{"id":407954,"date":"2026-04-20T08:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/407954\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T08:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:44:08","slug":"this-is-my-last-environment-column-for-the-irish-times-and-ive-radicalised-myself-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/407954\/","title":{"rendered":"This is my last environment column for The Irish Times and I\u2019ve radicalised myself \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is my last Making a Difference<\/a> column for The Irish Times \u2013 and in almost two years of writing, I think I\u2019ve radicalised myself. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be a regular environmental column, if you had any thoughts on that \u2013 a \u2018one small change for your family\u2019-type thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the brief.<\/p>\n

I was as interested in the environment and climate change as the next person \u2013 the stats say more than three in four people in Ireland talk about climate change with family and friends \u201coften\u201d or \u201coccasionally\u201d, according to Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> research. <\/p>\n

But over the course of researching and writing these 99 columns, my household has made some small but permanent changes to how we do things.<\/p>\n

Can you become \u201cradicalised\u201d about fabric softener? This was one of the first things to go. Yes, the silicone and petrochemical ingredients can make your clothes feel softer, but did I really want this stuff near my skin? They can reduce the absorbency of towels and mess with sports gear too. The \u201cmoonlight jasmine\u201d fragrance? There is no law requiring full disclosure of the ingredients in fragrance, so who knows what\u2019s in that. This pastel-coloured chemical gloop ends up down the drain and can be harmful to marine life too. That\u2019s why I haven\u2019t used fabric softener in over a year.<\/p>\n

Overall, I wash clothes much less, and I buy fewer of them. <\/p>\n

Gone too is rollerball deodorant \u2013 I\u2019ve swapped the single-use, hard plastic casing for a reusable deodorant with compostable refills. It lasts longer and is more easily recycled. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0We can eat ourselves and our planet healthier with wise food choicesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

With grants, we insulated our attic and pumped and wrapped the walls. Our Ber (Building Energy Rating) didn\u2019t increase that much, but our comfort levels definitely have. A heat pump and solar panels are on our wishlist. <\/p>\n

Joining the energy-saving \u201cIs this a good time?\u201d campaign from ESB Networks meant shifting our dishwasher and washing machine use to outside of peak times. Doing this can relieve pressure on the national grid and reduce emissions, and we get e-gift cards for our efforts.<\/p>\n

What is within our control is our own behaviour. Everyday choices and consistent habits matter. They can make us feel like we have some control too<\/p>\n

The kids\u2019 birthday parties got a bit greener too. Instead of buying disposable cups and plates \u2013 the manufacture and disposal of which wasn\u2019t much to celebrate \u2013 I borrowed reusable ones. PartyKitNetwork.org loans out reusable tableware, helping to cut down on single-use waste, and save money.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s no more plastic party bags either. What a waste of energy spent on their production, packaging and transport, when that single-use plastic crap just ends up in the bin anyway. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve done two Christmases and two Halloweens without buying new Christmas jumpers or synthetic costumes. We traded with cousins, joined a local library costume swap and got things in charity shops instead. <\/p>\n

Food waste was another area of reform. I used to throw out endless half-eaten sliced pans and bagels, gone stale from not eating them fast enough. Now this bread goes in the freezer, and then straight in the toaster on demand. Blueberries from South America and strawberries, when out of season here, from North Africa? Enough of that. We now buy frozen ones, defrosting as needed. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Recycle sportsgear, eliminate party bags: four easy climate resolutions for every householdOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

I always felt guilty about the bottled fizzy water that used to be in my trolley. Learning that bottled water is the biggest-known source of microplastics that enters our bodies \u2013 the average number of particles ingested per litre is 94 \u2013 turned me right off it. Now, there\u2019s a jug of water in the fridge. Gone too are the microplastic-shedding chopping board and kettle, and the kids got steel water bottles for Christmas. <\/p>\n

I try to keep a reusable coffee cup in my bag and car. The Killarney Coffee Cup Project remains inspiring in its determination to eliminate disposable coffee cups, despite a disappointing U-turn by Government on the 20-cent \u201clatte levy\u201d on disposable cups.<\/p>\n

I now drive more slowly \u2013 not only does reducing my speed to 30km\/h in urban areas lower air and noise pollution, it\u2019s less dangerous for others too. Dropping to 30km\/h has a minimal effect on journey times, says the RSA, and continually accelerating and decelerating doesn\u2019t actually increase your average speed that much at all. <\/p>\n

Braking and then accelerating at roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and junctions guzzles fuel and money. With the Gulf crisis, we\u2019ll be watching fuel consumption closely for the foreseeable future. <\/p>\n

My front garden isn\u2019t big, but it\u2019s become a whole lot more interesting since we stopped mowing. Following the National Biodiversity Centre\u2019s gardening guide was easy \u2013 it\u2019s basically a lot of \u201cdo nothing\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo mow May\u201d, turned into \u201cJune? Just let it bloom\u201d. <\/p>\n

Mowing less gives native wildflowers and insect-friendly grasses a chance to pop up naturally and help feed hungry wild bees, the guide says. <\/p>\n

Better decisions taken one at a time can create influence and make a difference<\/p>\n

A pause from mowing in July will \u201chelp them fly\u201d, it says, on the issue of preserving vital insects. We went the whole hog, creating a long-flowering meadow by cutting just once a year in September. Our garden looked unkempt, but it was buzzing with life. <\/p>\n

None of my own small changes is going to save the planet. And harder choices, like ditching flying, await. <\/p>\n

The enormity of climate change and biodiversity loss can leave us as individuals feeling disempowered, and governments and industry aren\u2019t acting quickly enough either \u2013 so it can feel like anything we do individually is a drop in the ocean. <\/p>\n

What is within our control is our own behaviour. Everyday choices and consistent habits matter. They can make us feel like we have some control too. Better decisions taken one at a time can create influence and make a difference. <\/p>\n

Individual change now needs to become mass change to pressure governments, industry and other vested interests, which are too often stuck in the status quo, the slow lane \u2013 or reverse gear. The clock is ticking \u2013 it\u2019s time to be radical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is my last Making a Difference column for The Irish Times \u2013 and in almost two years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1153,72,2885,61,60,29065,976],"class_list":{"0":"post-407954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-sustainability","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-climate-change","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-making-a-difference","14":"tag-weekendreview"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}