What The World Needs Now

Alex & Lucy 26FEB19

t’s hard to fathom how some people just don’t seem to care about the world around them, given that this is the only known planet that has ginger ale, peanut butter and the complete works of The Beatles.

So, until Elon Musk finally builds his underground tunnel to Mars, we really should think about keeping this little earth of ours habitable.

That’s a thought certainly shared by Alex and Lucy from Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, the two budding eco warriors joining a small contingent of Kilcoole classmates as they take part in the national School Strike For Climate Action on Friday, March 15th.

It was 15-year-old Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech at the UN Climate Change conference in Poland last December that sparked other students around the world to stage a series of fresh School Strike protests, the very first having been organised by the young Swede in August 2018. “Why should I be studying for a future that soon may be no more,” said Thunberg from that UN podium. “And what is the point of learning facts when the most important facts clearly mean nothing in our society?”

For CCA maths teacher Martin Healy, having the school represented at the upcoming Climate Action protest was important. “I am stunned by the lack of urgency and action [on climate change] by most western world governments,” says Healy. “They should have some sort of mandatory education given to our students on all global issue topics.”

Having run a Global Issues Week annually for the past five years, and with Healy’s own TY Global Issues classes running weekly, it’s clear that students at Coláiste Chraobh Abhann are being given ample opportunities to engage with climate change. There’s little doubt though that many students are oblivious to the very real dangers facing our planet – and the adults are doing so great either.

The latest Environmental Protection Agency data shows that Ireland’s emissions dropped by less than 1% in 2017, leaving us well short of our 2020 and 2030 climate targets. And on the 2019 Climate Change Performance Index, released just last December, we came bottom of the class in Europe. For a second year in a row.

Is it any wonder that Martin Healy feels that his TY Global Issues class taking part in the Friday, March 15th national strike is important…?

Just how the students themselves feel about taking part we decided to find out this afternoon, when we caught up with Alex and Lucy, to talk ticking time bombs, not keeping up with the Kardashians, and the danger of coming across as Bono…

Now, go check out our rant over single-use plastic right about here.