Located in Cloughjordan, (klok-JOR-dən) Ireland, is the only eco-village in all of the country, a place with a population of around 5 million. The village is located in a small area in the heart of Ireland. An eco-village is a self-sustaining ecosystem that prides itself on being earth friendly and is meant to provide everything for itself limiting the carbon footprint compared to a typical village. It is important that they are taking steps to limiting their carbon footprint in my opinion, because other countries are not taking enough precaution and they have to compensate for their own sakes as well. Limiting the carbon footprint can be done in many ways such as: decreasing your energy usage, utilizing renewable energy, growing local foods, limiting food waste, recycling, and much more. I believe the eco-village is a great way to do this, while having a beautiful functioning community. During my three-day stay at a hostel located in the village, I found it interesting the multiple ways they as a community practiced an environmentally friendly lifestyle, although they were limited financially.
The village has a large farm which was great for getting fresh food naturally and not having to get it delivered. This is because transportation is one of the highest sources of carbon emissions, therefore having local food is a great way to reduce their footprint.
Unfortunately, as mentioned briefly before, the village does as well as they can to reduce their carbon footprint, but, “they are limited due to financial issues,” as one of the community members of the eco-village put it. A huge issue that the eco-village has is the fact that the solar power farm is not operational and the technology is outdated. This is a problem since they don’t think it would be effective enough to try and fix, and it could be a wasted expense. The village certainty does not have enough cash on hand to get a new one. This would be extremely helpful because of the benefits of solar power in the long run. Energy is a large source of emitting co2 into the environment and creating reusable solar powered energy would not only give the community money from the government. The renewable source of energy will also be a finishing touch on the village becoming practically off the map in terms of poisoning our environment and contributing to global warming.