September 20, 2016 View all news Chairperson of Friends of the Earth Ireland, Dr. Cara Augustenborg, wins best Irish Current Affairs and Politics blog for ‘The Verdant Yank’Friends of the Earth Ireland are delighted to announce Chairperson Dr. Cara Augustenborg’s win for best Current Affairs and Politics blog in last week’s Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards 2016. Cara’s blog, The Verdant Yank, examines Ireland’s environmental issues with a scientific and political view.Cara’s most recent blogs cover issues such as her experiences as a Friends of the Earth Green Messenger dealing with waste at Electric Picnic and her recent appearance on TV3’s Tonight with Vincent Brown addressing climate change denial. She is also an active video blogger, taking an entertaining approach to issues such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), vegetarianism, and the impact of glyphosate on bees.‘The Verdant Yank’ is a play on Cara’s interest in “green” topics and her Irish-American heritage. Cara grew up in the United States but her mother hails from Co. Kerry. Cara has been living in Ireland since 2003 when she moved here as a Fulbright Scholar to complete her Ph.D. research at Teagasc. She has served on the Friends of the Earth Board of Directors since 2009. Cara lives in Bray, Co. Wicklow with her young family.The Verdant Yank was one of two environmental blogs to win awards at this year’s competition. The Irish Environmental Network’s GreenNews.ie won gold in the Corporate Science and Education category and silver the Corporate Current Affairs and Politics category.Speaking about the awards, Cara explained: “I’m thrilled both The Verdant Yank and GreenNews.ie won Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards. To me, these wins are evidence of more public interest and acceptance of the cross-cutting nature of environmental issues, involving science, politics, economics, social justice, and even the arts.Hopefully, these awards will bring more attention to the environmental issues that affect each and every one of us yet rarely feature prominently in mainstream news. Blogging has been a great way to get stories about our Irish environment to the public in a fun and creative way. I’m looking forward to doing a lot more writing and video blogging as the Verdant Yank in the months to come.”In addition to blogging, Cara comments regularly on environmental issues in national and international media. She is one of The Ecologist’s ‘New Voices’ contributors and will present her vision of a Fossil Free Ireland at this week’s Environment Ireland conference in Croke Park on September 22nd.More information:The Verdant Yank is at http://www.caraaugustenborg.com/verdantyank.htmlCara’s blog post on what the Blog Awards and blogging means to her is here:http://www.caraaugustenborg.com/latest-news/the-yank-wins-best-irish-current-affairs-politics-blog-2016Cara’s previous media work can all be viewed here: http://www.caraaugustenborg.com/media-appearances.htmlLittlewoods Ireland Blog Awards: http://blogawardsireland.comEnvironment Ireland schedule is here: http://www.eolasmagazine.ie/events/environmentireland2016/Contact Details:Twitter @CAugustenborg; Facebook CaraAugustenborgGreen; Website CaraAugustenborg.comPhoto caption: Cara Augustenborg accepting award for best Current Affairs and Politics blog at the 2016 Littlewoods Ireland circus-themed blog awards at Duffy’s Circus, Dun Laoghaire. Photo given with permission of Ashville Media Group. Categorised in: Climate Change Energy