Breffní Lennon
@breffnilennon.bsky.social
Research Fellow at @ucc.bluesky.social. An environmental social scientist with a background in geography, I am interested in the social, environmental, and economic challenges of the energy transition.
https://research.ucc.ie/profiles/blennon@ucc.ie
https://research.ucc.ie/profiles/blennon@ucc.ie
Pinned
In our new paper, we examine how collaborative learning can help practitioners identify & better understand the key barriers and drivers to citizen energy community formation that underscore people's attitudes towards, and participation in, a 'community'. t.co/ppcFqrIkri
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
Treat Lough Derg like a bin, and it will show you what that looks like.
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Ella McSweeney: Lough Derg is drifting towards the same fate as Lough Neagh
Lough Derg has been so reshaped by pollution that its original character is almost impossible to discern
www.irishtimes.com
October 26, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Treat Lough Derg like a bin, and it will show you what that looks like.
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
Children from Ireland's Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss are speaking today at the UN Forum on Human Rights Democracy and the Rule of Law @unitednationsbk.bsky.social @unsrclimaterights.bsky.social @tconnellyrte.bsky.social Watch live at listen-live.unog.ch/en/meetings/...
Listen Live | Live Meeting audio stream at The United Nations Office Geneva | UN GENEVA
None of the used datatypes are supported by your browser!
listen-live.unog.ch
October 13, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Children from Ireland's Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss are speaking today at the UN Forum on Human Rights Democracy and the Rule of Law @unitednationsbk.bsky.social @unsrclimaterights.bsky.social @tconnellyrte.bsky.social Watch live at listen-live.unog.ch/en/meetings/...
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
🇬🇧🔋Who decides how local energy projects are run and how can communities get more involved?
Join our online Q&A with @breffnilennon.bsky.social to explore inclusive, people-centred participation.
👉 Learn about our #CommunityEnergy project and sign-up today: buff.ly/i77wI10
Join our online Q&A with @breffnilennon.bsky.social to explore inclusive, people-centred participation.
👉 Learn about our #CommunityEnergy project and sign-up today: buff.ly/i77wI10
July 21, 2025 at 7:22 AM
🇬🇧🔋Who decides how local energy projects are run and how can communities get more involved?
Join our online Q&A with @breffnilennon.bsky.social to explore inclusive, people-centred participation.
👉 Learn about our #CommunityEnergy project and sign-up today: buff.ly/i77wI10
Join our online Q&A with @breffnilennon.bsky.social to explore inclusive, people-centred participation.
👉 Learn about our #CommunityEnergy project and sign-up today: buff.ly/i77wI10
In our new paper, we examine how collaborative learning can help practitioners identify & better understand the key barriers and drivers to citizen energy community formation that underscore people's attitudes towards, and participation in, a 'community'. t.co/ppcFqrIkri
July 1, 2025 at 9:16 AM
In our new paper, we examine how collaborative learning can help practitioners identify & better understand the key barriers and drivers to citizen energy community formation that underscore people's attitudes towards, and participation in, a 'community'. t.co/ppcFqrIkri
"The idea of free speech as a universally accessible right satisfies the democratic ideal of equality while ignoring the material realities that make such equality unattainable"
How the Rich and Powerful Destroyed Free Speech
And how we get it back.
www.thenation.com
May 25, 2025 at 9:18 PM
"The idea of free speech as a universally accessible right satisfies the democratic ideal of equality while ignoring the material realities that make such equality unattainable"
Interesting article outlining the (Japanese) conservative argument against nuclear power www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/...
The Conservative Argument Against Nuclear Power in Japan
Opposition to nuclear power in earthquake-prone Japan is often seen as the province of political progressives. But a former judge argues that conservative thinking should lead to the same conclusion: ...
www.nippon.com
April 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Interesting article outlining the (Japanese) conservative argument against nuclear power www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/...
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
Major brands are quietly fueling fossil fuel expansion through plastics.
Explore how brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé are driving the climate and plastics crises.
Explore how brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé are driving the climate and plastics crises.
New investigation links Texas fracking to European plastics
More than 25 major consumer brands and petrochemicals have been traced to fracking in the Permian Basin, one of the world’s ‘carbon bombs’.
www.euronews.com
April 7, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Major brands are quietly fueling fossil fuel expansion through plastics.
Explore how brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé are driving the climate and plastics crises.
Explore how brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé are driving the climate and plastics crises.
