It's surprising the things you hear at a party.
On my way back from a recent trip to Kerry to meet Shannon LNG protesters, I popped in to say hi to some family and friends celebrating a 50th birthday.
I won’t tell you whose landmark celebration it was as they didn’t even want the fuss on the day. But I will tell you about a rather interesting conversation I had with a man who just finished building his own house.
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You all know I’m climate, environment and renewables on the brain.
But I’m also about saving us all a fortune from the gluttonous fossil fuel firms taking our arms and coming back for the stumps in October.
Who in this absolute hellscape can afford almost £5,000 a year to heat and power their homes?
That will be more than an extra mortgage a month for some - and god love the parents already paying exorbitant fees to have their kids in nursery.
The whole thing is just disgusting and what’s even worse is the government has done damn all to save us from the circling vultures by ‘getting rid of all the green crap’, as David Cameron said, that could have prevented the coming shitshow.
Anyway, back to the builder. When planning the house, they went above and beyond the crap building regulations we currently have on everything from insulation to how we heat our homes.
I’ve spoken here before about how Stormont failed to upgrade building regs to replace fossil fuel boilers with far cheaper heat pumps and vastly reduce the energy needed by enforcing top energy efficiency ratings for all new builds.
And according to the housebuilder, the savings are huge.
We discussed insulation, windows and also how he heats his rather sizeable home.
And he told me, that with the heat on around the clock for their small children, it could be around just £120 to both power and heat his home for a quarter after the bricks warmed up.
I’m not sure if that was during spring or summer, which has been a bit warmer.
But in contrast, I pay £20 or so a month for electricity in summer and about £50 on gas as I try and stockpile for the winter, but still end up using quite a lot of it for showers and cooking. And that’s for an old terrace where I never have the heat on.
I honestly don’t know how many times or in how many ways I can say this. But if our houses were powered by renewables held in by a nice warm blanket of insulation in our walls - the savings are massive.
Please don’t be sucked in by the absolute plebs telling us we need more oil and more gas - when the cost of both just keeps rising and rising and even if its made here, the market dictates the price.
It’s time government put their money into things that will actually make a difference.
We need:
- Grade A energy efficient insulation
- Ground source heat pumps
- Solar panels on our roofs... and NOW!
I don’t know about you, but if we even had a plan in place for these changes, winter wouldn’t be looking so bleak for us all.
What’s the point in building tens of thousands of new homes in NI if it’s going to cost those who live in them a fortune to stay warm and keep the lights on?
It’s bloody ridiculous.
One track mind
Edwin Poots is obsessed with farming - farming schemes, giving farmers money, attending farming events, lobbying on behalf of farmers, attending events with UFU and giving farmers deadline extensions to apply for funding and other initiatives.
And I can tell you this because me and everyone else who gets emails from the Northern Ireland Assembly news service can see clearly from DAERA’s emails, that agri-foods are clearly favoured over the environment or rural affairs.
I’ve been back through every email sent by DAERA between January and March 25, when ministers finished ahead of the election.
Aside from a few press conference alerts, DAERA sent 103 emails in that period and 47 were specifically about agriculture.
I was pleasantly surprised 29 emails went out about the environment as I thought it may be less, but a good handful of those were for the The Platinum Jubilee Pollinator Garden Award, which has drawn some criticism.
While Rural Affairs was at the bottom of the barrel with just 11 of the 103 emails and 16 dealt with everything else from horse racing to rescue services and service dogs.
If this rather crude measure of Minister Poots’ real focus doesn’t ring alarm bells on the need for a ‘climate, environment and energy department’ to deal specifically with humanity’s biggest fight, I don’t know what does.
Get outdoors in autumn with new Sperrins programme
As the days get shorter, it gets harder to help our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing by going outdoors.
So, fair play to the lads up in the Sperrins who have just launched their first Sperrins Walking programme from September to March taking in routes across council areas Causeway Coast & Glens, Derry City & Strabane, Mid Ulster and Fermanagh & Omagh.
Absolutely no experience is needed for the new programme, which promises a great choice of walks ranging from leisurely strolls to more demanding hikes with experienced leaders.
Chair of The Sperrins Partnership, Councillor Dan Kelly said: “This is the first time the four Councils that make up the Sperrins Partnership have come together to deliver a range of walks for all abilities to enjoy throughout the beautiful Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
“I would encourage everyone to use this opportunity to get out, get active and enjoy our wonderful countryside.”
Lawrence McBride from Far and Wild added: “We are delighted to be back leading walks across four areas of the greater Sperrins hills, and engaging local communities and other excellent walk leaders to help deliver an insightful and fulfilling program.”
Visit here or here for more info.
Go green for back to school
With all the pre-loved uniform shops, giveaways and swaps now on the go across NI, it’s easier than ever to make ‘ back to school ’ cheaper and more eco-friendly.
And I’d urge as many people as possible to jump on the bandwagon.
Uniforms are one thing, then you have shoes, gutties, school bags and stationary.
I’d urge parents and guardians not to replace things if they don’t need to.
I know the idea you need everything brand new in September persists, but it’s not budget or environmentally friendly.
But if kids need new stuff, why not look at eco-friendly options like second hand shops, charity shops and stationary made from recycled stuff.
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