Car Wash in Aid of Donegal Hospice

Arranmore Fire Brigade are holding a car wash in aid of the Donegal Hospice on Saturday 2nd August from 1pm to 3pm at the Old Lifeboat Station, Leabgarrow. Your support would be greatly appreciated!! Please pass the word to family and friends not on the internet. Thank you!

Narosa Surf Camp

The Narosa Surf Camp will take place on Saturday 9th August. There will be a mixture of activities including surf skills with lifesaving, Australia nipper- training and if the conditions suit, some stand up Hawaiin paddle boarding. The event will be for ages 8 and up with a cost of €20 for a 1 hour and 30 minute session. Changing and register will be at the old lifeboat station Leadhb Garbh. Age group 8-10 years old will be starting at 11am and age 11+ will be starting at 12.30pm. Please be there 15 minutes before your allotted time to register and get changed. See you all there! (Irish Surfing Association approved.)

Árainn Mhór 5K 2014 Results

The results of the seventh Árainn Mhór 5K (2014) are as follows:


Hugh Gallagher 20:01 Senior Men/First Local
Charlie McElwaine 23:09 First Youth
Joe Doherty 23:20 Senior Men Runner Up
Eoin Gaughran 24:30 Youth Runner Up
John McElwaine 25:04
Dennis O' Donnell 25:25 Local Runner Up
Brendan Green 29:43
Brian Proctor 29:43
Angela McCauley 30:10 First Lady
Ben Gaughran 31:48
Niamh O' Donnell 32:00 Second Lady
Anne Sweeney 35:50
Ryan O' Donnell 36:54
Ronan Gallagher 37:13
Aesha Doherty 37:16
Crona O' Donnell 38:12
Sean McGinley 40:05
Valerie McGinley 46:00
Finola Gallagher 46:00
Eve McCafferty 48:30
Ellie Rodgers 55:50
Maggie Gallagher 55:50
Kayla O' Donnell 56:18
Sinead Brady 56:18
Aisling Bradley 57:27
Annie Bonner 57:55
Ursula Gallagher 57:55
Mary Gallagher 57:55

Well done to all who took part.

Campa an Chrois Bhealaigh

Ionad an Chrois Bhealaigh would like to thank all the children who attended Campa an Chrois Bhealaigh last week. It was great fun and we had a mighty time trying out different activities all week. A huge thank you to all who helped make the week a success: Shannon Brady, Marie Ní Ghallachóir, Wolfgang Steckhan, Margit Steckhan, Comharchumann Arainn Mhor Arranmore Cooperative, Selkie Sailing, Declan Proctor, Brianne Brady, Michael Glynn & Connor, the ice cream van and all the staff at Ionad an Chrois Bhealaigh. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!

      

      

Arranmore United Football Club Awards

There were a few sore heads this morning after last night's presentation of the Eilis O' Leary trophy to the Arranmore lads who ran out 3-1 victors against Raheny with the goals coming from Michael McHugh, John Greene and Conor Proctor.

Also on the night was the matter of senior, junior and club person of the year to be awarded for the year gone by:

Senior player of the year: Chim Reynolds
Junior player of the year: Martin Proctor
Club person of the year: Sally Brady

Roll on the 2014/15 season-kick off to the league which is Saturday 30th August. :)

Talent Competition

There will be a talent competition held this Saturday, 26th July, in Teac Phil Bans starting at 10pm. If you would like to enter the competition please call into Teac Phil Bans or alternatively leave a private message with the bar via their facebook page. Telephone 074 9547795 for more information.

Neptune Cup Regatta 2014 - POSTPONED

There will be a regatta day held on Arranmore Island Sunday 27th July to raise funds for the Arranmore Lifeboat Station. The event, which will be a traditional punt and skiff regatta competing for the Neptune Cup, will take place in Aphort at 4pm. It promises to be a great day out so please spread the word! See you there!! :)

POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER

Sailing Dinghy Instructor Course

Cumann na mBád, Árainn Mhór will be holding an intensive sailing dinghy instructor course on the island shortly. Please call 07495 20024 for more information.

Islands Gaelic Weekend Pub Quiz

There will be a quiz in Early's Bar tomorrow night, Friday 18th July, with the proceeds going to the funding of the All-Islands Gaelic Football weekend, September 5/6th 2014. The quiz will start at 10.30pm. All welcome.

