Libertarian.ie

Environmental Issues

Environmental Economics and Policies

• http://www.feasta.org/
  Feasta aims to identify the characteristics (economic, cultural and environmental) of a truly sustainable society, articulate how the necessary transition can be effected and promote the implementation of the measures required for this purpose.
• http://www.progress.org/green/
  Green Economics
  People Are Precious. We can tell something is very wrong in the world economy when the calls for "freedom" pertain to the movement of money rather than the rights of individuals. Why are people taxed so heavily? Why is it so hard for so many to make a living? Why do thousands starve while the world enjoys record-breaking crop harvests and huge food surpluses? If you care about these issues enough to look for new ideas, you are ready for Green Economics. ... Green economic policy will always understand the importance of natural resources. Old mainstream policies that encourage waste or reward monopolization must be abandoned; we need new approaches that reward human initiative, not resource exploitation.
• http://www.perc.org/
  PERC - Property and Environment Research Center is the USA's oldest and largest institute dedicated to original research that brings market principles to resolving environmental problems. Located in Bozeman, Montana, PERC pioneered the approach known as free market environmentalism, which is based on the following tenets:
  - Private property rights encourage stewardship of resources;
  - Government subsidies often degrade the environment;
  - Market incentives spur individuals to conserve resources and protect environmental quality;
  - Polluters should be liable for the harm they cause others.
  
• http://www.cei.org/sections/section1.cfm
  Called 'the best environmental think tank in the country' by The Wall Street Journal, the Competitive Enterprise Institute focuses on the development and promotion of free market approaches to environmental policy. We believe that where individual property rights exist in environmental resources, the environment is most likely to be protected, and that market institutions more effectively allow for the realization of environmental values than political agencies and bureaucracies. As one of the leading proponents of free market environmentalism, CEI's program includes both an overall effort to reframe the environmental debate and a series of targeted projects to reform specific policies, ranging from federal land management and species protection to risk regulation and global warming.
  

Ecological Solutions:

• http://www.sustainable.ie/
  The Sustainable Ireland Cooperative Website
  Ireland's Internet Portal to the world of Sustainability, Permaculture, Ecological Design, Green Building, Renewable Energy, and much more...
  
• http://www.cse.org.uk/
  CSE seeks sustainable energy solutions that engage people and communities to meet real needs for both environmentally sound and affordable energy services. We work with individuals and organisations from public, private and voluntary sectors on a wide range of initiatives at local, regional and national level. The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) is a UK national charitable company that was established in 1979.
  
• http://www.rmi.org/
  Rocky Mountain Institute is an entrepreneurial nonprofit organization that fosters the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and life-sustaining. We do this by inspiring business, civil society, and government to design integrative solutions that create true wealth. Our staff shows businesses, communities, individuals, and governments how to create more wealth and employment, protect and enhance natural and human capital, increase profit and competitive advantage, and enjoy many other benefitsÑlargely by doing what they do far more efficiently. Our work is independent, nonadversarial, and transideological, with a strong emphasis on market-based solutions.
• http://www.mikebrownsolutions.com/
  Mike Brown Solutions
  Do It Yourself Alternative Energy Sources: Steam engines, Alcohol distillation, Build a generator from a car engine, and more.

Sustainable Building

• The Living Architecture Centre, Leitrim
  http://www.livingarchitecturecentre.com
  About five years ago the idea of 'living architecture' surfaced in my work This considers buildings to be living things and to be an outpicturing of our personal inner worlds. Now, the theme of living architecture runs through all LAC Sheltermaking Information - the books and other publications that I produce here at the LAC. My abiding interest is in mortgage-free shelter and in investigating ways of creating shelter that nurtures a creative life.
• Ollan Herr, Ireland
  www.reedbedsirl.com/
  Here we will explain the fundamentals & costs of working with reedbeds as a form of purifying the water we use to clean our homes and bodies... Relative to the packaged systems which have more mechanical parts, reed beds have less to go wrong, be maintained or be replaced... The proposals offered by Herr Ltd are an attempt to maximise the cleaning properties, and the passive nature of a natural system while at the same time minimising the total area of space required.

'Green' Funding

• http://www.triodos.com/
  Triodos Bank aims to be a pioneering force in the world of sustainable banking... Triodos Bank finances companies, institutions and projects that add social, environmental and cultural value, with the support of depositors and investors who want to encourage the development of responsible and innovative business. Triodos Bank uses a social and ethical - as well as financial - approach in all its business activity. The name Triodos - 'tri hodos' - is translated from Greek as 'three-way approach'... Within the framework of these social objectives, Triodos Bank endeavours to achieve strong, sustainable financial returns.
• http://www.sunrisecreditunion.org/
  ... the credit union for intentional communities [USA].
• http://www.jak.se/
  The JAK MEMBERS BANK
  THE INTEREST-FREE SAVINGS AND LOAN SYSTEM
  JAK is operating an interest-free savings and loan system since 1970. A bank licence was obtained in 1997. Formally JAK is a co-operative bank. We are 27,000 members and the growth is 9 percent per year.
  We regard payment for labour and risk taking as legitimate but not for the mere ownership. In our opinion it is unethical to lend money against interest when there is no risk and no labour involved.
  The use of interest also has negative effects on the society. It turns up in the prices of services and goods when producers add to the price of the sales to cover their cost of interest on loans. In an interest economy money is moved from those who have less to those who have more and thereby concentrating the assets in the hands of the few.
  Finally, since our modern monetary systems are debt based and practically all money is debt that has to be repaid with interest, we have a money stock that grows exponentially. Anything that grows exponentially will eventually reach a breaking point. Today we have exponential growth in both real and financial assets including money.
  For these reasons the ultimate goal of JAK is an interest free economy. In order to promote interest free economics we deliver bank services based on an interest free savings and loan system (see above) support the JAK Community Dialogue.

Organic Agriculture and Agroforestry

• The Organic Centre, Leitrim
  http://www.theorganiccentre.ie/
  The Organic Centre was established in 1995 as a non profit making company with the aim of providing training, information and demonstrations of organic gardening, growing and farming. The Centre is located on a site of 19 acres in Rossinver in the unspoilt countryside of North Leitrim. Each year since 1995 has seen significant developments at the Centre...
• The Soil Association, UK
  http://www.soilassociation.org/
  The Soil Association was founded in 1946 by a group of farmers, scientists and nutritionists who were concerned about the way our food was produced. Over 50 years on we have grown in complexity and scope but at our core remains the fundamental link between healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people.
• http://www.agroforestry.net/
  Agroforestry Net, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational resources about agroforestry, trees, and sustainable stewardship of land and water.

Green Gatherings

• http://thegreenfestival.com/
  Green Festival Northwest
  Welcome to the Green Festival Northwest website. The Green Festival takes place each year in September in the northwest of Ireland, primarily in county Leitrim. Although officially Lovely Leitrim, those of us escaping the rat race, use the endearing term Lonely Leitrim to describe this magical part of Ireland. The Green Festival celebrates the regions natural beauty, understated culture, important archeological sites, and local food. It is a 10 day festival when Lonely Leitrim becomes Lively Leitrim. The emphasize of the festival is on the environment and everyone is encouraged to dip in at whatever shade of ÒgreenÓ they like. We believe the large number and diverse nature of the events make it unique anywhere in the world.