Limerick Cycling Campaign, the Limerick Cycle Bus and the Irish Pedestrian Network are launching the #WeNeedSpace campaign calling on Limerick Council to provide safe, usable space across the city for people to shop, exercise and commute by walking and cycling during the current crisis. Research published by Sports Ireland on the 30th April shows an additional 500,000 regular walkers, 450,000 runners and 220,000 cyclists. These numbers show a huge increase in people using public space to move around and exercise. This positive cultural change in how we use our streets should be further encouraged by making more space for people to get out and stay healthy during these difficult times. It’s very difficult for young families in the city to get fresh air and exercise while trips to parks and beaches are off-limits. We need to facilitate safe segregated cycle routes in the city to encourage family and more cautious cyclists to come out and get some exercise. A circular segregated cycle would open up the city to young people to get their exercise in a safe way. These temporary actions in response to the current emergency, would be strategic in creating a positive cultural change to make our towns and cities more liveable and contributing to a much needed boost in footfall required to aid the economic recovery when we move beyond the current crisis. Please support this campaign by signing and sharing on social media using the hashtag #WeNeedSpace and read our letter to the Council on the Limerick Cycling website.

The garden's aim is to produce local food and teach gardening techniques. Empowering people to produce their own food is especially important during this time of financial, societal and climate upheaval. The community garden will be totally run by volunteers, and consistently monitored by a committee. Benefits of Community Gardens Health Community gardens increase the public access to affordable, fresh, healthy food (1). People who participate in community gardens, on average, increase their fruit consumption by 10% (1) and areas with community gardens have less obesity (3). The act of gardening is a form of exercise and so participation in community gardens promotes physical activity (1,3). Urban agriculture is also linked to reductions in stress and positive mental health especially for those suffering from mental health problems (3). Community gardens generally promote public health and improve quality of life (1) Community Community gardens promote connection with the earth and with other people (7). Working with each other and sharing resources and time builds social relationships and stronger communities. Participation in community gardens is linked with increased voter registration, civic responsibility, and reduced rates of crime (3). Compared to other communal green spaces community gardens are small scale, low cost and highly used. Community garden areas of public parks see more visits than any other part of the park (2). Resilient Food System and Sustainability Urban agriculture increases food accessibility and local food security (3,1). This is of great significance to food insecure households (3). According to Safefood.eu, one in ten households in Ireland in 2018 suffered from food poverty (8). People who grow their own food, or are a part of a community garden save money by supplementing the food they buy (3). In Seattle growers were able to supplement their produce by 30-40% (3). Many urban agriculture projects produce more than they can consume and donate the excess food to community members and food banks (3). Increasing urban agriculture increases the resilience and sustainability of the city’s food system and reduces reliance on imported produce (3). This is especially relevant in the wake of the coronavirus. Local food is generally considered to be more sustainable because of the carbon cost associated with travel. Education Community gardens can be a great platform for skill shares and events like gardening workshops, and gardening tutoring, taste-testing events or discussion events (1). In one study 20% of students that started gardening in the community garden began gardening at home (1). Community gardens can be used by local schools. This is greatly beneficial for children as gardening helps develop fine motor skills and teaches them about patience, science and where their food comes from (2). Community gardens can host a variety of workshops and help people develop tangible agricultural and organisational skills (3). References 1.Community Gardens: Lessons Learned From California Healthy Cities and Communities | Joan Twiss, MA, Joy Dickinson, BS, CHES, Shirley Duma, MA, Tanya Kleinman, BA, Heather Paulsen, MS, and Liz Rilveria, MPA 2. Community Gardening By Katherine L. Adam NCAT Agriculture Specialist Published January 2011, 3.The Intersection of Planning, Urban Agriculture, and Food Justice: A Review of the Literature Megan Horst, Nathan McClintock & Lesli Hoey 4. Multifunctional Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Land Use Planning in the United States Sarah Taylor Lovell 5.Alma Anne Clavin (2011) Realising ecological sustainability in community gardens: a capability approach, Local Environment, 16:10, 945-962, DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2011.627320 6.The motivations and experiences of community garden participants in Edinburgh, Scotland David McVey, Robert Nash & Paul Stansbie 7.It takes a garden: Cultivating citizen-subjects in organized garden projects Mary BethPudup 8. https://www.safefood.eu/News/2019/New-research-reveals-households-on-low-incomes-need-to-spend-up-to-1-3-of-take-home-income-to-afford.aspx

