What I heard about Climate Justice in Irvine

Irvine was the first stop on the South West leg of Pibroch’s 2023 tour of Scotland.

Another seaside town – though very different for Aberdeen or Lerwick, Stornaway or Peterhead. Though claiming the longest inhabited village in Europe – Dreghorn – within its boundary, the old Royal Burgh of Irvine, established in 1382, was designated a ‘New Town’ in 1966. [1]

Attitudes to this coast seem dissonant. At one level, it is the quintessential seaside coast for the Glasgow conurbation. This is ‘doon the waater’. Saltcoats, Largs, Troon, Ayr, Turnbury. Views West across the Firth of Clyde towards Arran – my family’s favourite resort during my childhood.

And yet this low-lying sand-dune coast was also viewed as ‘suitably’ remote.

“Picture to yourself everlasting bleak sand dunes with no buildings. Only rabbits find a little nourishment here; they eat a substance which quite unjustifiably goes by the name of grass. It is a sand desert where the wind always blows often howls filling the ears with sand. Between us and America, there is nothing but water a sea whose mighty waves are always raging and foaming. Now you will have some idea of the place where I am living. Without work the place would be intolerable.” Alfred Nobel, 1871 [2]

This assessment underpinned Alfred Nobel’s decision to establish his dynamite factory nearby in 1871 in association with the Fairfields ship-building proprietor Robert Downie. Nobel’s factory at Ardeer became the largest explosives factory in the world, diversifying from nitroglycerine and dynamite in 1873 to blasting gelatine in 1879, gelignite in 1881, ballistite in 1887, guncotton in 1892 and cordite in 1895. By 1902, the factory had grown to cover about one 1.5 square kilometres with 450 separate structures within which 1,200 people were employed, many working in underground bunkers know as ‘nitroglycerine hills’. The growth had been assisted by the rapid expansion in export trade. Narrow gauge railways were built to connect most parts of the site: these were linked to the national railway network by the factory’s own sidings and marshalling yards. A succession of explosives steamers was acquired or built to serve the overseas trade, sailing from a dedicated section of Irvine Harbour.

ICI-Nobel, as it was later known, was still operating in my childhood as the train from Paisley to Ardrossan hustled us down to catch the Arran ferry. The convoluted pipework, steam and glamour of the potency of unstable materials played a large part in my later (lazy) decision to study Chemistry at University.

Whilst the train from Paisley Canal Street shoogled us towards the ferry, the two Magnox nuclear reactors at Hunterston A were already generating 360MW of electricity. Hunterston B was commissioned in 1976.

Hunterston A & B

ICI-Nobel closed in the late 1990s and the site was sold for ‘brownfield development’ in 2006 though much of it remains derelict, the haunt of urban explorers.

Hunterston A closed in 1990, with Reactor 2 shutting down on 31 December 1989 and Reactor 1 on 31 March 1990. The ongoing decommissioning of the plant is being managed by NDA, a Magnox subsidiary. Defuelling, removal of most buildings and a care and maintenance phase is planned until 2072. Demolition of reactor buildings and final site clearance is planned for 2072 to 2080.

The first reactor in Hunterston B was taken offline for the final time in November 2021. The second reactor was shut down in January 2022, ending 46 years of generation at the station.

Despite the yachting marinas further up and down the coast, Irvine Harbour is unused now. The town does not export coal to Ireland or explosives to the world. The ships at the quayside are associated with the nearby Scottish Maritime Museum which includes the engine shed of Govan’s Linthouse shipyard, dismantled and relocated, curating displays of the massive and ingenious machines that powered and enabled the Anthropocene. Scrap metal reflecting scrapped lifeways and scrapped lives.

Linthouse Engine Shed Reconstructed at Scottish Maritime Museum

The low-lying coastline – and therefore the town – is vulnerable to both rising sea levels and riverine flooding.

Area below tideline at 3 degree rise above pre-industrial levels [5]

Here are some of the things I heard about climate justice in Irvine.

I heard that were should have a ‘Waste Police’.

I heard that fast-fashion is much more polluting than aviation.[14]

I heard that Hydrogen – especially Blue Hydrogen – is a form of greenwashing. [16]

I heard that all ‘discarded’ functional products returned to manufacturer who should be obliged to ensure their reuse.

I heard that young engineers leaving the profession because the work is so boring or ethically compromised by the adherence of corporations to fossil fuelled business as usual.

There are restrictions on using food waste to feed animals e.g. as pig swill.[18]

I heard, again, that there are strong parallels between Piper Alpha and what happened at Grenfell Tower in 2017.[12]

Credit: Natalie_Oxford on Twitter, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I heard that blue hydrogen produces 20% more carbon emissions in heat generation than using natural gas.[16]

I heard someone ask “What are we going to do about plastics and other petrochemical products?” is we ‘Just Stop Oil’.

I heard that producing Green Hydrogen by electrolysis of H₂O using renewable electricity is only about 80% efficient i.e. 20% of energy is wasted in the conversion process. But that electrolyser efficiencies are improving. [17]

I heard that emergency services arriving at the chaos of an every-man-for-himself situation is much more difficult than if folk follow orders and established procedures

I heard that someone was told that electric vehicles would be ‘the thing’ in 5 years – in 1993!

I heard that complete transition away from fossil fuels may not be best way forwards.

I heard someone ask if there were still Piper Alpha family-based pressure groups?

I heard that part of the problem is that modern machinery and appliances are not designed to be repaired.

I heard that retail chains such as supermarkets should be forced to publish their levels of waste.

UK Food Waste 2018 [11]

I heard that fossil fuel interests in Venezuela ordered someone interested in sustainable transport to desist in efforts to electrify.

I heard that Marine Protection Areas, such as Eyemouth and St. Abbs Head, are richer ecologically and more biodiverse than local West Coast areas which have not been protected.

I heard that if food waste was a country it would have the 3^rd highest carbon footprint after China and the USA. [10]

I heard that consumers might prefer outlets with lower wastage rates.

I heard that folk are suspicious of the trade-off between waste and choice.

I heard that different types of food contribute different proportions to the overall carbon footprint. More waste in high carbon food types will cause greater warming. [9, 10]