Sustainable Enniscorthy Energy Community

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Sustainable ​Enniscorthy SEC’s vision is to create a sustainable town that prioritises the health and wellbeing of the present community and of future generations.  The Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index for Health has been recorded as “poor” and “very poor” in Enniscorthy, especially during certain weather conditions. The World Health Organisation identifies air pollution as the single biggest environmental health risk.  Particulate matter from burning of solid fuels, PM2.5, is the major factor in poor air quality and its health effects in Enniscorthy.
 
Our goals for Enniscorthy are:

1. Improve the air quality through the reduced use of fossil fuels.
2. Reduce the health impacts caused by poor air quality.
3. Increase the use of renewable energy to increase efficiency and comfort levels in homes, community centres, schools and parish buildings.

There are 2 strands to our immediate plans.  The first is to gather the baseline energy data on Enniscorthy, which will form the basis for an Energy Master Plan for the town.  The second strand is to begin the process of engagement with our local community via the local press, local schools and local community organisations.  This will get the message out about how each of us can contribute to improving the air quality, by using smokeless fuel, retrofitting homes and switching to greener, cleaner energy options.  We all are on a learning curve about the options available; we must explain to our community what the costs of doing the various options are, and the grants and financing options that are available to everyone to achieve greener energy solutions.
 
We have already engaged with the local secondary schools about The GLOBE Air Quality Campaign; this is a school-based citizen science campaign where students get the opportunity to collect meaningful data about traffic-related air quality at their school. It is organised by the Environmental Education Unit (EEU) of An Taisce with support from the EPA.  Four Enniscorthy second-level schools have signed up to take part.