Monthly Archives: April 2012

Introducing our final Spring Talk, ‘Climate Change: The Science Behind The Spin’, by Michael Henehan.

Wed 2nd May at 8pm in Angler’s Rest Hotel, Headford.

Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to differentiate the wheat from the chaff with regards climate change science. Too often, opinion is muddled with fact. Too often, climate change is viewed from within a political, or religious frame: a dogma that one may choose to identify oneself with, rather than an empirical fact.
What’s more, even among those who are comfortable that man-made climate change is a reality, there is a worrying lack of understanding about the fundamentals of climate change: how it happens, how we know it is happening, etc.
This talk will attempt to cut through a lot of the nonsense that surrounds the science of climate change and get down to the basics- how does climate change happen, has it happened before, and what has been happening since we’ve started burning fossil fuels.

Michael Henehan, a former pupil of PCH, is currently a Phd researcher, working on “Ground-truthing the Boron Isotope Proxy” at University of Southhampton, having graduated with an MSci in ‘Paleontology and Evolution’ at University of Bristol

Wednesday, 2nd May at 8pm in The Anglers’ Rest Hotel, Headford.

INVASIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN IRELAND TODAY THEIR EFFECT ON OUR ENVIRONMENT

On 19th April, we are pleased to present our second Spring talk. We welcome Elaine O’Riordan who is the Manager for the Galway County Biodiversity Project ‘People and Nature’. Biodiversity simply means the great variety of life in nature including all the different plants, animals and habitats.  The aim of the project is to encourage greater awareness and care for the biodiversity of County Galway.

Invasive species are the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. Elaine will discuss the problem with invasive plant and animal species in general and describe  some of the main pest alien species in County Galway.

The talk will take place in the Angler’s Rest Hotel, Headford at 8pm on Thursday 19th April. There will be no charge for admittance but donations will be requested on the night. Any funds raised will go towards future Environment Group projects.

All welcome!