Chapter Four: Environmental Change
Introduction
In this chapter, we will explore environmental change in Ireland, including its visible impacts on the Irish landscape, as well as the lived experiences of those who live near – and/or have cultural connections with – different regions of the Irish landscape impacted by environmental and climate change.
Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency states that Ireland is experiencing an increase in temperature, an increase of heavy rain in winter and autumn (with a decrease in rainfall in the spring and summer periods), and a rise in sea levels that would lead to flooding and coastal erosion (Environmental Protection Agency 2024). The change in rainfall patterns will have impacts on plants and animals, as well as human life. For example, these climate-related concerns threaten to impact Ireland’s water supply; food supplies may also be impacted where climate change affects farmers’ ability to grow crops.
In recent decades, climate change has significantly impacted the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic. The Gulf Stream is known to move warm surface water from the equator towards the North, and send cooler deeper water southward. Recent human-related behaviours linked to climate change have been deemed responsible for the slowing of this movement of currents. The slowing of the Gulf Stream is leading to a rapid change in weather events in Ireland, such as intense storms in the winter, and heat waves with less rain in the summer months (O’Sullivan 2021).
If you’re interested in learning more about Ireland’s changing climate, check out this StoryMap produced by the TRANSLATE research initiative:
In the two case studies in this chapter, we will explore how human behaviours – linked to political, economic, and sociocultural activities – have led to the degradation of key aspects of the Irish landscape, including Ireland’s major lake, as well as raised and blanket bogs across the island. We will explore the many facets of life in the Irish landscape that have led to this degradation, its impacts for the future, and the ways in which activists are taking action to protect and preserve the future of these regions.
