Latest news with #JohnSmyth
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
On Ireland's peat bogs, climate action clashes with tradition
By Clodagh Kilcoyne and Conor Humphries CLONBULLOGUE, Ireland (Reuters) -As wind turbines on the horizon churn out clean energy, John Smyth bends to stack damp peat - the cheap, smoky fuel he has harvested for half a century. The painstaking work of "footing turf," as the process of drying peat for burning is known, is valued by people across rural Ireland as a source of low-cost energy that gives their homes a distinctive smell. But peat-harvesting has also destroyed precious wildlife habitats, and converted what should be natural stores for carbon dioxide into one of Ireland's biggest emitters of planet-warming gases. As the European Union seeks to make Dublin enforce the bloc's environmental law, peat has become a focus for opposition to policies that Smyth and others criticise as designed by wealthy urbanites with little knowledge of rural reality. "The people that are coming up with plans to stop people from buying turf or from burning turf... They don't know what it's like to live in rural Ireland," Smyth said. He describes himself as a dinosaur obstructing people that, he says, want to destroy rural Ireland. "That's what we are. Dinosaurs. Tormenting them." When the peat has dried, Smyth keeps his annual stock in a shed and tosses the sods, one at a time, into a metal stove used for cooking. The stove also heats radiators around his home. Turf, Smyth says, is for people who cannot afford what he labels "extravagant fuels," such as gas or electricity. The average Irish household energy bill is almost double, according to Ireland's utility regulator, the 800 euros ($906) Smyth pays for turf for a year. Smyth nevertheless acknowledges digging for peat could cease, regardless of politics, as the younger generation has little interest in keeping the tradition alive. "They don't want to go to the bog. I don't blame them," Smyth said. INDUSTRIAL HARVESTING AND 'TURBARY RIGHTS' Peat has an ancient history. Over thousands of years, decaying plants in wetland areas formed the bogs. In drier, lowland parts of Ireland, dome-shaped raised bogs developed as peat accumulated in former glacial lakes. In upland and coastal areas, high rainfall and poor drainage created blanket bogs over large expanses. In the absence of coal and extensive forests, peat became an important source of fuel. By the second half of the 20th century, hand-cutting and drying had mostly given way to industrial-scale harvesting that reduced many bogs to barren wastelands. Ireland has lost over 70% of its blanket bog and over 80% of its raised bogs, according to estimates published by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council and National Parks and Wildlife Service, respectively. Following pressure from environmentalists, in the 1990s, an EU directive on habitats listed blanket bogs and raised bogs as priority habitats. As the EU regulation added to the pressure for change, in 2015, semi-state peat harvesting firm Bord na Mona said it planned to end peat extraction and shift to renewable energy. In 2022, the sale of peat for burning was banned. An exception was made, however, for "turbary rights," allowing people to dig turf for their personal use. Added to that, weak enforcement of complex regulations meant commercial-scale harvesting has continued across the country. Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency last year reported 38 large-scale illegal cutting sites, which it reported to local authorities responsible for preventing breaches of the regulation. The agency also said 350,000 metric tons of peat were exported, mostly for horticulture, in 2023. Data for 2024 has not yet been published. GREEN VISION Pippa Hackett, a former Green Party junior minister for agriculture, who runs a farm near to where Smyth lives, said progress was too slow. "I don't think it's likely that we'll see much action between now and the end of this decade," Hackett said. Her party's efforts to ensure bogs were restored drew aggression from activists in some turf-cutting areas, she said. "They see us as their arch enemy," she added. In an election last year, the party lost nine of the 10 seats it had in parliament and was replaced as the third leg of the centre-right coalition government by a group of mainly rural independent members of parliament. The European Commission, which lists over 100 Irish bogs as Special Areas of Conservation, last year referred Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to protect them and taking insufficient action to restore the sites. The country also faces fines of billions of euros if it misses its 2030 carbon reduction target, according to Ireland's fiscal watchdog and climate groups. Degraded peatlands in Ireland emit 21.6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, according to a 2022 United Nations report. Ireland's transport sector, by comparison, emitted 21.4 million tons in 2023, government statistics show. The Irish government says turf-cutting