Kinsale Town, a picturesque resort nestled between the hills and the shoreline of southwest Ireland, consists of a maze of narrow streets which have changed little in many hundreds of years…until recently.

In 2005, a local college produced a sustainability plan for the town. The plan has received international recognition as one of the first such plans to involve a whole town. Implementing the plan began with a town conference, sponsored by the town council, which attracted overwhelming popular support.

The goal is to gradually reduce the dependency on oil-based products, and increase the use of sustainable alternatives. Some of the initiatives are:

* To convert to renewable energy sources, for both electricity and heat generation, and to use more natural building materials.

* To increase the energy efficiency of the town’s houses and buildings, in accordance with the Kyoto protocol for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

* To establish a community garden to grow and supply organic vegetables, herbs and fruit for the town. The garden will be a focus for education learning in liaison with Kinsale College while also supplying the town with fresh organic food.

* Advise Hotels and Restaurants on sustainable practices from composting food waste, to buying locally grown organic produce.

Adam Fenderson of Energy Bulletin, an online resource which gives daily updates on how the energy crisis and sustainable solutions are reported in the media had this to say: “…it (Kinsale) has the growing potential to be one of the most positive Peak Oil stories in the world in the not too distant future. Having surveyed many other proposed solutions, I believe the approach being adopted in Kinsale offers one of the best examples of how the challenges we face, if confronted early and with a positive attitude, can be used to imagine and create more prosperous, sustainable and lively local communities.”

In recent months many other towns in Ireland have begun to follow in Kinsale’s footsteps by joining “Powerdown Community Network”, a growing network of towns dedicated to sustainable energy alternatives. The Kinsale project team is also collaborating with experts carrying out similar projects in other countries such as Sweden, USA and Australia so that the sharing of ideas and development of partnerships serve to strengthen the growing global momentum towards environmentally sustainable living communities and countries.

These positive changes are surely a result of the ongoing worldwide spiritual elevation of the planet, and seem to be increasing in momentum and accelerating at a pace unprecedented in history.

Sources and useful links:
http://www.sustainable.ie/powerdown
http://www.energybulletin.net/
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com
http://www.fuellingthefuture.org/
http://www.localplanet.ie  

<<	Contents	>>
Refer this page to friends