Elaine McGoff
@elainemcgoff.bsky.social
PhD. Head of Advocacy for An Taisce. Water floats my boat. đ˛ powered. Views are my own.
Meanwhile the farm lobby has successfully lobbied for: More fossil fuel based fertiliser More methane emissions More diesel subsidies Easier destruction of wetlands Harder transition to resources saving &healthier plant based diets. "Food security" is weaponised to destroy our actual food security.
Andy Scollick@andyscollick.bsky.social ¡ 2w ago9 million tonnes of crops destroyed by just one heatwave across Europe, which lasted 13-14 days. #FoodSecurity
European environmental organisations warn ministers meeting in Dublin to resist deregulation and drive decarbonisation www.ien.ie/european-env...
European environmental organisations warn ministers meeting in Dublin to resist deregulation and drive decarbonisation - Irish Environmental Network
Policy Director and Sec Gen of the EEB will attend the Informal meeting of Environment and Climate Ministers in Dublin Castle this Thursday and Friday As EU environment ministers head to Dublin for a ...
ien.ie
Sounds familiar: 'Water UK said datacentres were already being built in water-stressed areas...Millions of people in these regions have been placed under a hosepipe ban by water companies after prolonged extreme heat and lack of rainfall.' www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Not enough water for UKâs datacentre plans, trade body says
Industry says governmentâs failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are âfatally flawedâ
theguardian.com
Hard to think of a more deeply damaging start to Burnhamâs premiership than giving green light to new oil & gas in N. Sea, if true. It wonât lower bills or lead to greater energy security but will drive an even hotter planet. What a terrible signal to give to rest of the world #ClimateVandalism
BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) on X
Andy Burnham will announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea when he becomes prime minister on Monday, the BBC has been told. The announcement will form part of a flurry of policy m...
x.com
'57 data centres use a total of 4.78 million litres of water a day on average.' 'average' figures can mask all manner of ills. Some of these will only take water when the temp is over 25 degrees. What volume of water are they taking currently? In the drought? www.independent.ie/weather/data...
Data centres now using almost five million litres of public water per day
There are around 100 operational data centres in Ireland, but not all use water from the Uisce Ăireann network
independent.ie
This makes for a depressing read. And the worst bit? This being exposed won't change decision makers behaviour in any way. This is what political capture looks like. Our nature, health and wellbeing are the price for the industrial farm lobby's profits. www.grilled.media/inside-copa-...
Inside Big Agâs plot to kill the EU Green Deal
Documents from inside Europe's most powerful farming lobby reveal plans to block efforts to cut pesticide use and reduce factory farm pollution
grilled.media
Our petition to ban the destructive and cruel practice of open-net fish farms in Ireland has got over 1,000 signatures in a day! đđ Thanks to all who have signed đđđ Please share & like so we can get much more âťď¸ The link to the petition & more info on it is here đ swanireland.ie/take-action/...
This summer, water conservation is important. But hosepipe bans can be frustrating, especially when there is so little governance around water usage by data centres. Yet, when it comes to data centres, the Taoiseach is just sticking his head in the sand.
This story is from 2021 and we're now dealing with another major fire in the Killarney National Park. What has changed in 5 years? The main thing is that staff are much better equipped to deal with fires and perhaps the result is that the impact of this fire... www.irishtimes.com/news/environ...
Emergency services tackle huge fire in Killarney National Park
Blaze fanned by strong breeze appears to have destroyed oakwoods at Eagles Nest
irishtimes.com
Essential reading for anyone confused about the 'magical' biogenic Irish methane that allegedly doesn't lead to climate breakdown.
Philip Boucher-Hayes@philipb-h.bsky.social ¡ 3w agoThere is going to be a rash of these kind of stories about Irelandâs attempt to pull a stroke. Whether they are or arenât warranted depends entirely on what the Irish government does next. 𧾠(And yes, itâs burps not farts, and Greenpeace should know that)
In other words: We know the way of measuring the entire world has agreed upon, but we are going to devise our own. This was to calculate emissions from future uses of land depending on how much livestock there is.
