The offensive, unpleasant stench of raw sewage, emanated from the manhole covers in lower Liberty Square, Thurles, again yesterday, warning us of possibly some other impending future danger. Motorists slowly passing through this now drive-through only area, quickly closed their car windows as they queued up in dense traffic to exit.
Local people passing through the Square, will have noted that in the late evenings over the past week; since the Thurles Music Festival, there has been a major effort to wash the dark stains from the pale coloured, Chinese granite stone; sadly to little avail.
The stains despite all efforts still remain, as Thurles.Info had pointed out in their initial planning submission; latter requested by Tipperary Co. Council, from the public, some four years previously; none of which, as expected, was ever read and certainly not heeded.
But now the town centre faces a new more sinister long-term problem, which we invite council officials, to rise up from their paperless desks and observe.
No, the problem is not failing to water the flowers; not the stench of sewage; not the failure to turn off street lighting, burning 24 hours per day. No it is not even the total lockdown of this area as Emergency Services attempt to either pass through or attend to urgent situations within this area as observed yesterday; no it’s chewing gum.
See images hereunder, reminiscent of Oxford Circus tube station, in the West End of London.
Chewing Gum – the new threat on Liberty Square, Thurles.
When Thurles street surfaces was constructed of black tarmac and much wider; to the casual observer, chewing gum went unnoticed. Today the worst area is around the front of Historic Hayes Hotel, were teenage disco goers congregate on Friday nights. [After all, one must keep ones breath fresh in the event of that inevitable kiss, and with the non availability of suitable litter bins to accommodate ……… well enough said, what is the point, our elected representatives and officials are either totally deaf, or suffering from the Dunning Kruger Effect.]
Has Chewing Gum Ever Been Banned Anywhere?
Answer is yes – Singapore – that sovereign diamond shaped island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia, located at the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula.
Today, Singapore tops the list as the world’s most welcoming city, offering a safe environment to visitors, and it is one place where chewing gum is totally banned.
This ban on chewing gum was first introduced by Mr Harry Lee Kuan Yew, in 1992, adding to their other stiff laws with regard to graffiti, littering, spitting, expelling nasal mucus, jaywalking and urinating anywhere other than in a toilet. It is also against the law to fail to flush a public toilet.
Harry Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), latter a highly regarded Singaporean statesman and barrister, who served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore, between 1959 and 1990; saw the habit of spitting out chewing gum as a filthy, unhealthy habit and suggested that “if people can’t think, because they can’t chew, they should try chewing bananas”.
In Singapore today, the public will face a hefty fine for spitting out chewed gum, with same offence also doubling as “Littering“.
Time to get out the WD-40 Multi-Use and the long handled scrapers before then washing to get rid of the fish oil (WD-40). It seems our Municipal District Council and Tipperary Co. Council are not finished wasting taxpayers money on our town centre, for the foreseeable future, as businesses vanish from the landscape.
Pre-deceased by her loving husband Martin, son Gearoid, her 7 brothers and her sister; Mrs Grant, aged 93 years, a much loved mother, auntie, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully, supported by her loving family, following a short illness.
Her passing is most lovingly remembered and sadly missed by her children Johanna, Veronica, Noel, Therese, Seamus, John and Sharon, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all who were privileged to know her.
This child he means the world to me. There is no more enchanted. A child can take this place of ruin, And magically enhance it. I see him in a golden room, With the book of life before him. Strange instruments upon his charts, And the crystal glow inside him.
He’s your Wonder Child, And my dreams come true. You’ve searched all of your life. I see him now flying over the universe.
This child will build a violin. One will follow the traveller’s love. Another will the bow apply, To reach the one above. I see her in a golden room, With the moon and stars above her. Her simple smile is Heaven’s gate, With the Queen of all beside her.
She’s your Wonder Child, And my dreams come true. You’ve searched all of your life. I see her now flying over the universe.
Your Wonder Child, And my dreams come true. You’ve searched all of your life. I see them now flying over the universe.
Titanium Dioxide is no longer authorised as a food additive in the European Union, with effect from August 7th 2022.
Titanium dioxide is being banned in the EU as a possible carcinogen. [Note: A carcinogen is a substance, organism or agent capable of causing cancer.]
