After coming to the wonderful country of Ireland I certainly see many differences in the way they value energy through their conservation methods. The country has implemented several notable initiatives that I had not been familiar with when I was back home in Bermuda and in the United States. The first one that I had noticed was that each electric outlet had its own switch to turn the flow of electricity on and off. This was an ingenious and simple addition to the conservation of power, however it was also a complete pain in the butt. Throughout the trip there was several times where I thought I was charging my phone or laptop to find that the power level was either below or the same as I had it which left me baffled and confused. I previously remembered that Pa from the Django Hostel had said “You have to remember to turn on the outlet switches in order for them to work.” It took a while for me to catch on however, I managed to by the end of the trip.
What’s more impressive then that is what the Irish have done with their usage of solar energy panels which are used to catch the sun’s powerful light rays. The first example I experienced in the country goes back to our first stop in the Eco-Village located in Cloughjordan. They strived to be sustainable and use energy that is environmentally friendly. I totally agreed with their idea as the new wave of using solar panels has also grown in Bermuda. While being in Ireland I have noticed the sheer volume of solar panels. They are used by the locals in order to practice clean energy habits while also conserving the use of their own electricity and reducing their bills.
There has been an initiative implemented by the government to develop a 30-acre solar panel farm to increase the collection of light from the sun. Not to mention the country had almost 150 applications for solar farms in the last 12 months which is encouraging. I really believe this new wave of using solar panels will catch on worldwide because it saves so much money while not leaving a bad ecological footprint on the earth. My footprint after being calculated was 5.4 planets from my horrible lifestyle back home which I was devastated to learn. It opened up my eyes to realize that I really need to be doing a lot better job of conserving energy as the Eco-Village’s footprint was only 1.2 planets which put me to shame.
I really appreciate how the locals in the Eco-Village live their lives as its a blueprint for the rest of us to live by. Its important that we concentrate on living healthy lifestyles that are not damaging our beloved planet to better shape our future.