Horizons

EARTH AND BEYONDThe team at the Natural History Museum opened a new children's area this month in their temporary home at the National Museum in Kildare St, Dublin. In the Discovery Den at the Dead Zoo at Large exhibition, young people can find out about Ice Age animals, the Solar System and more.

During Moon Week, from July 19th to 25th, there will be some particularly exciting events. For instance, on July 19th, broadcaster Leo Enright will recreate the launch of Apollo 11 (right) and on July 25th, geologist Matthew Parkes will give a talk entitled Planet Earth – Our Place in Space. See museum.ie

FRESH APPROACHES

Recorders of biological data, conservationists, policy-makers and environmental scientists will be among those attending the third annual recorders event in the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) in Waterford on August 20th and 21st. The theme this year is freshwater habitats, the monitoring of which plays an important role in the understanding of changing water quality, and subsequent action that may be required by local authorities.

See biodiversityireland.ie, 051-306240.

GREEN EMPOWERMENT

It is often said that laws are only useful if they are adequately enforced. With this in mind, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brought out a new report this week which identifies sanctions that could be used to protect Ireland’s environment. The study identified 20 administrative sanctions that are available to environmental regulators to enforce environmental law without resort to criminal or civil court proceedings. Only 11 out of 20 of these are currently available in Ireland. The EPA suggest that new sanctions could improve compliance with environmental laws. See epa.ie for the full report.

sthompson@irishtimes.com

ECOWEB

ecotourism.org

A fascinating site to check out before you go on holidays. This website of the International Ecotourism Society has plenty of tips on planning your trip to minimise your carbon footprint. There’s also a section on how to spot “green-washing” – those clever marketing campaigns that promote goods and destinations that don’t have genuine eco-credentials.