A class action lawsuit, which was filed recently in California, claims that sweets company ‘Mars’ failed to adequately warn customers about the chemical, titanium dioxide, and therefore committed a fraud of omission. Mars says that ‘Skittles‘ are made in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, which permit the use of titanium dioxide at less than 1% of the food’s dried weight, and that the company has done nothing wrong.
Titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide (E171) is an additive that is used in food as a colour. Its function is to make food more visually appealing, to give colour to food that would otherwise be colourless, or to restore the original appearance of food. Titanium dioxide is used to provide whiteness and opacity to foods.
In terms of dietary exposure, titanium dioxide is often used in a variety of food categories, including bakery products, soups, broths, sauces, salads, savoury based sandwich spreads and processed nuts. It is also used in confectionary, chewing gum, food supplements and cake icing.
In May 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an opinion that stated that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe when used as a food additive.
Based on this opinion, the European Commission and the Member States agreed to remove all uses of titanium dioxide as an additive in food. In January 2022, a Regulation withdrawing the authorisation to use titanium dioxide as a food additive in food products was adopted i.e.Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/63.
This regulation entered into force on February 7th, 2022. However, the Regulation included a six-month transitional period to allow food businesses time to phase out the use of this food additive and to reformulate their products using suitable alternatives. This period will now end on August 7th, 2022.
Food containing titanium dioxide that is lawfully placed on the EU market before August 7th, 2022 may remain on the market until its date of minimum durability or its ‘use-by’ date has passed. Food produced or placed on the market after August 7th 2022 cannot contain titanium dioxide. The ban on the use of titanium dioxide is effective in each EU Member State, and in Northern Ireland. Some third countries, such as the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland), continue to permit the use of titanium dioxide.
All food businesses currently using titanium dioxide as a food additive have a legal responsibility to comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2022/63, banning the use of titanium dioxide. The FSAI encourages food businesses to source suitable alternatives to titanium dioxide and start the process of reformulation now to ensure compliance in advance of the ban coming into force on August 7th 2022.
Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 4.7% in 2021 compared to 2020 and are now 1.1% above 2019 pre-COVID restriction levels.
Emissions from the Energy Industries sector increased by 17.6 % in 2021, driven by a tripling of coal and oil use in electricity generation.
Agriculture emissions increased by 3.0 per cent in 2021, driven by increased fertiliser use (up 5.2%) and a 2.8% increase in the number of dairy cows.
Residential greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 4.9% in 2021, driven by a combination of less time in the home, a milder winter and increased fuel prices.
Transport emissions increased by 6.1% as COVID-19 restrictions lifted, however emissions were 10.5 % below the pre-COVID 2019 level.
The Provisional 2021 greenhouse gas emission numbers indicate that 23.5% of the Carbon Budget for the 5-year period 2021-2025 has already been used, requiring an 8.4% average annual emissions reduction from 2022-2025 to stay within budget.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its provisional greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland for 2021. The figures show an increase in emissions of 4.7% in 2021, compared to 2020 – when Covid restrictions had led to a significant lowering of emissions.
In total in 2021, 61.53 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq) were emitted, with emissions 1.1% above 2019 pre-COVID restriction levels. The increase is mostly due to a significant increase in emissions from the Energy Industries sector due to a tripling of coal and oil use in electricity generation in 2021, with increases also seen in the agriculture and transport sectors.
The figures indicate that in 2021, including Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), Ireland has used up 69.3 Mt CO2eq (23.5%) of the 295 Mt CO2eq allowed for in the first of Ireland’s recently approved Carbon Budgets for the period 2021 to 2025. This means that an average annual emissions reduction of 8.4% (over 5 Mt CO2eq) per year would be required from 2022-2025 to stay within the budget.
The report also shows that Ireland will exceed its 2021 annual limit under the European Union’s Effort Sharing Regulation (EU 2018/842), without the use of flexibilities, by 2.7 Mt CO2eq. Commenting on the figures Ms Laura Burke, Director General, EPA said: “A return to coal use in electricity generation, together with continued growth in emissions from the Agriculture sector and a partial rebound in Transport emissions following the easing of COVID restrictions, have combined to deliver an increase on pre-pandemic levels of emissions. The data show the scale of change needed within and across all sectors of Ireland’s economy to make sustained progress in reversing this trend and to meet our EU commitments and National greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.“
See summary of the main sectoral emission trends.
