Earth Overshoot Day fell on 13 August and it’s getting earlier each year. Humanity has already used up 100 per cent of the resources ‘budget’ produced by the Earth this year, which means that any consumption from now on represents an unsustainable burden on the planet , i.e. mainly in the form of biodiversity loss and the effects of climate change. ‘Earth Overshoot Day’, the moment when humanity exceeds nature’s budget for the year was reached six days earlier than in 2014. The Global Footprint Network (GFN) sustainability think-tank tells us that humanity lived within the Earth’s means up until 1970 but, driven largely by carbon emissions, it has been steadily increasing the debt ever since. See http://www.earthovershootday.org.

Transition Monaghan will hold their Annual General Meeting on Saturday, 29 August in the meeting room of Andy’s Bar & Restaurant, Monaghan, at 3pm. Chairperson of the group, Mícheál Callaghan says that everyone is welcome to the AGM and that the event is intended to provide an opportunity to learn more about the work of Transition Monaghan and to see if they wish to be involved. He outlines below the type of activities the group undertakes.

Transition Monaghan was founded in March 2013, and is part of the worldwide Transition Town movement, founded in Kinsale, which aims to promote local sustainability and boost well – being in communities. As well as our regular column Northern Standard column, we hold regular events which promote aspects of sustainable living, and we also collaborate with other community groups on local projects. In spring of this year, we organised a free public event, ‘Your cost efficient home’, which featured presentations on how to reduce energy usage and reduce bills in the household. Last year we ran an ‘Introduction to Permaculture’ course, which looked at ways of designing sustainable systems for gardening, home energy usage and other aspects of life. We hope to run a sustainability skills seminar or festival in the near future. Currently we are collaborating with Monaghan Tidy Towns on a biodiversity project in and around Monaghan town.

We are always open to new ideas – including fun ones! – and welcome new volunteer input. ‘With the all-important climate change conference this year in Paris and our natural world being put under ever greater pressure there has never been a better or more important time to be involved in promoting sustainability. Further information about Transition Monaghan can be found on our Facebook page or our website http://www.transitionmonaghan.org. Queries may be emailed to transitionmonaghan@gmail.com.