I am delighted to see that the magic of a good Christmas market is casting its spell over more and more Irish towns each year. Traditional Christmas Markets, held in cities, towns and villages throughout the country, are becoming increasingly popular. Not only do they evoke an enchanting festive atmosphere but in the ever present economic doldrums, they present the perfect and powerful answer to supporting your local economy!

For my book, I can simply not think of a better way of getting hold of that unusual or rare Christmas pressie that doesn′t smack of commercialism.  These markets are full of craft work, artisan foods and gift ideas that are not mass-produced but guaranteed real quality. Add to that a good splash of mulled wine and your favourite Christmas carols and I think you′re in for a real treat!!  Below I have listed the Chrismas markets I myself know about, and also those that our readers have kindly flagged to me!!  No doubt I have missed lots, so if you know of one that isn′t listed here, please drop me a quick email and I will be happy to add it! (more…)

In the current economic and environmental climate, a large emphasis has been placed on our individual carbon footprints. As an Irish population we are actively being encouraged by multiple initiatives to reduce waste, reuse as much as possible and recycle what can be recycled. We are also encouraged to walk, use public transportation, take our bicycle and leave the car at home. (more…)

As it is summer time, many of us will be taking holidays and staycations are the order of the day in 2009. Vacationing in Ireland may not be something that we want to do every year but the benefits for our economy and environment cannot be underestimated. Staycations help to keep money flowing, and retain jobs in the tourism industry.  As well as helping to improve our economy, encouraging people to holiday at home reduces transport related emissions from travel – good for the environment too.

Despite our weather this summer (is it ever going to make up its mind?) there are lot of activities that you can do. For the sporty out there try hill walking, horse rising or even surfing. The surf in Ireland is one of the world’s best kept secrets. Get yourself a good wetsuit and get on out there. Check out the Discover Ireland site for more information. You can even join in with one of the many local festivals happening around the country or get in touch with nature. Check out Birdwatch Ireland, or even get out and do some whale watching.

There are also lots of options for accommodation  – from camping and caravanning to staying in top class hotels and everything in between. However what can sometimes be difficult is finding somewhere with a good environmental ethos. Recently the Green Hospitality Awards have been launched. By choosing a hotel with one of these awards you know that they are considering their environmental impact and attempting to reduce it.

One hotel is taking this a step further. The Westport Woods Hotel has won a number of awards for implementing green programmes, including the Green Hospitality Award, a Green Award in 2008 and awards from SEI. They have introduced initiatives in the areas of energy, waste and water management. However, they are looking for our help to do more. Voice your opinion through their (very) short survey. It is an opportunity to influence the hotel sector and tell them that we expect more, and want them to address their environmental impact. As an added incentive, anyone that does input to the survey will receive a 20% discount on their next stay at the hotel.

Following on from my last blog about NASA crashing a probe into the Moon, since the recent return of the Space Shuttle one of the greatest space secrets of all time can now be revealed.  It could be as big as the mystery of the Holy Grail, the riddle of the Sphinx and what really happened to Sheargar combined!

Now over time NASA has sought to justify the horrendous expenditure they have incurred by claiming that numerous amazing inventions have come out of the space programme as side effect benefits.

This is known as the Teflon effect from the assertion that it wasn’t for NASA we may never have discovered Teflon and where would we be today without the Teflon Fry pan?  I mean, would your life fall apart?  Mine would!

They claim this benefit in relation to all sorts of incredible inventions that they say would never have been made if we hadn’t ventured into space.  I mean the pen that can write with the nib above the ink for example.  Awesome!!  It changed my life, how about yours?
That’s got to be worth a few hundred million isn’t it?

All this of course is hubris of the highest order because if in fact any of these great discoveries truly are to the benefit of mankind then we could have discovered them simply by focusing on the need down here and seeing what would help alleviate suffering, food shortages, disease or whatever.

You don’t need to go to space to see the need you just need to open your eyes or pull your head out of your backside!

Which neatly brings us to the latest NASA uber invention.

And it is ……. underpants you don’t have to change for a month and maybe more!!
Apparently one of the astronauts was trying these out for a month without telling his crew mates (what a cool guy huh?) during the latest expedition.

I wonder if these undies are also made of Teflon?
They might not need changing for a month or more but wouldn’t they chafe a bit?
Maybe with a bit more tweaking and refinement we can come up with a dual space saving invention of undies that you can also fry your food on in Space?

Remember, you heard it here first folks!  I could be rich next time I write!

Tony Kearney
www.whoownsthefuture.com
05/08/09

Ecotourism may be the latest buzzword  in travel, but Ireland has  a long history of sustainable treasures waiting to be explored.With a wealth of  small-scale, sustainable, culturally aware and nature-based eco-escapes on your doorstep who needs to hop on a plane.

 Eco-friendly accommodation

Environmentally sound places to stay are becoming commonplace in Ireland. From hotels to guest houses, self catering to hostels  there are hidden gems everywhere.   Some GreenMe favourites include the Westport Woods Hotel which constantly strives towards sustainablity and has quite a few awards and accolades proving this. Ecobooley offers a self-catering cottage in the foothills of the Knockmealdown Mountains, County Tipperary. The cottage was rebuilt with a water turbine fed by a mountain stream, furniture made from spent oak and recycled clothing. The cosy rooms are decorated using organic paints and insulated by sheep’s wool.

Organic, sustainable food

Ireland is embracing organic food with local, seasonal and where possible organic food becoming a regular on most restaurants menus.  Click on the link to read more on some of our favourite food haunts through out Ireland.

Eco-friendly activities

Once you’ve found your feet, you can pick from a wealth of green outdoor adventures. From cycling to walking, canoeing  to some of the best surfing in Europe the list is endless. For more information on any of these activities, check out www.discoverireland.ie

Eco spa breaks

 If you’d rather take it easy why not treat yourself to some luxury pampering minus the green guilt.  Don’t worry you needn’t rough it in the wilderness to be a green traveller. Eco friendly spas are found in most counties.

For a real eco pampering, there’s Ard Nahoo Eco Retreat Experience in lovely Leitrim. Offering daily yoga, massages, reflexolgy, wild herb walks and yummy organic vegetarian food and after a hard days relaxing you can retreat to their newly built eco lodges. 

To check out more ecotourism choices through out Ireland log onto the GreenMe directory

Related articles

Find a green hotel

The EcoGem/ Ecotourism BA at the Institute of Technology, Sligo Ireland is is designed to equip students for employment in the tourism industry. With the main focus of the course on the environment and the community.This is the first course of its kind in Europe and responds to the general trend To find out more about this unique corse log onto www.ecogem.webs.com