Pacific Northwest's ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people
Finding suggests humans have added value to forests in lasting ways #Indigenousknowledges
Finding suggests humans have added value to forests in lasting ways #Indigenousknowledges
Pacific Northwest's ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people
Finding suggests humans have added value to forests in lasting ways
www.science.org
April 3, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Pacific Northwest's ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people
Finding suggests humans have added value to forests in lasting ways #Indigenousknowledges
Finding suggests humans have added value to forests in lasting ways #Indigenousknowledges
Trump is forging ahead with a new era of imperialism not seen since McKinley
Trump is forging ahead with a new era of imperialism not seen since McKinley
Worldview: The history of the so-called Gilded Age in America reveals massacres, ethnic cleansing and inhumanity on an unthinkable scale
www.irishtimes.com
March 31, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Trump is forging ahead with a new era of imperialism not seen since McKinley
"Those of us who are willing to see what is under our noses know very well that what is happening in Gaza is an ongoing project of ethnic cleansing"
Mark O’Connell: The little boy lost his entire family. He just sits staring at the wall
Those of us who are willing to see what is under our noses know very well that what is happening now in Gaza is an ongoing project of ethnic cleansing
www.irishtimes.com
March 31, 2025 at 6:24 PM
"Those of us who are willing to see what is under our noses know very well that what is happening in Gaza is an ongoing project of ethnic cleansing"
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
Animals, like caribou, that were common even a few decades ago are becoming rare. Next to the insect apocalypse, maybe the next most alarming biodiversity trend is the precipitous decline of once common, numerous species. 😟
www.climate.gov/news-feature...
www.climate.gov/news-feature...
2024 Arctic Report Card: Migratory Arctic caribou populations have fallen by 65%
Further warming will pose increasing challenges for caribou and the people who depend on them.
www.climate.gov
March 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Animals, like caribou, that were common even a few decades ago are becoming rare. Next to the insect apocalypse, maybe the next most alarming biodiversity trend is the precipitous decline of once common, numerous species. 😟
www.climate.gov/news-feature...
www.climate.gov/news-feature...
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
The story of the first all-Ireland mapping survey 200 years ago. New #RTEBrainstorm podcast based on piece by @catsporter.bsky.social @unioflimerick.bsky.social & @profkdlilley.bsky.social @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social & voiced by Erik Threlfall www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
The story of the first all-Ireland mapping survey 200 years ago
Disputes were common and informants often disagreed when the townlands we're familiar with today were created
www.rte.ie
March 21, 2025 at 8:12 AM
The story of the first all-Ireland mapping survey 200 years ago. New #RTEBrainstorm podcast based on piece by @catsporter.bsky.social @unioflimerick.bsky.social & @profkdlilley.bsky.social @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social & voiced by Erik Threlfall www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
"Pacific Northwest's ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people" we have the knowledge, we just need the will to reverse #BiodiversityCollapse and the #ClimateCrisis
Pacific Northwest's ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people
Finding suggests humans have added value to forests in lasting ways
www.science.org
March 22, 2025 at 8:55 AM
"Pacific Northwest's ‘forest gardens’ were deliberately planted by Indigenous people" we have the knowledge, we just need the will to reverse #BiodiversityCollapse and the #ClimateCrisis
Scientists in the UK say a recent methane-related conspiracy theory was “a wake-up call” for the industry, reminding them they need to communicate better and more directly with the public.
Conspiracy theory on methane-cutting cow feed a ‘wake-up call’, say scientists
Social media storm of misinformation about Bovaer has drawn in Reform UK, the dairy industry and even Bill Gates
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Scientists in the UK say a recent methane-related conspiracy theory was “a wake-up call” for the industry, reminding them they need to communicate better and more directly with the public.
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
Irish environment groups condemn EU cash row as defunding attempt by right-wing MEPs
Irish environment groups condemn EU cash row as defunding attempt by right-wing MEPs
Acrimonious dispute unfolding over whether European Commission should fund organisations that lobby European Union institutions
www.irishtimes.com
February 10, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Irish environment groups condemn EU cash row as defunding attempt by right-wing MEPs
Plans for a greenway linking Kinsale and Cork city could see the abandoned Goggin's Hill tunnel come back into use
The story behind Cork’s abandoned railway tunnel
Plans for a greenway linking Kinsale and Cork city could see the abandoned Goggin's Hill tunnel come back into use. Local historian John O'Sullivan ...
www.echolive.ie
January 21, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Plans for a greenway linking Kinsale and Cork city could see the abandoned Goggin's Hill tunnel come back into use
Interesting article on the potential positive impacts of solar farms in desert environments, particularly in relation to microclimate by Wu et al. 2024
Assessment of the ecological and environmental effects of large-scale photovoltaic development in desert areas - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Assessment of the ecological and environmental effects of large-scale photovoltaic development in desert areas
doi.org
January 13, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Interesting article on the potential positive impacts of solar farms in desert environments, particularly in relation to microclimate by Wu et al. 2024
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
When Russians attack Ukrainian solar farms, they're back up inside of 7 days.
