With each step after the other, all I could think about was getting swallowed up by the ground. My peers around me were jumping up and down, creating the surface I was also standing on, to move even without movement from my own feet. It almost felt like being on a gymnastics mat or a trampoline, bouncing with every step. Bogs are the squishy bouncy part of land that contain many layers below the surface. Bogs are common
on the countryside of Ireland, and many people dig out the turf from below surface to use for fire fuel. In a bog there are many layers, and the bottom-most layers have been around for many years. The layers consist of dead plant remains that are topped by living plants. When the living layer dies, it is also topped with a new living layer and becomes the dead layer. Over long periods of time, the layers compost into each other to become one. The top layer is always alive until it becomes part of the dead layer. The bog consistently produces turf, which the Irish people rely on as fuel source. Wood is not a very popular source for fires because trees are not always readily available. Turf comes naturally from the ground over time, and there is plenty of turf to last a while because it self renews. Families each have their sections of bogs that they harvest turf from and then lay out the turf to dry. After the turf is laid out to dry it is ready to be collected into bags to take back
home. The turf is perfect for fires, and lasts a long time. Another source of energy closer to home, that the Irish are more aware of conserving is something called ghost power. Ghost power loss occurs when say a phone charger is plugged into the outlet, but you are off at work with your phone. Nothing is plugged into the charger, but all day it is running energy. The outlets in Ireland turn off with a switch, instead of continuously pushing out power out. We learned the lesson the hard way when we plugged all of our Iphones in without flipping the switch and they never charged. Soon after checking to see if all of our chargers were broken, we realized there was a switch to turn the outlets on. My trip to Ireland exposed me to alternate fuel sources as well as giving me ideas for conserving power usage back home.