Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [3]
Car rental is costly throughout the island. Be sure to check your car insurance policy back home before accepting the exorbitant insurance policies offered at car-rental agencies. If your credit card usually covers car-rental insurance, confirm that the policy applies in Ireland.
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TRAVELLING RESPONSIBLY
The government coalition may include the Green Party, but of Ireland’s 40 shades of green the eco kind is surely one of the faintest. It’s not that the Greens are ineffectual (which they are, but mostly because they’re the very junior partner in a coalition), nor is it that the Irish are especially indifferent to the needs of the environment. No, it’s down to that awkward truth known as history: it’s hard to tell a nation that got wealthy a wet week ago after pissing potless for centuries that they shouldn’t buy an SUV or go on four foreign holidays a year. Somehow, the fact that in 2007 Ireland’s carbon footprint was 5.0 global hectares per person – more than double the global average – didn’t really have the kind of impact the European Environment Agency hoped it would have, which meant that the country would have to pay for its emissions, a total of 3.6 million tonnes of carbon per year.
Enter the economic collapse of 2008–9. All of a sudden, production has dropped across a range of industries and the Environmental Protection Agency has altered its forecast, guessing that the country would be liable for about half the amount of carbon credits, between 1.3 million and 1.8 million tonnes of carbon. Such improvements notwithstanding, Ireland will still struggle to meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol and the EU’s own binding targets, scheduled for 2020.
The real saving grace for the small band of eco-activists has been the queue, which has done more than an Al Gore movie to remind the Irish that life needs to get a little more sustainable. Endless traffic jams, snaking queues at overburdened airports and just general waiting in line to get stuff drives most Irish people crazy. So when they’re informed that becoming eco-responsible will go some way toward restoring a sense of sanity, they react positively.
As so many visits to Ireland begin in Dublin, you could start your trip by dropping into Cultivate ( 01-674 5773; www.cultivate.ie; 15-19 West Essex St) in Temple Bar, Ireland’s only sustainability-focused living and learning centre. The centre has an eco-shop, lots of information stands, and hosts workshops and classes on everything from composting to green building. Also worth checking out are Sustainable Energy Ireland (www.sei.ie), the country’s national energy centre, and the Irish branch of Friends of the Earth (www.foe.ie).
Throughout this book we have endeavoured to highlight any accommodation or project that puts green issues at the forefront of their planning; for more, see the Environment chapter Click here; the itinerary ‘An Eco Kind of Green’ Click here; our Top 10 Green Projects; and our Greendex.
Offsetting
Paying someone else to offset your greenhouse gas emissions isn’t the perfect solution to the major issue of global warming, but it is a step in the right direction. The most popular offsetting program involves tree planting, but there are other schemes such as methane collection and combustion. Carbon Neutral Ireland (www.carbonneutralireland.ie) can help you calculate your emissions and advise you how to offset them.
Planning
Create an itinerary that allows you to explore and experience the best of Ireland while maintaining some level of eco-responsibility. Your aim should be to benefit locally owned businesses and any venture that preserves the local culture.
This means choosing locally owned accommodation over the big, multinational chain hotels (see opposite for our selection of green-friendly accommodation); restaurants that make an effort to use local produce; and activities that benefit the local community rather than exploit it. A good example