Energy Industries: Sectoral emissions in the Energy Industries sector showed an increase of 17.6% in 2021, attributable to a tripling of both coal and fuel oil use in electricity generation. The consumption of peat has continued to decline, by 67% in 2021, and is currently at an all-time low within the power generation sector. There was also a reduction in natural gas use by 8.9% as some plants were offline for a time in 2021. Electricity generated from renewables fell from 42% in 2020 to 35%, due to low rainfall and less wind. This resulted in an increase in the emissions intensity of power generation by 11.9% in 2021 to 331 g CO2/kWh compared with 296 g CO2/kWh in 2020.
Agriculture: Agriculture emissions in 2021 were 23.1 Mt CO2eq, an increase of 3.0% on 2020. Agricultural emissions did not reduce during COVID restrictions and are now 15% higher than the 1990 level. The most significant drivers for the rise in emissions in 2021 were increased use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use of 5.2% and higher dairy cow numbers of 2.8%, with an increase in milk production of 5.5%. This is the 11th consecutive year that dairy cow numbers rose. Milk output per cow also increased (by 2.5%), therefore increased production was driven by a rise in livestock numbers in conjunction with an increase in milk yield per cow. In 2021, total cattle numbers increased by 0.8%. In 2021, liming on agricultural soils increased by 49.5%, a welcome measure in improving soil fertility, which should lead to a reduction in fertiliser nitrogen use in future years.
Residential: Greenhouse gas emissions in the Residential sector were 7.04 Mt CO2eq in 2021 and decreased by 4.9% or 0.36 Mt CO2eq compared to 2020. However, emissions in 2020 had risen as a result of increased working from home. Emissions are now 2.8% above pre-pandemic levels in this sector. A combination of warmer weather, rising fuel prices towards the end of the year and an easing of COVID restrictions contributed to substantial reductions in coal, peat and kerosene use for home heating. However, since 2014, fuel use per household has increased by 12%, with CO2 emissions per household at 3.8 t CO2 in 2021.
Transport: Increases in traffic volumes during 2021 as COVID-restrictions lifted resulted in a 6.1% rise in transport emissions. Emissions had fallen significantly in the transport sector in 2020 as a result of Covid restrictions. Emissions in this sector remain 10.5 % below pre-pandemic levels, and it is unclear if they will rebound fully to that level. Road transport emissions increased from 9.7 Mt CO2eq in 2020 to 10.3 Mt CO2eq in 2021. At the end of 2021, there were just under 47,000 battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric (PHEVs) vehicles in Ireland, approximately 24% of the Climate Action Plan target for 2025 of 195,300 and ahead of a linear uptake trajectory towards that target.
Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULULCF): [Comprising of six land use categories (Forest Land, Cropland, Grassland, Wetlands, Settlements, and Other Land) and Harvested Wood Products.] When included in National total emissions (see detail in notes below), this sector accounts for 11.2% of the total emissions in 2021. The sector is a net source of CO2 eq emissions in all years 1990-2021. The main source of emissions is the drainage of grasslands on organic soils and the exploitation of wetlands for peat extraction. Forest land and Harvested wood products are a carbon sink (CO2 removal) for all years 1990-2021 although the carbon sink associated with Forest land is on a declining trend due to the age profile of existing forests and a declining afforestation trend.
International aviation: In 2021, total international aviation contributed 1.3 Mt CO2 from over 52,500 return flights from Irish airports, a significant reduction on recent trends, with international aviation emissions averaging over 3.0 Mt CO2eq per year prior to COVID pandemic. Although not part of Ireland’s total greenhouse gas emissions by international agreement, this is a significant reduction in greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere.
Commenting, MrStephen Treacy, Senior Manager, EPA said: “The Provisional greenhouse gas emission estimates for 2021 are a cause for concern in relation to achieving Ireland’s binding Carbon Budget targets. Staying within the current budget now requires deep emission cuts of over 5 Mt CO2 eq per annum over the succeeding four years”.
Full detail on the Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory 1990 to 2021 is available HERE and the EPA Greenhouse Gas web resource is also available HERE.
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