Annual Arranmore 5K

Our 7th Annual 5K will take place this Sat at 1pm to 3pm. Volunteers wanted to cover water stations, first aid, refreshments. Please be aware of competitors on the road if driving. Registration from 12.30 at old lifeboat station in Leab. Pass the word please. Contact 07495 20024 for more information.

Eilis O'Leary Memorial Match and Awards Ceremony

The Eilis O Leary memorial match will take place on Rannagh park on Saturday the 26th July (time to be confirmed). It will be followed by a presentation night in Early's Bar later that night where the trophy will be presented to the winning team.

Arranmore Utd senior,junior and club person of the year awards will also be awarded on the night after a season that delivered silverware in the form of the Glencar Inn division 2 trophy! It's sure to be a good night after a bit of football that day! All welcome!

Swell Festival Tickets

****SPECIAL TICKET RATES AVAILABLE FOR ISLANDERS****

We can't express how grateful we are to you the people of Arranmore Island for allowing us to bring this Festival to your beautiful Island. As a thank you we are offering tickets at discounted rates of WEEKEND PASSES €25 & DAY PASSES €15 available ONLY from Early's Bar.

REMINDER: Watersports Activities

REMINDER: As part of the Swell Festival there will be a variety of watersport activities taking place on Leabgarrow Strand on both Saturday and Sunday. Please come along and join in the fun! :)

Blessing of Teach Charlie Mhuiris, Inis Caorach

NOTICE OF FILMING & CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE

NOTICE OF FILMING & CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE 

Thursday 10th July – Monday 14th July 2014

Please be aware that TV3 are filming scenes and background materials in public areas on Arranmore, for use in ‘Islanders’ the TV series.

If you see the filming crew and do not wish to be filmed please notify a crew member and we will make every effort to accommodate you. 
Thank you.
Richard Stearn, Series Producer (087) 279 0867

REMINDER - Swimming Lessons Begin Tomorrow

REMINDER - The Irish Water Safety Association swimming lessons will take place on the island this year from tomorrow, Monday 7th to Friday 11th July. For more information please contact 0870983749 or 074 95 20024.

One Donegal Sports Summer Camp

One Donegal Sports Summer Camp - 'Celebrating and Embracing Diversity through Sport'

Key aims of the overall programme are,

- Challenging attitudes towards sectarianism and racism.
- Promoting the One Donegal concept towards active participation in civil life in the county.
- To provide a platform for engagement with a range of minority groups across the county and on the islands.

The 'One Donegal Sports Summer Camp' will provide fun filled and energetic opportunities for 7 - 12 year old children to participate in a three day programme of adventure activities and sports using facilities such as Gartan Outdoor Education Centre, Rockhill Adventure Park, Kerrykeel and the Old Foundry, Letterkenny from Tuesday 29th July to Thursday 31st July (3 days).

20 places have been set aside for children and adult leaders from the Donegal Islands to participate, this will include transport on Day 1, Tuesday, to Gartan for meet and greet and activities and accommodation at Gartan OEC for Tuesday and Wednesday nights and return transport to various islands on Day 3, Thursday evening. All meals will be provided for the registered group.

This camp if fully free of charge and is a wonderful opportunities for children and adults to share information on the various range of cultures in Donegal.

Writing on the Wall-Energy Debate at University of Nottingham, EU Energy Week June 2014

As part of the EU Energy Week, the University of Nottingham along with the Midlands Energy Graduate School had a debate about ‘The Future of UK Energy’ on Thursday 26^th June 2014.  The room was full of a mixture of students, research staff and others interested in the debate.  The writing on the wall was the website[1] from the Oxford e-Research Centre with data provided by the Department of Physics, University of Oxford highlighting the ever increasing calculated carbon emissions released into the earth’s atmosphere.  The carbon is from known sources since industrialisation began in the 18^th century not far from here.  The site predicts emissions of carbon dioxide since 1750.  The value of just over half a trillion tonnes of carbon is estimated to have caused just less than 1°C of global warming.  Emitting a further half trillion tonnes will commit us to a most likely warming of around 2°C, widely regarded as the threshold for the most serious global impacts of climate change.  2°C increase is known as the tipping point. Based on business as usual model, the trillionth tonne could be released in less than 40 years time, or, if we take the measures necessary to avoid dangerous climate change, it could never be released. The fate of the metric sums up the climate challenge; to burn or not to burn; it is too late for citizens to affect this change.  1 trillion tonne of carbon in the atmosphere is equivalent to the 450ppm CO₂, we are currently at 400ppmCO₂.  There are many who believe the safe level[2] is 350ppmCO₂