The extraction, transport, refining and use of petroleum and petrol cause damage to people, air, water, land, animals and plants. Gasoline engine exhaust pollutes the air, causing asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, dementia and thousands of premature deaths each year. Vehicle exhaust affects children, disadvantaged communities and communities of color most, with disproportionate impacts on health, finances and quality of life. How will it help reduce pollution? Emissions of nitrogen oxides (Nox) - which come from car exhausts - regularly exceed safe levels in many cities. Diesel vehicles produce the overwhelming majority of roadside Nox gases. So removing petrol and diesel vehicles from the roads should help bring air quality within the guidelines set out by the World Health Organization (WHO). Air pollution has been a concern for decades. But the issue gained renewed urgency when the UK government lost court cases over its plans to reduce nitrogen-dioxide levels.

While the emissions of conventional cars are terrible for the environment and human health, electric vehicles are anything but clean – their production requires an enormous input of energy and raw materials. About 1,800 kilograms of metals and other materials are used in a mid-range electric car such as the Chevrolet Bolt, which marketed in Europe as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera-e. The European automotive industry imports almost 100% of these materials – and a significant share of them come from mines in tropical countries and rainforest areas. Lithium-ion batteries, the heart of electric vehicles, are no exception here. The Chevrolet Volt battery pack, for example, weighs 440 kg, which is 10,000 times the weight of a smartphone battery (44 gr). Besides lithium, manganese and graphite, they contain about 10 kg of cobalt and 30 kg of nickel. In the case of nickel mining, Indonesia and the Philippines are at the forefront of global production. Two-thirds of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt, copper and nickel are mined along an 800-kilometer belt in the rainforest in the south of the country – under catastrophic working conditions, at starvation wages, and by tens of thousands of child laborers. In the case of iron for steelmaking, Brazil is a leading supplier of the automotive industry. The country is also in first place for copper, followed by Peru and Chile. The mines of international corporations are thus eating into the rainforests to satisfy the resource hunger of the manufacturers of “clean” electric vehicles. Simply clogging the roads with millions of EVs is not the answer to our present problems. Tell the EU that we need a fundamental rethink of policies related to raw materials and transport to put them on an environmentally friendly foundation.

The short version: Land in the East Wall and Booterstown areas of Dublin is reserved for a hypothetical Eastern Bypass motorway (one with extremely negative environmental consequences). Dublin City Council want to rezone the East Wall land for housing. The Booterstown corridor could be used as a public transport corridor instead. But the Eastern Bypass' status in national planning documents means both of those critical needs are being blocked. We want the government and relevant authorities to change this by admitting that the Eastern Bypass is a permanently dead project, removing it from planning, and allowing the land to be used for something worthwhile. Long version: Dublin's Eastern Bypass was always a massive environmental issue — it is planned to be built across Sandymount Strand to provide an extension of the M50 motorway, for very limited benefit. The construction of this motorway is now also likely illegal under Irish government climate objectives and obligations, just as the 3rd Heathrow runway in the UK was recently declared to be illegal. Ireland is already likely to face fines because of our failure to reduce emissions, and the expansion of car usage is absolutely at odds with that target. The reserved space for the Eastern Bypass is also now blocking the construction of housing in Dublin city by preventing rezoning, as outlined in the Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/housing-plan-in-dublin-halted-to-facilitate-eastern-bypass-1.4189623 The Eastern Bypass is extremely unlikely to ever be built — the environmental consequences of the proposed road alone massively outweigh the very minor benefits it might bring to car drivers. It has been kicked around for 50 years with truly minimal progress. It is so politically, fiscally, environmentally, and socially toxic that it almost 100% guarantees no government will ever even try to build it. So why are we continuing to retain it in our plans and therefore stop the reserved land being freed up? That reserved land is, at this point, merely blocking other types of useful development to facilitate a dead project. Most outrageously, the reserved land is also preventing the construction of homes in a housing crisis (as seen in the Irish Times article linked above). Most of the reserved land on the Sandyford to Booterstown alignment would be absolutely ideal for use in constructing a high-quality rapid bus corridor (connecting the Luas and the DART), or providing the space for a Luas spur that could serve countless new homes and the students of UCD. The Irish government, Dublin City Council, and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council must immediately work to remove this outdated, unwanted project from their plans, and allow the land to be reused.