"EU prosecutors find âno groundsâ for complaint on NGO funding". The scandal that never was. Pretty terrible slandering of EU NGOs has occurred in the last year and the witch hunt continues in more subtle ways. @lise-witteman.bsky.social @ftm.eu www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
The Nitrates Directive has provided EU countries with the tools to tackle agricultural water pollution for 35 years The priority must be to implement and enforce them to help restore our waters We need to speed up efforts to promote farming practices that work with nature and prevent pollution
European Environmental Bureauđ@eeb.org ¡ 3w agoâ Good news for Europe's waters! The Commission's report on the Nitrates Directive gives it a clean bill of health! The law works, and the benefits outweigh costs 3-7 times over đŞ The challenge now isn't new rules, it's implementation. đ§đ #WaterResilience #NitratesDirective #PolluterPays
Epic lobbying war behind the scenes of Ireland's EU Presidency pushing to weaken our existing environmental & public health safeguards. Ireland needs to show leadership in moving EU towards policy-making that meets our climate & nature restoration goals, and vital supports for sustainable farming
Can Ireland Deliver as âHonest Brokerâ? Hereâs Whatâs at Stake for Climate and Nature in EU Council Presidency
Environmental campaigners are urging Ireland to protect the public interest and resist industry pressure as the country takes up the presidency of the EU Council. The EUâs top agricultural polluter to...
desmog.com
DeSmog@desmog.com ¡ 3w agođ´ NEW đ´ Can Ireland Deliver as âHonest Brokerâ? Hereâs Whatâs at Stake for Climate and Nature in EU Council Presidency đ @rachelsherrington.bsky.socialđ www.desmog.com/2026/07/14/c...
This is very interesting đ
Ariel Brunner@arielbrunner.bsky.social ¡ 3w agoNice one- Aalborg water utility in DK suing the government for failure to enforce the #nitrates directive on farmers. It correctly argues that Aalborg citizens should not foot the bill for new expensive treatment plant to clean water that legally should not have been contaminated in the first place.
'The Journal Investigates reported in April that the tech industry successfully lobbied European Union to change legislation to hide the environmental impacts of data centres from the public ... 'Ultimately, itâs not really known how much data centres are contributing to water shortages in Ireland'
The Journal@thejournal.ie ¡ 3w agoThe incoming hosepipe bans announced on Monday by Uisce Ăireann have brought the huge amount of water used to cool data centres back into the spotlight. jrnl.ie/7101544
This is why access to justice is such a critical issue. If you care about the environment you should care about A2J. 'I think that the courts will actually stand up for enforceability of carbon budgets & climate action plans, but the Government certainly doesnât see it as a priority,â Logue says.'
Fred Logue @fplogue.bsky.social ¡ 3w agoYou canât buy advertising of that qualityâ: The accidental climate lawyer taking on the State From physics to the courtroom, solicitor Fred Logue drives some of Irelandâs most significant environmental litigation. thecurrency.news/articles/230...
Open-net fish farming in Ireland pollutes our bays, contributes to the collapse of our wild salmon, and drives overfishing for its feed. All while claiming to be organic! đđŠđĽ This destructive & cruel practice must be phased out. Sign our petition to call for it. đđ swanireland.ie/take-action/...
Ban Open Net Fish Farms - Sustainable Water Network
Salmon aquaculture in Ireland is polluting coastal waters, contributing to the collapse of wild salmon and driving overfishing for its feed â all despite organic labelling. Phasing out these open-net ...
swanireland.ie
Ireland's oldest environmental group, An Taisce, has called on the Government to lead by example on climate during its six months hosting the EU presidency and said it must walk the walk as well as talking the talk
Govt urged to lead by example during EU Presidency
Ireland's oldest environmental group, An Taisce, has called on the Government to lead by example on climate during its six months hosting the EU presidency.
rte.ie
In 2021, Uisce Ăireann reported that data centres across Ireland used 810 megalitres of water (0.13% of national supply). But that same year, Meta reported that it used 928 megalitres of water for its data centre in Clonee alone. Hard to trust their assertions on DC water usage.
Virgin Media News@virginmedianews.bsky.social ¡ 3w agoAs households face hosepipe ban, Uisce Ăireann says data centres aren't "big" water users. More on Virgin Media PLAY. #VMNews
A reminder that the vast, vast majority of data centres are located in the most water stressed area of Ireland- the Greater Dublin Area. We do not currently know how much water these data centres are using. www.rte.ie/news/2026/07...