Figure 1 Website trillionthtonne.org

Society is facing a time of uncertainty and possible change.  Whilst we try to juggle the opposing goals of maintaining low energy costs, decarbonising our lives, maintaining a security of energy supply and promoting sustainable economic growth, other countries are trying to do the same; whilst others ignore the experts and carry on regardless.  The future of energy in the UK will depend on many factors including market drivers, regulatory requirements and technology cost and performance. .

Figure 2 Wannabes- Spot the Difference

It is easy to compare a wannabe decarbonising world to a wannabe fit, slim and healthy overweight dieter, a different way of life is needed and putting the action plan on the long finger will possibly make action more difficult for both parties in the long term.  Last month was the hottest May in more than 130 years of recorded weather history[3], the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last Monday, as May 2014 surpassed the previous record high for the month set in 2010, noting that 4/5 hottest Mays have occurred in the last 5 years.  Awareness of the issue is the first challenge, the second is accepting it is a challenge and finally action is required to make change happen.  The climate change debate is likened to the smoking debate, it took 40 years before the scientific data was accepted that smoking caused ill health and death but from the evidence above, that timescale is not an option for the climate change challenge.  

Figure 3 Dr Nick Gostick

The debate was chaired by Nick Gostick who is the Managing Director of Inntropy; the Nottingham CleanTech Centre an incubator for early stage cleantech businesses.  Before establishing Inntropy, Nick spent seven years as Incubation Manager at BioCity Nottingham, supporting early-stage businesses. This followed on from a successful career as an entrepreneur with a background in microbiology.  The discussion began with Professor Colin Snape who is the Director of the EngD Centre in Efficient Power from Fossil Energy and Carbon Capture Technologies

Figure 4 Prof Colin Snape

Prof Snape heads a research team investigating clean fossil fuels.  He explained that if we were to reduce our carbon usage the UK had three possible options for future energy use -nuclear, offshore and clean fossil fuel.  He continued by stating the peak oil argument was fading away as the reality has struck home that although there are at least 100 years of shale gas and indeed 200 years of coal the possibility that they may remain underground due to the burning issue of reducing carbon emissions is a reality.  Prof. Snape remarked that ’an 8% reduction of Carbon emissions per annum is required to achieve UK’s Kyoto targets’.  He recognises that electricity usage will increase as we decarbonise heating and transport by transferring to electrical systems. 

However a recent government commissioned report from the oil baron Ian Wood has recommended extraction of every fossil fuel drop to ensure an economically sound Britain.  George Monbiot in a recent article in the Guardian[4] questions the ability of the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Mr Ed Davey to be a servant to diametrically opposed UK statutes; the Infrastructure Act 2015 and the Climate Change Act 2008.    Interestingly, UKIP’s position is to extract shale gas and cut all green taxes, obviously ignoring previously agreed global mandates.   

Figure 5 Prof Seamus Garvey

Professor Seamus Garvey joined Nottingham University in 2000 as a Professor of Dynamics. Working within the "University Technology Centre" contract with Rolls-Royce, he was promoted to directorship of the Rolls-Royce UTC in Gas Turbine Transmission systems. Professor Garvey has one clear goal which is to make a BIG difference by doing some exceptionally good engineering.  He is currently working on large scale off shore wind turbine projects and deep water energy storage solutions.  

Prof Garvey had 7 distinct points. He stated

1.      There is no energy crisis, when you acknowledge the sun generates 10,000 times more a day than we as a planet currently use, we just don’t have adequate capturing facilities at present.  He asked the question ‘can we collect it?’  Fossil fuel, which is after all concentrated sunlight, it was a cheap concentrated form of dispatchable energy, which is no longer the preferred option due to climate change.

2.      Engineers are people who can create something for a farthing that anyone could do for a pound (£2.40).  He asked that we allow engineers to be engineers and devise an engineering solution to the issue

3.      UK is blest with 2000 TerraWatt [5]Hrs/Year offshore energy using wind and tidal sources.  The UK currently uses 1000 TerraWatt Hrs/Year.  Can we make a system that can use this ‘free’ resource?

