed - over 80 MPH according to Nissan - so that's not an issue and according to Green Party member and Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan {photo} these cars will be much cheaper to run than those that run on gasoline.

I'm willing to believe the Minister on this score because the price of gas around here is now around $6.90 per gallon. Even if your car gets 40 mpg, that means the cost in gas alone is about 17¢ per mile. The Minister says the cost of running the Leaf {photo} will be about 2-3¢ per mile.

All of that sounds pretty good. Will it take off? Will Irish people buy electric cars instead of the usual gasoline-powered cars?

Well, maybe. There are still some serious issues with the electric cars. First of all, the cost of the car - even with the incentives noted above - will be comparable to the costs of a bigger, more comfortable car. Also, you don't buy the battery, but – for reasons that escape me – you rent it at an annual rate of €1,200 ($1,640) per year. {Not sure if that's all electric cars or only Renault, who hope to have their electric car on Ireland's roads by the end of 2011.}

The biggest issue however, is the battery's charge. It lasts for about 100 miles. Then you have to recharge. The government-owned Electricity Supply Board is going to roll out a series of charge stations - gas stations for electric cars - around the country to meet the, as yet non-existent, demand for charge. I think there are a few already around, but I haven't seen one yet.

When the Minister was asked about the 100 miles maximum the other day he indicated that if someone was going on a long journey - to Kerry was the question - he said that it was his experience that people generally stopped on long journeys for a cup of coffee or a sandwich or whatever. He said that while the driver was having his coffee the car could be recharging and ready to go again in half-an-hour. Half-an-hour to 'fill up'? Hmm.

ESB is going to set up 30 'fast charge' points around the country that will charge a battery to 80% in 30 minutes, which means you can't go another 100 miles before you have to stop again. A full charge at one of their normal stations will take 90 minutes.

First of all, I don't need either a sandwich or coffee every 100 miles. I can sometimes go three whole hours without food. I'd definitely like my car to do the same. I just can't see using such a car for journeys of any length at all.

But, it might be good for most of the short journeys I make. I would guess that around 90% of the trips I make are less than 50 miles. I could charge the car at home, which will take 8 hours. The Irish Independent says that the government will even pay to have a home charging point installed, although they seem unsure if that's true. Also, I assume that rules out cars that park on the street, unless that on-street space is very near the house.

It's easy to be skeptical, but there's a part of me that says, well, maybe. We have two cars, but we only need one for trips of any length. If the other car can be used for short journeys, can save me money and can be charged up safely - I don't want to be electrocuted hooking up the car in the rain - I could see it. Kind of shocking to me that I even think that.

How costly will it be to be named one of the world's wonders?

Posted by TheYank at 8/18/2009 12:54 PM EDT

Maybe you saw the story on the Irish Central home page a few weeks ago about the Cliffs of Moher being short-listed in the competition to name the new seven wonders of the world. I didn't think about the story too much, but just figured it was a good thing.

Then last week while vacationing in upstate NY I was reading a copy of the Legislative Gazette, as one does when one is on vacation, and I came across a short article (p. 2) about Niagara Falls and the new seven wonders contest. Until I saw that story it hadn't occurred to me that the Falls were missing from the shortlist, but they are. And it isn't that they were simply overlooked.

According to the Legislative Gazette "[t]ourism officials on the U.S. side of the Falls say they
passed on the opportunity because of worries their cashstrapped community might be on the hook for costly promotional activities." Whoa! Hadn't ever considered this a possibility.

The Falls folks obviously believe it's going to require a lot of pocket cabbage, moolah, dough to make a serious attempt at being one of the new seven wonders. I never heard a mention of that back when we were all celebrating the Cliffs' success. I wonder how much the Irish tourism bodies are planning to spend on this campaign and will it be worth it.

Funny thing about the Cliffs' inclusion is that at the time I wasn't sure if the Cliffs were even the top wonder in Ireland. Are they really more wondrous and unique than the (near-by) Burren, the Giant's Causeway or even the Bog of Allen (which I accept ain't much to look at, but it's supposed to be something special in nature and endangered)? I don't know, but I'm even less sure that the Cliffs are more wondrous than Niagara Falls.

I suppose regardless I should wish the Cliffs of Moher people success in their efforts to be get the Cliffs named as one of the new seven wonders of the world, but mostly I hope they don't waste a lot of money on this.