A chara, - As the media well know, we have reached the end of cheap oil (as Jacques Chirac has recently stated and as even Chevron-Texaco admits on its website).
Regardless of whether the peak in world oil production ("peak oil") occurs this year or in 2015, according to the Hirsch report we need at least 10 years of preparation for the coming oil crisis. The world is about to change dramatically and permanently as a result of oil depletion, and it is no longer just the opinion of Colin Campbell, Matthew Simmons, Richard Heinberg, et al. We are hopelessly addicted to oil, relying on it for everything from plastics, transport, heating, pesticides to delivering fresh water.
Given that 87 per cent of the fuels to produce Ireland's electricity are imported, and that a large proportion of our gas comes from the UK's rapidly depleting gas supplies, what radical action is Ireland taking? Surely, relying so heavily on imported oil and gas at a time when prices are rocketing is utterly ludicrous?
I urge the media to stop the scandalous silence over this enormous issue and to do an in-depth reportage into the topic of "peak oil" and Ireland's energy security. - Is mise,
SOMHAIRLE MAC AODHA,
Páirc na Labhras,
Caisleán Nua,
Gaillimh.