has ended on almost 80% of the raised bog special areas of conservation since 2011. It has tasked Bord na Mona with "rewetting" the bogs, allowing natural ecosystems to recover, and eventually making the bogs once again carbon sinks. So far, Bord na Mona says it has restored around 20,000 hectares of its 80,000 hectare target. On many bogs, scientists monitoring emissions have replaced the peat harvesters, while operators of mechanical diggers carve out the most damaged areas to be filled with water. Bord na Mona is also using the land to generate renewable energy, including wind and solar. Mark McCorry, ecology manager at Bord na Mona, said eventually the bogs would resume their status as carbon sinks. "But we have to be realistic that is going to take a long time," he said. ($1 = 0.8828 euros)
The Star
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
On Ireland's peat bogs, climate action clashes with tradition
CLONBULLOGUE, Ireland (Reuters) -As wind turbines on the horizon churn out clean energy, John Smyth bends to stack damp peat - the cheap, smoky fuel he has harvested for half a century. The painstaking work of "footing turf," as the process of drying peat for burning is known, is valued by people across rural Ireland as a source of low-cost energy that gives their homes a distinctive smell. But peat-harvesting has also destroyed precious wildlife habitats, and converted what should be natural stores for carbon dioxide into one of Ireland's biggest emitters of planet-warming gases. As the European Union seeks to make Dublin enforce the bloc's environmental law, peat has become a focus for opposition to policies that Smyth and others criticise as designed by wealthy urbanites with little knowledge of rural reality. "The people that are coming up with plans to stop people from buying turf or from burning turf... They don't know what it's like to live in rural Ireland," Smyth said. He describes himself as a dinosaur obstructing people that, he says, want to destroy rural Ireland. "That's what we are. Dinosaurs. Tormenting them." When the peat has dried, Smyth keeps his annual stock in a shed and tosses the sods, one at a time, into a metal stove used for cooking. The stove also heats radiators around his home. Turf, Smyth says, is for people who cannot afford what he labels "extravagant fuels," such as gas or electricity. The average Irish household energy bill is almost double, according to Ireland's utility regulator, the 800 euros ($906) Smyth pays for turf for a year. Smyth nevertheless acknowledges digging for peat could cease, regardless of politics, as the younger generation has little interest in keeping the tradition alive. "They don't want to go to the bog. I don't blame them," Smyth said. INDUSTRIAL HARVESTING AND 'TURBARY RIGHTS' Peat has an ancient history. Over thousands of years, decaying plants in wetland areas formed the bogs. In drier, lowland parts of Ireland, dome-shaped raised bogs developed as peat accumulated in former glacial lakes. In upland and coastal areas, high rainfall and poor drainage created blanket bogs over large expanses. In the absence of coal and extensive forests, peat became an important source of fuel. By the second half of the 20th century, hand-cutting and drying had mostly given way to industrial-scale harvesting that reduced many bogs to barren wastelands. Ireland has lost over 70% of its blanket bog and over 80% of its raised bogs, according to estimates published by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council and National Parks and Wildlife Service, respectively. Following pressure from environmentalists, in the 1990s, an EU directive on habitats listed blanket bogs and raised bogs as priority habitats. As the EU regulation added to the pressure for change, in 2015, semi-state peat harvesting firm Bord na Mona said it planned to end peat extraction and shift to renewable energy. In 2022, the sale of peat for burning was banned. An exception was made, however, for "turbary rights," allowing people to dig turf for their personal use. Added to that, weak enforcement of complex regulations meant commercial-scale harvesting has continued across the country. Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency last year reported 38 large-scale illegal cutting sites, which it reported to local authorities responsible for preventing breaches of the regulation. The agency also said 350,000 metric tons of peat were exported, mostly for horticulture, in 2023. Data for 2024 has not yet been published. GREEN VISION Pippa Hackett, a former Green Party junior minister for agriculture, who runs a farm near to where Smyth lives, said progress was too slow. "I don't think it's likely that we'll see much action between now and the end of this decade," Hackett said. Her party's efforts to ensure bogs were restored drew aggression from activists in some turf-cutting areas, she said. "They see us as their arch enemy," she added. In an election last year, the party lost nine of the 10 seats it had in parliament and was replaced as the third leg of the centre-right