Six-week hosepipe ban amid 'exceptionally' dry weather
Uisce Ăireann has issued a six-week hosepipe ban for six areas around the country to protect water supplies.
rte.ie
We know that out of control data centre development has led to 23% of electricity being consumed by data centres. A recent report found that data centres consume 80% of electricity in Dublin, yet Uisce Ăireann canât or wonât tell us the effect of data centres on water consumption.
In 2021, Metaâs data centre complex in Clonee, Co. Meath, used more water from the mains than Irish Water said was being used by all Irish data centres combined. âDoes Irish Water even know how much water data centres are using?â, by @lokapila.bsky.social www.dublininquirer.com/does-irish-w...
![According to Irish Water, as of 2021, data centres across Ireland drank about 810 megalitres of water from the public mains a year â which is about 0.13 percent of overall national supply.
But that same year, Meta reported that it withdrew 928 megalitres of water for its data centres in Clonee in Meath. Planning documents say that it was to rely on water from the mains.
Thatâs more than Irish Water said was consumed overall in the country that year.
A spokesperson for Irish Water said on 19 June [2026] that it couldnât lay out its methodology behind the 810 megalitres figure â or give more up-to-date figures on water use by data centres, since the AI boom.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:sjznb6msdsbogkbwdorupxz3/bafkreia6pcrfbgpds4s7waaniamogy73earjmu3xzts4mlbj6cet57i4pa)
I recently read or heard someone say something like "if AI was so good, they wouldn't be shoving it down our throats at every turn to justify the effort going into it." Credit goes to the source I have now forgotten.
Annette Gordon-Reed@agordonreed.bsky.social ¡ 3w agoDonât know who to credit for this. But it is how I feel.
Our #SurfaceTemperature Detectives collected some surprising data last week! Can you believe a surface in Dublin was 50°C?! That's the #HeatWave & the #UrbanHeatIslandEffect at play. The best way to counteract is by increasing urban trees & greenspaces. @epaireland.bsky.social @antaisce.bsky.social
đ´ NEW: Northern Ireland Turned Into âSacrifice Zoneâ to Feed UKâs Appetite for Meat Nearly two thirds of countryâs pig & poultry farms leach polluting manure into lough supplying half regionâs drinking water, latest research finds. đ @shaunacorr.bsky.socialđ www.desmog.com/2026/07/08/n...
Northern Ireland Turned Into 'Sacrifice Zoneâ to Feed UKâs Appetite for Meat, New Report Finds
A version of this article also appeared on investigative site The Detail Northern Irelandâs largest source of drinking water is besieged by toxic pollution linked to a government drive to accelerate p...
desmog.com
Under EU rules, every data centre drawing 500 kilowatts or more must report its energy & water use. European Commissionâs analysis found only 18 Irish facilities (or 15%) did. An Taisceâs Elaine McGoff put it best: âIf youâre not using very much, prove itâ. www.techcentral.ie/nobodys-coun...
Regulators don't know the impact of AI, voters are reminded of it every day - TechCentral.ie
The Dublin InQuirer recently put a question to Irish Water that should have been easy to answer: how much water do data centres around the country actually use? The utilityâs figure, dating from 2021,...
techcentral.ie
This is wild. 93% of the renewable electricity generation added to the Irish grid over that last decade now powers data centers, rather than reducing fossil fuel use. Data centers have pretty much annihilated the health and climate benefits those renewables could have provided.
Hannah Daly@hannahdaly.ie ¡ 4w agoWhat is even more striking is that data centre demand has matched 93% of the growth in renewable electricity generation (wind + solar + hydro) over the past decade. If we measure since 2020, data centre demand has grown nearly 3-times faster than renewable electricity growth.
[Don't think "big challenge ahead" really conveys the situation. The gap between the 2026-2030 GHG budget and even *best case* for current Govt policies is HUGE: about 2 full extra *years* of emissions. #IMHO #FFFG are big on climate rhetoric but lack all credibility on COMMENSURATE delivery...]
Caroline O'Doherty@codohertynews.bsky.social ¡ 4w agoSmall drop in emissions - big challenge ahead. Latest greenhouse gas figures for 2025 from @epaireland.bsky.social www.irishtimes.com/environment/...