Ireland
The Mysterious Case of Prawo Jazdy
An unexpected side effect of the increasingly open borders in the European Union: language confusion.
The BBC reports that Irish police recently cracked the mysterious case of Prawo Jazdy, a driver who was alleged to have racked up dozens of speeding and parking tickets throughout the nation.
It turns out that "Prawo Jazdy is actually Polish for driving license and not the first and surname on the license," Irish police determined. Searching the file, Guardians of the Peace of Ireland determined that traffic officers had cited "Mr. Prawo Jazdy" over 50 times.
Poles are the largest ethnic minority in Ireland, according to the 2006 Irish census. The majority of them are recent arrivals who immigrated to Ireland seeking work after Poland joined the EU in 2004.
"If nothing else is learnt from this driving-related debacle," the BBC writes, "Irish police officers should now know at least two words of Polish."
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A Self-Energized City?
A town on Ireland's eastern coast is experimenting with running entirely on its own power. Dundalk is fueling a 1.5-square-mile "Sustainable Energy Zone" — including a school, a hospital and an industrial park — with a woodchip-fired heating system, a wind turbine and self-powered streetlights, according to Sustainable Energy Ireland.
The citywide experiment, funded by the European Union, is expected to make a significant impact on energy sources. Sustainable Energy Ireland says by 2010, renewable energy will produce at least 20 percent of the heat and electricity used in the Sustainable Energy Zone.
If the experiment is successful, replicating it elsewhere could be a boon to energy-starved nations. Stay tuned.
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