coalition government by a group of mainly rural independent members of parliament. The European Commission, which lists over 100 Irish bogs as Special Areas of Conservation, last year referred Ireland tothe EuropeanCourt of Justice for failing to protect them and taking insufficient action to restore the sites. The country also faces fines of billions of euros if it misses its 2030 carbon reduction target, according to Ireland's fiscal watchdog and climate groups. Degraded peatlands in Ireland emit 21.6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, according to a 2022 United Nations report. Ireland's transport sector, by comparison, emitted 21.4 million tons in 2023, government statistics show. The Irish government says turf-cutting has ended on almost 80% of the raised bog special areas of conservation since 2011. It has tasked Bord na Mona with "rewetting" the bogs, allowing natural ecosystems to recover, and eventually making the bogs once again carbon sinks. So far, Bord na Mona says it has restored around 20,000 hectares of its 80,000 hectare target. On many bogs, scientists monitoring emissions have replaced the peat harvesters, while operators of mechanical diggers carve out the most damaged areas to be filled with water. Bord na Mona is also using the land to generate renewable energy, including wind and solar. Mark McCorry, ecology manager at Bord na Mona, said eventually the bogs would resume their status as carbon sinks. "But we have to be realistic that is going to take a long time," he said. ($1 = 0.8828 euros) (Reporting by Clodagh Kilcoyne and Conor Humphries; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
Reuters
15 hours ago
- General
- Reuters
On Ireland's peat bogs, climate action clashes with tradition
CLONBULLOGUE, Ireland, June 6 (Reuters) - As wind turbines on the horizon churn out clean energy, John Smyth bends to stack damp peat - the cheap, smoky fuel he has harvested for half a century. The painstaking work of "footing turf," as the process of drying peat for burning is known, is valued by people across rural Ireland as a source of low-cost energy that gives their homes a distinctive smell. But peat-harvesting has also destroyed precious wildlife habitats, and converted what should be natural stores for carbon dioxide into one of Ireland's biggest emitters of planet-warming gases. As the European Union seeks to make Dublin enforce the bloc's environmental law, peat has become a focus for opposition to policies that Smyth and others criticise as designed by wealthy urbanites with little knowledge of rural reality. "The people that are coming up with plans to stop people from buying turf or from burning turf... They don't know what it's like to live in rural Ireland," Smyth said. He describes himself as a dinosaur obstructing people that, he says, want to destroy rural Ireland. "That's what we are. Dinosaurs. Tormenting them." When the peat has dried, Smyth keeps his annual stock in a shed and tosses the sods, one at a time, into a metal stove used for cooking. The stove also heats radiators around his home. Turf, Smyth says, is for people who cannot afford what he labels "extravagant fuels," such as gas or electricity. The average Irish household energy bill is almost double, according to Ireland's utility regulator, the 800 euros ($906) Smyth pays for turf for a year. Smyth nevertheless acknowledges digging for peat could cease, regardless of politics, as the younger generation has little interest in keeping the tradition alive. "They don't want to go to the bog. I don't blame them," Smyth said. Peat has an ancient history. Over thousands of years, decaying plants in wetland areas formed the bogs. In drier, lowland parts of Ireland, dome-shaped raised bogs developed as peat accumulated in former glacial lakes. In upland and coastal areas, high rainfall and poor drainage created blanket bogs over large expanses. In the absence of coal and extensive forests, peat became an important source of fuel. By the second half of the 20th century, hand-cutting and drying had mostly given way to industrial-scale harvesting that reduced many bogs to barren wastelands. Ireland has lost over 70% of its blanket bog and over 80% of its raised bogs, according to estimates published by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council and National Parks and Wildlife Service, respectively. Following pressure from environmentalists, in the 1990s, an EU directive on habitats listed blanket bogs and raised bogs as priority habitats. As the EU regulation added to the pressure for change, in 2015, semi-state peat harvesting firm Bord na Mona said it planned to end peat extraction and shift to renewable energy. In 2022, the sale of peat for burning was banned. An exception was made, however, for "turbary rights," allowing people to dig turf for their personal use. Added to that, weak enforcement of complex regulations meant commercial-scale harvesting has continued across the country. Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency last year reported 38 large-scale illegal cutting sites, which it reported to local authorities responsible for preventing breaches of the regulation. The agency also said 350,000 metric tons of peat were exported, mostly for horticulture, in 2023. Data for 2024 has not yet been published. Pippa Hackett, a former Green Party junior minister for agriculture, who runs a farm near to where Smyth lives, said progress was too slow. "I don't think it's likely that we'll see much action between now and the end of this decade," Hackett said. Her party's efforts to ensure bogs were restored drew aggression from activists in some turf-cutting areas, she said. "They see us as their arch enemy," she added. In an election last year, the party lost nine of the 10 seats it had in parliament and was replaced as the third leg of the centre-right coalition government by a group of mainly rural independent members of parliament. The European Commission, which lists over 100 Irish bogs as Special Areas of Conservation, last year referred Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to protect them and taking insufficient action to restore the sites. The country also faces fines of billions of euros if it misses its 2030 carbon reduction target, according to Ireland's fiscal watchdog and climate groups. Degraded peatlands in Ireland emit 21.6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, according to a 2022 United Nations report. Ireland's transport sector, by comparison, emitted 21.4 million tons in 2023, government statistics show. The Irish government says turf-cutting has ended on almost 80% of the raised bog special areas of conservation since 2011. It has tasked Bord na Mona with "rewetting" the bogs, allowing natural ecosystems to recover, and eventually making the bogs once again carbon sinks. So far, Bord na Mona says it has restored around 20,000 hectares of its 80,000 hectare target. On many bogs, scientists monitoring emissions have replaced the peat harvesters, while operators of mechanical diggers carve out the most damaged areas to be filled with water. Bord na Mona is also using the land to generate renewable energy, including wind and solar. Mark McCorry, ecology manager at Bord na Mona, said eventually the bogs would resume their status as carbon sinks. "But we have to be realistic that is going to take a long time," he said. ($1 = 0.8828 euros)
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Seven Church of England clergy to face disciplinary action
Seven Church of England clergy face being disciplined after a damning abuse report which prompted Justin Welby's resignation as the Archbishop of former Bishop of Durham the Right Reverend Paul Butler is among those who could be banned from ministry following a review of evidence in the report into the prolific abuser John Smyth a barrister who died in South Africa in 2018 at the age of 77, attacked more than 100 boys and young men at his Winchester home in the 1970s and 1980s, the Makin Review report, published last year, concluded the abuse was covered up within the Church for decades. While the review led to the eventual resignation of Mr Welby, the Church's national safeguarding team (NST) undertook to look at all clergy criticised within the an update on Thursday, the Church said Bishop Butler and six others would face disciplinary proceedings under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM).CDM outcomes can range from a conditional discharge where no penalty is imposed, to removal from office, resignation by consent and a lifetime ban from a new process, replacing the CDM, was approved by the Church's parliament earlier this month to include defrocking, it is not thought this will be in place in time for these cases. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, will not face any Carey, who was named in the Makin Review, had been one of 10 clergy revealed in February as facing possible the NST has confirmed 89-year-old Lord Carey, the Reverend Paul Perkin and the Reverend Hugh Palmer will face no further there is a 12-month time limit on cases being brought, the NST had to ask for permission of the President of the Tribunals to bring a CDM "out of time".Permission was granted in only seven of the 10 cases and the NST said it "entirely respects" the decision from the "independent judicial process".Others named as facing CDMs include the Reverend Sue Colman - the wife of the Colman's mustard heir Sir Jamie Makin report concluded Mrs Colman, associate minister at St Leonard's Church in Oakley, near Basingstoke in Hampshire, was aware of Smyth's abuse before being ordained and noted that she and her husband visited Smyth in Africa in the 1990s and funded the Smyths through a personal a week after the Makin Review was published, the Diocese of Winchester said Mrs Colman had been asked to "step back from all ministerial duties".The rest facing possible disciplinary action are the Reverend Roger Combes, the Reverend Andrew Cornes, the Reverend Tim Hastie-Smith, the Reverend Nick Stott and the Reverend John NST said it would make no further comment on the cases while CDM proceedings were under way and no timeline had been given for when they might conclude. Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Seven priests face tribunal over church sex abuse scandal
