Around 100 eco-activists set up a temporary camp at Shannonbridge, Co Offaly in August to learn and live in a sustainable environment, complete with electricity generated by a wind turbine, solar panels and a dry composting toilet system. The event included a communal vegan kitchen powered by gas and stocked with locally produced fruit and vegetables.
The aim of the camp was to take “direct action against the root cause of climate change” and to build up a resistance movement in Ireland to reduce climate pollution and demand social justice. A daily programme of workshops covered sustainable living issues such as permaculture, carbon trading, making your own cleaning products and how to fix your bike.
The nine-day event culminated in a day of action against peat burning, which included a colourful parade through the village of Shannonbridge.
The camp’s location, next to Shannonbridge power station, was deliberate. It is the biggest peat-burning power station in the world and organisers wanted to take a stand against the burning of peat which they claim is the “dirtiest fossil fuel that can be burned” because it is the most carbon intensive.
“Peat extraction results in the loss of a key biodiversity habitat and, as bogs naturally absorb carbon dioxide, their destruction adds to the greenhouse effect,” said organiser Molly Walsh. “The amount of pollution generated by the burning of peat compared to the amount of energy produced marks it out as the worst form of fuel that can be burned for energy. The extraction of peat destroys the natural carbon sync of the bog, which acts like a rainforest in absorbing carbon dioxide.”
The camp attracted a broad range of activists, many of whom are particularly concerned about the justice impacts of climate change. “It is people in the Global South who are being hit first and worst as a result of climate change,” a spokesperson said. “It’s simply unjust that we are destroying a carbon sink and burning a fossil fuel such as peat. People are losing their lives as a result of climate change and we need to act now to reduce our emissions and stop catastrophic climate change.“
The next all-Ireland climate camp gathering will take place on 26th and 27th September in Dublin. See
www.climatecamp.ie for further details.