WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 62

A Useless Life

A farmer got so old that he couldn't work the fields anymore. So he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. His son, still working the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there. "He's of no use any more," the son thought to himself, "he doesn't do anything!"

One day the son got so frustrated by this, that he built a wood coffin, dragged it over to the porch, and told his father to get in. Without saying anything, the father climbed inside. After closing the lid, the son dragged the coffin to the edge of the farm where there was a high cliff. As he approached the drop, he heard a light tapping on the lid from inside the coffin.

He opened it up. Still lying there peacefully, the father looked up at his son. "I know you are going to throw me over the cliff, but before you do, may I suggest something?"

"What is it?" replied the son.

"Throw me over the cliff, if you like," said the father, "but save this good wood coffin... Your children might need to use it."

Source

REDUCING YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

“One of the big incentives for moving over to Bio-ethanol fuel is a 50 per cent reduction in VRT, saving you up to €5700 euro on a Saab. The other is the price per litre.” Jeremy Carr –Mulroy Motors

“Everyone loves a wood fire; it really turns a house into a home. Modern wood pellet boilers offer the warmth and comfort of wood heating and are highly efficient, clean burning and totally automatic, saving you time and money”. Darren Collins- Evergreen


“Solar panels can save you up to 70% on your domestic hot water and 30% on overall heating costs”. Chris Maasson.

ECO SUPPLIERS IN THE NORTH WEST (AD FOR THE INISHOWEN INDEPENDENT)
Until recently, finding suppliers of sustainable energy products such as solar panels and wind turbines meant travelling miles or even venturing into Europe. Thankfully now we can find all the eco-products we need in Inishowen and the North West, saving us valuable time and money.

Insulation

Comfort is paramount in our homes, which makes good insulation vitally important. The more heat and energy you retain in the house, the less your fuel bill will be. This saves money and has the added bonus of keeping the CO2 emissions down to an acceptable level.

Patrick Doherty from Insulation Services has been keeping local homes warm for thirty years and knows a few things about insulation. His company caters for both old and new properties. “New houses benefit from cavity wall insulation,” says Patrick. “Older houses might need damp proofing” As well as individual projects, Insulation Services also work for the Education and Health Authorities and have ten million pound sterling public and product liability, which gives the customer total peace of mind. Patrick and his team also treat timber problems ranging from eradicating dry rot to timber preservation.

Wood pellet boilers

Have you ever thought of installing a wood pellet boiler? Maybe now would be the time to make a decision, as there is still time to avail of the grants that are available for homeowners to save money on eco products.

Wood burning is clean, energy efficient and does not contribute to global warming. The boilers are over 25% more efficient than domestic oil and can cost up to 50% less to operate. EirTherm Ltd based in Carrigans, are agents for HERZ wood pellet and wood chip boilers locally and they can provide the complete range of biomass boilers.

Why choose wood?

Wood is environmentally friendly
The carbon dioxide that is released when pellets are burned is the same as the amount the tree consumed when it was growing so it does not contribute to climate change.

Easy and clean to use
Pellet boilers are lit and run automatically, and the modern pellet boilers are self-cleaning.

Safety
Good quality boilers are equipped with a number of safety features including back-burn protection against the risk of fire.

Buying a boiler

Darren Collins from the company Evergreen, based in Killygordon takes the mystery out of buying bio fuel boilers. “To calculate what type of boiler you need there is a simple mathematical calculation” he says. “Times the square footage of your house by 0.8. This will tell you what size Kilowatt boiler to go for” he says “If you have a house with 2000 feet of space then a 15-20 watt system will be ideal.” Darren tells us about the different types of wood:

What are wood pellets?
“Pellets are clean, dry fuels made from a mixture of sawdust and wood shavings. The pellets are smoke free and high in energy.

What are wood chips?
“These are fragments made up from the whole tree. It is similar to the mulch on a garden but a lot more uniform and totally dry”.

What are heat logs?
“Heat logs are like an oversized wood pellet. They are made from managed oak and mahogany.


Logs

Maassen wood log boilers differ from other solid fuel boilers because it burns normal logs. “We work on the basis that every country has the ability to grow their own fuel. This cuts down on transportation costs,” they advise. “An important fact is that timber can be stored outside on the sheltered side of a building and can be exposed to the elements and even with a 20% moisture content still burns efficiently, so no dry storage is required.”


Solar panels and wind turbines

Maassen Sustainable Energy has 25 years experience in alternative power and also do a comprehensive range of solar panels and wind turbines. “The different wind turbine systems we have can be fitted either in new build domestic, commercial or existing buildings. The domestic turbines are noise free,” says Chris Maassen. Wind turbines will play an important role in sustainable energy in the coming years and Inishowen is ideally located to make the most of the technology. “Solar panels can save you up to 70% on your domestic hot water and 30% on overall heating costs. They do not need constant sunshine to be effective and they can be linked in with the existing heating too.”


