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COMMUNITY:Saving the Earth might need global treaties and international co-operation, but Ireland’s first eco-village hopes to demonstrate how it can be done on a local level. We’ve been reading about Cloughjordan for years –  HILARY FANNINtakes a look as the first houses are ready for occupation.

I HAVE LITTLE in common with Scarlett O’Hara, the feisty protagonist in Margaret Mitchell’s chick-lit-on-the-plantation tome, Gone With the Wind. Unlike me, Scarlett had a waistline with the circumference of a runner bean and fancied the pants off a bloke with a moustache. Okay, I had a waistline, once, but, I swear, the nearest I’ve been to full-blown whiskers is opening the tin for the cat.