This tree is 270 years old and it was always there. It won't fall suddenly itself. Despite the risk assesed with its condition the alternative for allowing the tree to decay naturally could be reavulated and taken into consideration.(e.g. providing supporting construction to the tree). Trees are essential to our existence. They provide us with oxygen, reduce carbon and give life to the world's wildlife. Saving our trees will reduce greenhouse gases, protect our wildlife and bees, and make sure our environment and communities can be enjoyed by future generations.

Climate change is the biggest threat we face. But rather than acting on it, BP is trying to make clean up it's image by sponsoring art exhibitions here in Belfast, while it continues to make huge profits.

We now have less than 10 years to reverse the climate emergency. The solutions to climate change are good for all our other issues with * cleaner air * warmer homes * smaller energy bills *better public transport * localised economies * organic food * biodiverse gardens * rich wildlife areas * seas teaming with fish and other marine animals * a more equal society. Let Ireland lead the world on this.

Climatologists agree that climate change is unprecedented. The most important climatic forces responsible for change come from human activity. The main activity is the burning of fossil fuels, of which the use of passenger cars is an important factor. We ordinary citizens can have a radical and effective influence on climate change. A gradual shift to complex social problems occurs in one way. Mass popular movements. Let's tell the automakers what we want to give up. Many people have to make sacrifices for change to occur. Send a message saying clearly that you are giving up on gasoline cars. Some builders go in that direction, but very slowly. And it is not enough! We will send a real message of change. They refuse to buy another car or truck with gasoline. It is consumer demand that dictates what is produced and what is sold, not car manufacturers. Let's tell them what we want. An electric vehicle that can be powered by renewable energy sources. Sign this petition and commit, along with many others, to the decision not to buy cars. We are determined to contribute to a stable climate and a better future for our families, friends and communities.

Hedgerows are crucial to maintain wildlife diversity and to establish habitats. Driving Irish country roads what was once lush with hedgerow has now become something short of pure destruction, our entire roadside wildlife is being destroyed.

The climate crisis is entirely different from all other issues in this general election campaign. It is global in scope, raising genuine existential risk for the stability of all human civilisation within the lifetime of young people already of voting age. It transcends and dwarfs the other issues: there can be no enduring solution to housing, healthcare, education, economic development, peace or justice unless there is a successful response to the climate crisis. For Ireland to now play even its minimal fair share in such a global response would require fundamental and disruptive changes in current political priorities. It is utterly impossible to do justice to this issue without a full debate devoted exclusively to it, and driven by an audience selected explicitly to represent future generations who are entirely reliant on the decisions being made now. "We need to focus every inch of our being on climate change. Because if we fail to do so, then all of our achievements and progress will be for nothing. And all that will remain of our political leaders’ legacy will be the greatest failure of human history. And they will be remembered as the greatest villains of all time because they have chosen not to listen and not to act." - Greta Thunberg, speech to the European Economic and Social Committee, February 2019. [Note: This is now a joint/merged petition based on two similar but independent initiatives. The first was created by Nikki Ffrench Davis, the second by Barry McMullin.] [Image credit: sculpture by Isaac Cordal, "Follow the leaders," Berlin, Germany, April 2011.]

We need a safe place for our children and adults to cycle on the road for commuting to school and work. This would also provide for recreational cycling and people to enjoy the coast in a safe and peaceful manner. At the moment there is no continuous safe cycling for people in DLR. Most people currently don't cycle due to the dangerous nature of the roads in DLR. This could provide an impetus for cycling with a link all the way from Booterstown to Sandycove. There's been talk of a cycleway along the coast for over 20 years and still no sign of it.