Slieve Elva Peat Bog

This is Joseph Donnellan, a farmer who has cut peat from this property to heat his home his whole life. His peat bog is located on Slieve Eva, an area of significant change in geology in The Burren. It consists of shale instead of limestone. Bogland occurs in acidic and water saturated areas; therefore, there is no oxygen. This anaerobic condition allows organic matter to accumulate over time, producing a dark compacted carbon, known as peat or turf. Joe cuts it from the ground, dries it, and burns it for fuel. Many boglands in Ireland are now extracting peat with industrial equipment, but Joe still does it mechanically with the traditional turf spade, the sleán. Burning turf as the current climate crisis unfolds is becoming problematic because it was an early form of a fossil fuel. People like Joe who cut turf on private property for only domestic use doesn’t appear to be as big of a concern compared to the industrialized extractors. Regardless, they will have to find a new fuel source as we proceed into the Anthropocene. Tuesday, June 25, 2019