Same level of damage at a fossil fuel plant: 4 months to repair
apnews.com/article/ukra...
Same level of damage at a fossil fuel plant: 4 months to repair
apnews.com/article/ukra...
Ukraine has seen success in building clean energy, which is harder for Russia to destroy
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Maxim Timchenko, who runs the largest private energy company in Ukraine, pulls out a piece of paper with bar charts showing how much new electricity his company has brought onl...
apnews.com
January 2, 2025 at 5:42 PM
When Russians attack Ukrainian solar farms, they're back up inside of 7 days.
Same level of damage at a fossil fuel plant: 4 months to repair
apnews.com/article/ukra...
Same level of damage at a fossil fuel plant: 4 months to repair
apnews.com/article/ukra...
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
President Biden is expected to permanently ban new oil and gas drilling in large sections of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as other federal waters. The move relies on a 70-year-old law that could make it difficult for the Trump administration to reverse it.
Biden Expected to Permanently Ban Oil Drilling in Some Federal Waters
The move, expected as early as Monday, relies on a 70-year-old law that could make it difficult for the Trump administration to reverse it.
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2025 at 10:35 PM
President Biden is expected to permanently ban new oil and gas drilling in large sections of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as other federal waters. The move relies on a 70-year-old law that could make it difficult for the Trump administration to reverse it.
Watching Na Lumière Gaelacha on @tg4.bsky.social about the Horgan Brothers of Youghal. Absolutely gorgeous television
December 26, 2024 at 9:27 PM
Watching Na Lumière Gaelacha on @tg4.bsky.social about the Horgan Brothers of Youghal. Absolutely gorgeous television
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
New York State is the twelfth-largest economy on earth, and now it's going to demand that Big Oil pay for the climate damages it has caused. This is how the tobacco industry met its match
billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-successf...
billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-successf...
A (successful) test of the state-by-state approach!
A day-after-Christmas present for the planet from Albany, New York
billmckibben.substack.com
December 26, 2024 at 6:59 PM
New York State is the twelfth-largest economy on earth, and now it's going to demand that Big Oil pay for the climate damages it has caused. This is how the tobacco industry met its match
billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-successf...
billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-successf...
Looking for some new reading for the new year? While hardcopies of our new book on energy citizenship will be available Jan 2025, the ebook version has already landed! You can download it for free at: doi.org/10.1007/978-...
Energy Citizenship
This open access book develops a deeper understanding of what is an increasingly applied term across policy cycles and academic discourses
doi.org
December 23, 2024 at 11:14 AM
Looking for some new reading for the new year? While hardcopies of our new book on energy citizenship will be available Jan 2025, the ebook version has already landed! You can download it for free at: doi.org/10.1007/978-...
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
Open letter calling on the European Commission to reintroduce dedicated social science and humanities research in their energy and decarbonization-related calls, and strengthen the role of these disciplines in future research programmes...
ecpr.eu/news/news/de...
ecpr.eu/news/news/de...
December 6, 2024 at 10:48 AM
Open letter calling on the European Commission to reintroduce dedicated social science and humanities research in their energy and decarbonization-related calls, and strengthen the role of these disciplines in future research programmes...
ecpr.eu/news/news/de...
ecpr.eu/news/news/de...
Reposted by Breffní Lennon
What is the real toll of natural and climate disasters? Science has staggering new answers | Devi Sridhar
What is the real toll of natural and climate disasters? Science has staggering new answers | Devi Sridhar
New research challenges us to look beyond the event to the devastating long-term impacts. Governments must take note
The devastation of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis or tornadoes is often conveyed by how many people have been injured or killed. And…
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2024 at 6:21 AM
What is the real toll of natural and climate disasters? Science has staggering new answers | Devi Sridhar
Our recent article – Sustaining energetic communities: energy citizenship and participation in an age of upheaval and transition – explores current opportunities and barriers around energy community formation in the EU www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 26, 2024 at 8:32 PM
Our recent article – Sustaining energetic communities: energy citizenship and participation in an age of upheaval and transition – explores current opportunities and barriers around energy community formation in the EU www.nature.com/articles/s41...