4.      Engineers require a user requirement specification, a whole systems thinking approach to the energy issue.  It is critical that we do not make components but whole systems. 

5.      What happened ambition?  Why can Engineers no longer trust their mathematical calculations?

6.      Who is in charge of Energy and who is coordinating?  Prof Garvey believes democracy is going to kill us all as politicians pander to every will o the wisp that passes by in their quest for re-election. 

7.      Finally is climate change an issue?  There are anthropogenic risks however Prof Garvey believes the real issue is security of supply.  The uncertainty of the cost of a unit of electricity, of gas, of wind.  He concluded by quoting US President JF Kennedy

“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by sceptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask "why not?"

      Nick agreed there was no rational decision when it came to Energy policy.  The questions followed  thick and fast.  Nora Paddington asked the panel ‘Who should be in charge?  Prof Garvey explained there was a group called the Energy Research Partnership who he wrote to in 2010 with a question ‘Is it conceivable that Engineers could gain £75MW/Hr for marine offshore wind with storage, he never received a response.  Earlier this year however, Hinkley Point C was granted a nuclear power plant at a cost of £92.5MW/Hr for 35 years[6].  There are a number of bodies in the UK including

a.       DECC                                     DECC

b.      Crown Estate                           http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/

c.       TSB                                        https://www.innovateuk.org/

d.      EPRSC                                   http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/

e.       Carbon Trust                           http://www.carbontrust.com/

f.       Energy Research Partnership    http://www.energyresearchpartnership.org.uk

Figure 6 Spot the Difference Scientists vs Politicians

A discussion ensued on democracy versus dictatorship; China was winning the race against sustainability by examining carbon capture and storage and by keeping costs under wraps.  Commercially viable pumped hydro systems were also a possibility but Government has chosen not to do choose this route.  Prof Garvey made the controversial statement that the fundamental issues were not understood by the man in the street and the discussion should be left to engineers.  This was refuted by Eamon Moore and others in the room that whilst the knowledge of how energy is created, transported and stored is intricate and complicated even without the decarbonisation process thrown in, the man in the street will switch on and will ultimately drive its use as he is the customer.  The public are responsible for our democratic process and the general opinion was that the public needed to be informed so as to create a public opinion that will ensure politicians can engage sufficiently to take action.  The use of virtual power stations was discussed and human nature.  By changing the cost to being dependent on the capacity of the grid ie using electricity at certain times, drying clothes, boiling kettles, the demand time response would only really affect the fuel poor.   The use of thermal storage is currently being researched in a number of universities at present as a way to store electricity once generated as electrochemistry is considered by Prof Garvey to be too expensive for general electricity use.  It will of course continue to be used in technology such as computers and cars.  But saving summer heat to use in winter is probably a cheaper option and it is a growing concept.   The poor building stock was raised as an issue for heat loss and the need to upgrade and build new pre fabricated modular houses which are temperature controlled environments which allows the customer to decide the energy use.  Graham Allen, from Commercial Money Matters raised financial instruments as market mechanism tools for ways forward, Prof Garvey raised the issue that the feed in tariff for solar PV scheme was in fact the poor paying a penalty for those that can afford to reap the benefits of the tariff to benefit from cheaper electricity.   Other new wind technologies[7] discussed included an Archimedes screw type turbine, ‘Liam F1’ launched in May 2014 and commercially available from July 2014 from a Dutch firm.  

It was agreed that the media had huge sway and it needed fundamental learning and so by educating the media we could educate all, public and politicians alike and perhaps have a better society.  The though provoking debate came to an end raising more questions than was answered.  We look towards a future with an election looming in a year’s time and wonder if the energy debate will help the country decide?

Acknowledgments

Images taken from the Web with thanks

Words by Dr Shirley Gallagher

Please feel free to contact

E: shirleyannegallagher@gmail.com

T:  0044 778 9829331

M: 00353 85 8555792

S:shirleyatsyspro             

Twitter: shirleyatsyspro

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[1] http://trillionthtonne.org

[2] www.350.org

[3] http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2014/5

[4] georgemonbiot/2014/jun/26

[5] The terawatt is equal to one trillion (10¹²) watts.  Planet used approx. 16 TW in 2006.

[6] http://www.edfenergy.com/energy/nuclear-new-build-projects/hinkley-point-c

[7] http://dearchimedes.com/press-release-persbericht/