Peak Oil?

The recent excellent RTE; documentary, 'Future Shock: End of the Oil Age', which examined all the possible scenarios in the event of a future energy crisis. I think this will serve as a wake up call to all of us and will elevate our thinking about this now scarce resource.

Many in Ireland hold the view that nuclear power is not the answer to our future energy requirements Maybe now is a good time to have a public debate on this thorny and sensitive issue.

I look forward to your comments on this topic.

Bottled Water?

Millions of Euros are spent each year on advertising campaigns to give consumers the perception that bottled water comes from some pristine mountain spring or magical underground spring assuring purity and quality. However, sometimes bottled water can be often times little more than just tap water in a bottle.



Bottled water is split into two types spring and mineral waters. You see, the regulations that govern bottled water only require it to be as good as tap water, not better. There are no assurances, regulations or requirements that bottled water be any higher in quality than tap water, and according to some recent studies, it can be found to be of lower quality.



Because of concerns aboue the quality of tap water many consumers pay more from bottled water for the perception of higher quality, when the quality of the bottled water may not be.

Knowledge Bridge

This new Green Care Blog will act as the knowledge bridge through the contributions and involvement of all the green community. Green Care Blog.com will be providing valuable installation instructions, support and resources for those who seek green information. Powered through a green community and also involved professionals, the credibility of our information is of the utmost importance to us.

Solar Nation

As an Island nation the energy debate is centre stage against a back ground of rising energy costs, dwindling re-sources and alarm over long term security of supply. We must now move away from our dependency on fossil fuels to a more renewable source of energy.

To start our focus on solar energy let’s take a look at what we are signed up to this document is called the Kyoto Protocol.

Kyoto Protocol

In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol: was agreed as voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission under the UNFCCC had proved inadequate. The Protocol commits industrialized or developed countries to reduce their combined emissions of a basket of six greenhouse gases by at least 5% compared to below 1990 levels by the first commitment period 2008-2012. Ireland's target is to limit the increase in the basket of greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol to +13% over 1990 levels by 2008-2012. .The protocol came into force on 16 February 2005. As of August 2005, The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified by 154 countries and international organizations and is widely seen as a first step in deeper and broader action to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the rest of this century. All 25 EU member states and the European Community are Parties to the Protocol.

Alternative Heating

To help combat our dependency on oil, alternative heating systems are now available to aid the quest to heat our homes with out the use of oil. Wood is a renewable source of energy because the carbon dioxide emitted when the wood is burned has been taken out of the atmosphere by the growing plant. Even allowing for emissions of fossil carbon dioxide in planting, harvesting, processing and transporting the fuel, replacing fossil fuel with wood fuel will typically reduce net CO2 emissions by up to 90%.

Wood Pellets

Wood pellet boilers are fully automatic just like oil or gas boilers. Wood pellet boilers are becoming very popular as more homeowners are now switching from burning fossil fuels to a more eco-friendly and very cost effective alternative. This ensures extremely high efficiencies of up to 90% with very low emissions. Changing over your existing oil boiler and installing a wood pellet boiler is now a seamless operation. There is no supervision of equipment required, although the wood pellet burner may need to be cleaned approximately once a month.

Investment

While the Irish market is only getting started, wood pellet boilers are now growing at a rapid rate. Now may be the perfect opportunity to install a wood pellet boiler and will be a very good investment long term.
Your home is one of your biggest investments. Choosing the correct central heating system for your home is an important decision to make. Factors to consider are efficiency, controllability and most important running costs all of will have to be take into consideration. Another factor worth considering is the Eco-friendly effect the appliance will have on the environment.

Quality

A quality central heating system must contain the most energy-efficient heating technologies available. This type of installation will cost more to install but in the long run it will save you money on your fuel bills. Now may be the perfect opportunity to install a wood pellet boiler and will be a very good investment long term.

Grants

If you are considering changing over you oil central heating system the good new is that there is a Government grant now available of up to € 4200.00. As from March 27th 2006 onwards grants are now available towards the cost of the product but not the installation cost.

To avail of this offer you must use an approved Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) product. To install the product a registered (SEI) contractor must be used to carry out the installation.