Eco Notes April 2026
Energy crisis
We all know to our cost that the energy market is currently very turbulent owing to the war in Iran, with prices fluctuating regularly, but overall suffering a dramatic increase. This situation is unlikely to improve in the near future; indeed, it may well deteriorate significantly. We are being asked to conserve energy as much as possible. Some people may be asked to work from home, where feasible. Others may choose to use public transport more: if ever there was a time for the bus and train services to improve, it is now. Now may also be an opportunity for people who live near their workplace or school to walk or cycle. Excluding those who are immobile or invalided in any way, many homes could perhaps be heated less, either by lowering the thermostat, reducing the hours of using heat or by heating fewer rooms. Cost rises will not be limited to energy, as most products we buy in the shops and services we use rely on energy to some extent. Many folk will suffer severe financial hardship. We may all need to become more inventive on how to reduce our own costs – buying fewer unnecessary goods, growing more of our own food, buying more locally produced food and other goods. The immediate future will pose challenges for us in Ireland, but they will pale into insignificance compared to the circumstances of all those enmeshed in the wars in the Middle East. The consequences for the environment will also be immense.