E85 Fuel

Callaghan’s Motorway stores supply the North West with the new Bio- fuel E85 made from whey or rapeseed oil. “We are seeing a sharp increase of cars using the fuel,” says Dermott Callaghan from Motorway stores. “Saab, Volvo and Ford are all doing the dual–fuel cars and it is easy to see why. The price of E85 fuel is 95 cent per litre compared to €1.25 for unleaded, this means a saving of 27 cent per litre when you drive a car that runs on Bio- fuel - a big saving over the year for the motorist!”

Bio-ethanol fuel –Saab

One of the big incentives for moving over to Bio-ethanol fuel is a 50 per cent reduction in VRT, saving you up to €5700 euro on a Saab. The other is the price per litre. Bio-ethanol fuel contains only 15% unleaded petrol, which makes the price less prone to sudden increases in the oil market.

Jeremy Carr from Mulroy Motors in Letterkenny is also very aware about the reduction in CO2 emissions “When running the Saab 9-3 or 9-5 on E85 Bio-ethanol, fossil CO2 emissions are reduced by up to 80 per cent,” he states

“There is an impressive 20 % gain in brake horse power and 16% growth in torque when the car runs on E85 compared to when running on regular petrol,” Jeremy tells us. “The car also has the ability to run purely on unleaded fuel as well. So if you are far away from a station where you can refill with E85, you will never be left stranded. Changing from one fuel to another doesn’t require any flicking of switches either, you just put the fuel in the tank and go”.

5 MINUTES WITH - EMMA BYRON

Emma is currently on a year out from college having finished her HND in Fashion Design. She will be starting her degree in Fine Art in September and in the meantime has been busy using her creative skills in design. Emma has been working for various exhibitions including the Ocular Picnics and most recently has been working with Inishowen Artists, organising their collective venture, which culminated in the launch of their brochure and exhibition in Buncrana.

The aim of Inishowen Artists is to have an ongoing series of events and exhibitions and for the group to develop and grow. Any artist living in Inishowen is welcome to join with all the benefits of being able to share ideas, as well as exhibition space, funding opportunities and marketing.

Emma has three children who are a continual source of inspiration for her. She is also inspired by the environment and works with different mediums including paint, pastels, clay, wood, metal and various other objects to create colourful, textural and at times informative work.

For more information go to the Inishowen artists website: http://www.inishowenartists.com/

What music do you like?
I love all kinds of music. I don’t really have a favourite type as such. At the minute my mp3 has stuff from Black Eyed Peas, Jack Johnson, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Muse, Kylie Minogue, Pussycat Dolls, Elvis, James Brown, Andre Bocelli and Maksim Mrvica. If it’s good and I can dance to it, I’ll listen to it.

What would you never throw away?
I try to throw away as little as possible, I can usually find a use for most things, but the things which I couldn’t be without are my family, friends, my art and music.

What book are you reading?
I don’t really read books, I tend to read magazines like the National Geographic and Artists and Illustrators and any interesting articles I come across on the net, usually things which would be inspirational to my work.

What was your favourite childhood game?
I loved anything to do with art and drawing and making things from what ever I could find, but when I wasn’t doing that I was building assault courses or huts in the back garden or cycling with my brothers and friends, always something active.

Have you been to the Cinema recently, what did you see and was it any good?
Last thing I saw at the cinema was “The Golden Compass” with my children. It was brilliant.

What is your idea of a good night out?
I’m not too fussy; as long as the company is good, I’m happy.

Biggest fear?
I think to be incapacitated, being unable to look after my family or myself or doing the things I love.

Biggest thrill?
Ah life itself is thrilling enough for me. There are lots of lovely things each day, which I get a thrill from, seeing or being part of.

Personal philosophy?
LOVE each other….LOVE life....they are each infinitely full of possibility….ENJOY....

What is your idea of a good night in?
A nice hot bath, the candles lit and some nice relaxing music…

Which period in history would you most have liked to have lived through?
Being trained in fashion I’d loved to have been a designer in the 1920’s, and a very wealthy one so I would get the chance to wear a few of the beautiful garments too.

World’s most useful inventions?
Clothes; I’d be freezing and jobless without them. The dishwasher too- it saves so much time and so many fights!

What’s my idea of a great meal?
I love most food, but my idea of a great meal is one that was lovingly prepared just for me. My eldest boy Josh made me scrambled eggs one morning and it was full of shells but I loved it because he made it especially for me.

How do you relax?
I put on some music and I sit and draw.

What job did I want to do as a child?
At first I wanted to be a nurse, but from I was about ten I wanted to be an artist and fashion designer.

Where do you like to go for your holidays?
Somewhere I can explore and have an adventure, I don’t like lying about a pool I’d rather be out taking photos and drawing, or rummaging through some little art gallery or curio shop somewhere.

Your idea of heaven?
Anywhere that has the people that I love.

BOGWOOD AND TURF IN INISHOWEN