2011

2010 was a year to challenge us. It began with the exceptional flooding of Cork fresh in our memories, proceeded to an unfamiliar freeze which paralysed services and shredded road surfaces, a swine flu pandemic, a biblical outpouring of volcanic ash, financial meltdown in peripheral EU states, an application by Ireland to the IMF/EU for a vast loan to keep the show on the road and the 4th in a grim sequence of austerity budgets passed by a government with a tiny majority in Dail Eireann.  We then closed out the year amidst a return to prolonged icy conditions, water shortages and an early flu season!

So as 2011 takes shape and an election looming, who could be blamed for a sense of trepidation?



This may be the time to refocus ourselves on Resilience - at domestic, community and national levels.  Already a familiar concept in the excellent Transition Town network, 'Resilience' refers to learning the skills, collecting the tools, making the right investments for the future and forming the connections necessary to help absorb the shocks coming from the world outside and lay the foundations for a way of life that can be sustained into the future.

Let's face it - most of us are hopelessly dependent on the supermarket and oilman continuing to provide, on banks holding our deeds and helping us out when we need a new car and on water perpetually flowing in our pipes and taps.  Many of us in Cork have had a reminder of our vulnerability this last year - the banking crisis, water shortages and disruption to our everyday travel routines.  These things can happen more or less overnight without warning, and suddenly we realise what kind of power over our daily lives we really have.
 
So here's a short list of suggestions for 2011. It’s not a list of measures that will make you self-sufficient overnight, it’s a list that will get you thinking of your resilience and help you on your way.  Some of the following cost very little, and anything that does cost money is an investment for the future security of your family.

Water
Invest in a water butt.  These are inexpensive barrels with a small diverter that takes rain water from your house's downpipe.  You'll be amazed at the supply of water you suddenly generate for yourself - use it to wash your clothes or your car, flush the toilets, water the lawn and plants or anything else that doesn't involve personal consumption or hygiene.  Aside from the security it gives you, you will also waste less water which has been expensively cleaned to drinking standards and pumped to your house from miles away.

Conserve water. Do you need to flush 12litres of water every time you use the toilet?  Do you need to leave the tap running when you brush your teeth?  Could you insulate the pipes in your attic so they don't freeze in the winter, rather than leaving a tap dripping at night?

Energy
What would happen if the oil man couldn't come for a month and your tank was empty?  Do you have a wood-burning stove and a good supply of timber (from a well managed, local source)?  Have you made best use of the available grants to insulate your house to squeeze the most out of the energy you do use heating it?  Every euro you don't spend on oil or coal is another euro that potentially stays in your local economy.

The sun is a never-ending supply of free energy and Ireland benefits from much more solar energy than we commonly believe.  Invest in solar panels to harvest this resource - these and other green technologies are also well supported by grant schemes.

Waste
Have you ever thought about how much rubbish you'd have on your hands if your bins weren't collected for 3 months?  For a lot of people, a high proportion of what they dispose of is compostable waste that can give you something useful in the garden - for that day when you do get round to making a raised bed to grow your own vegetables and salad!  Useless packaging makes up another high proportion of our recyclable and non-recyclable waste - avoid it at source and you'll soon see the difference in your bin.

Transport
Use the bus or local train - it might seem like a terrible inconvenience at first rather than using your own car, but with a bit of planning you can build them into your routine to your own advantage.  You will free up time to read the newspaper or work on the train for example.

Car share - why do you and your neighbour both drive to Cork City everyday alone in your own cars?!  Save yourselves both a fortune by going together.  You can agree to do it once a week at first if you're scared of committing and see how it goes from there.  Alternatively, check out car-pooling/sharing services such as Avego and Go-Car.  This measure touches on an infinity of things that can be shared/pooled/rotated around neighbourhoods. The real key to it is getting to know your neighbours.

Better still, could you cycle once or twice a week? Could you even work from home?

Consumerism
Be part of the society you want to see your children benefiting from in future.  Start when you shop - fairtrade, local, organic, least packaging - whatever you judge to be the responsible choices.  Don't need it?  Don't buy it.  The world really doesn't need another plastic gadget in a landfill site.

Food
Grow some of your own. Be realistic with your ambitions initially but once you start there's a fair chance you'll never stop.  Experience the immense pleasure of eating something you've seen grow from seed, not to mention the incomparable flavour of freshly picked or dug produce.  Best of all, get your kids involved and learn the skills together.  You might even get them to eat something green!

Community
Most of the above suggest solutions at a domestic level.  With a little organisation and planning you will get even better returns on your time, money and energy if you look to invest them wisely with others.  Look out for local groups that already exist and see what they're up to.  It's possible there's a community garden right around the corner, a local currency, allotments, tree planting project, a car pooling scheme. Put your energy in and you'll reap the rewards.  Be realistic about setting your goals - it won't all happen overnight - but steadily doing a little will yield great rewards over time.

See if your community group can host a Global Action Plan or Powerdown programme. These are superb starting points for sustainable community actions.

The extent to which modern society can provide for our basic needs is nothing short of miraculous, but should never be taken for granted.  In the long, long history of the human race nothing has ever resembled the comfort, security and confidence we have experienced in the developed world in the last 100 years.  And where modern society functions well - with conscience, imagination and intelligence - it is something to be extraordinarily proud of: a testament to humanity.  However, we have lost sight of what a fragile web that is, and how to make ourselves strong within it. 

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Patrick Treacy is the Development Coordinator of Cork Environmental Forum.