PowerSwitch

The last post vanished into the electronic ether, so I'll re-post. Are there people here who live in Northern Ireland? Do you think the peak will hit us any differently than it will the mainland? What do you think the future holds for NI, specifically?

Hi Greenbean (again). I live near Carryduff. I think N Ireland will be a reasonable place to live during the PowerDown. We are pragmatic people with plenty of initiative and not too densely populated, with plenty of small farmers. PO will be a shock to 99% of the population, but I don't think we will see the die-offs that could occur in more densely populated regions / cities.

We will of course become more regional and on the periphery of the UK, but this may not be a bad thing. Our winters are mild and we get loads of rain so this should help re growing food.

I agree with you more or less. It will be interesting to see what PO will do to the orange/green conflict. I imagine it will only make it worse. Each side will find some way to blame the other.

Global warming could cause problems, making summers hotter and winters harsher. It's already beginning. Lets hope the ice caps don't melt, I seem to remember seeing a picture of the world if they did - Ireland was completely submerged. I think.

If PO hits hard (as I expect) then I would think the Orange / Green conflict will disappear. It is pretty cosmetic really compared to getting food and water and personal survival.

Global warming has had no real effect on N Ireland to date. Winters might get slightly milder and summers slightly warmer - a good thing I would think.

The ice caps would take thousands of years to melt even if the climate warmed enough for that to occur. I don't expect the climate to warm anywhere near that amount. Even Greenland would take about 3000 years to melt if the climate kept warming. If sea levels rose considerably then Belfast would be in difficulty as it is very low. I live at 140m asl - so it would take one hell of a lot of melting to cause me a problem!

The biggest risk to N Ireland from climate is if the Gulf Stream stopped or changed direction. This would give us a much colder 5 month Winter with snow on the ground and a short Spring and Autumn. It would take a lot of adjusting too!

I disagree about the divisions disappearing. I think peak oil would only make them worse. People always want someone else to blame, and when life is hard, tolerance and acceptance become scarce.

I think if it was a case of everyone suffering or people getting on with life and helping eachother, people will help eachother, as that means they also help themselves.

What does it matter where you live ? Climate change - in the political sense - is already approaching . Is it true that reading the wrong things can be punished with prison soon ? Ireland and GB have the highest illiteracy rate in Europe , how much worse will it get ?
Sea levels are rising by 3mm per year .That's a world wide phenomena . The ice on the pole caps won't be there anymore in a few decades. How does one dye nettle fabrics orange ?
We will manage I suppose . Stupid and with the sword .
Greetings from Cork !

Hello heinbloed - thanks for your input.

I can't agree with your statement regarding the ice on the pole caps not being there in a few decades. I don't know any scientists who don't think they will be there in a thousand years.... Greenland is expected to take a few thousand years to melt if the current global warming continues. The Antarctic is a massive continent of ice and would take much longer to melt.

We are actually overdue our next plunge into ice-age conditions again, so in my opinion we are likely to experience extreme cold before the poles really melt. But this will be well after you and I are gone.

Sorry my opinions seem so opposite to yours, but I have looked into climatology a bit.

My Regards

Hi all,

I have only known about Peak Oil for about 9 months or so and living in NI I've naturally often wondered how it might impact here - good to see others have thought about it to.

Unfortunately I'm not so optimistic with regards the orange/green carry on. I think that basically no one wants us - the British want out yesterday and the Irish don't want to inherit the problem! When it comes down to the time of dwindling energy supplies, neither London or Dublin (whoever is in charge, singly or jointly it doesn't matter) will want to waste much of the precious remaining elixir on us rabble. Therefore with less resources/money being spent on security here (which, let's face it, we need - NI is not stable or peaceful yet and won't be for god knows how long, if ever) and with probable extra demand being made on the British army by being pulled into America's oil crusades which will surely increase as the Peak hits, it will leave the door open for the lunatic fringe (i.e., Loyalists and Republicans) to do their worse...

Of course, having said that - I'd rather be here than somewhere like London or New York!

Regards...

Hello folks.

Just wondering what is going on in N.Ireland?
This forum seems to be a little quiet right now.

Sally

Hi Sally.

Green Living Fair at Castle Espie, near Comber next weekend - 16th and 17th September. Not normally my kind of thing but there will be some renewable energy stuff there.

Sat 11am - they are playing End of Suburbia.
12 noon The future of renewables in N Ireland by Michael Meacher, MP

Sun 12 noon - Eco-homes
2pm New Energy Order - the Californian response
4pm Community supported Agriculture - towards sustainability
5pm Film The Power of Community - how Cuba survived Peak Oil.

Worth a visit I think......

Thanks for that... will investigate.

They did a good course a few years back on reedbeds for sewerage etc...

Sal

Sounds as if this could be an interesting weekend. Thanks for the info.

Well we hope to be there Sat morning.
Apparently if you arrive by bike you get in free!

So I'm hoping our tandem will be back on the road before then (power assisted pedalling you understand .... ie he is fitter than me!) Otherwise we'll have to leave in very good time for me to get there entirely under my own steam!

Here's a link to the programme for the weekend.
http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit/castleespie/LargeGLF.pdf

Sal

We will hopefully get there on the Sunday, definately not by bike or I would need to leave soon. Things like this do highlight the woeful public transport system in our neck of the woods.