A bishop who served as an assistant to the King during the coronation is one of seven priests facing charges in front of a church tribunal over the scandal that led to the downfall of Justin Welby, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. The Right Rev Paul Butler, who retired last year as Bishop of Durham, the church's fourth most senior role, will face a disciplinary tribunal alongside six other members of the clergy. Lord Carey of Clifton, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, will not face legal action. Carey, who served as archbishop from 1991 to 2002, had been named in February among ten priests who could face disciplinary charges under the clergy discipline measure (CDM). They all faced some degree of criticism within a damning report by the social worker Keith Makin into the Church of England's failure to stop John Smyth, a Christian barrister, from abusing boys over several decades. The criticisms made of Welby in the report, including that he should have been more active in checking that the police were investigating the allegations, led to him announcing his resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury last November, and stepping down in January this year. • Justin Welby: I forgive John Smyth but it is not me he abused The Church of England has now confirmed that seven of the ten priests will face a disciplinary tribunal. These include the Rev Andrew Cornes, a General Synod member who had previously been a candidate to sit on the committee that will choose the next archbishop of Canterbury. The complaints against them were technically 'out of time', but an independent panel has assessed each and said that seven can go ahead. Carey, however, is among three priests who will face no further action. The Makin report alleged that Carey was sent a memo about Smyth's abuses while he was principal of Trinity Theological College in the early 1980s, but said that Carey 'denies seeing it'. He has maintained his denial of ever seeing such a memo. Carey has already relinquished his permission to serve as a priest during his retirement. He cited his age, but has faced multiple criticisms over his handling of abuse allegations in the past. He said on Thursday morning: 'After what has been a gruelling and punishing process, brought upon me by the CofE for myself and my family, after 63 years of ministry, I welcome the decision of the president of tribunals in standing up for principles of integrity rather than expediency. I am absolutely certain that I received no information in 1983-4 which could have alerted me to John Smyth's terrible crimes against young men and boys. The president's verdict is a welcome piece of news after the flawed Makin report.' In 2015 Butler was president of the Scripture Union, and the Rev Tim Hastie-Smith, who is also facing a disciplinary charge, was director. The union had employed some staff at the camps where Smyth worked in the 1970s and 1980s. Butler, who was also the church's lead bishop for safeguarding, and Hastie-Smith discussed Smyth in 2015 after allegations had come to light. However, Butler said that he was 'not provided with any detailed information about the abuse'. The report said they could have shared correspondence they received about Smyth more widely. The other priests who will now face a tribunal include the Rev Roger Combes, the retired Archdeacon of Horsham, who was one of a small group who was given an explosive report about Smyth's abuse in 1982 but said that he did not know the seriousness of the allegations until much later. The Rev Sue Colman is alleged to have been aware of allegations against Smyth before she was ordained, but has said she 'did not know the full details'. The Rev Sue Colman MAYOR OF BASINGSTOKE AND DEANE/FACEBOOK The Rev Nick Stott was allegedly advised not to join Smyth in Zimbabwe but still went, allegedly witnessing 'surprising' behaviour at his camps. He was reportedly told of 'an issue' with Smyth but said he 'was not told any details'. The Rev John Woolmer led the Christian Forum at Winchester College, where he was a teacher. He was allegedly told by a student in 1981 or 1982 that they were worried about something 'very serious which involved abuse'. The report found that he 'did not pursue this and has reported that he has regretted that since'. Carey, the Rev Paul Perkin and the Rev Hugh Palmer will face no further action. If the tribunals rule against them, those facing charges could face punishments ranging from a rebuke to a life prohibition from ministry. The church is reintroducing the power to 'defrock' a priest, but this change will not be in force in time to apply to them. A church spokeswoman said: 'Victims and survivors and all those criticised in the Makin review have been informed and support offered. The national safeguarding team will make no further comment on these cases whilst the CDM proceedings are under way.'
