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.

Better productivity. More efficient usage of time Employee satisfaction Lower unemployment rates And most importantly it is better for the environment as we won’t produce as much greenhouse emissions.

There are two species of seals in Irish waters, the grey and the harbour seal but in recent years Artic visitors such as bearded, walrus and most recently a hooded seal have arrived on our shores. We have many things to learn about how seals use our coastline and these species are protected under the Wildlife Act, 1976 and its amendments and the EU Habitats Directive as they are important indicators of ecosystem health. Indeed the recent sightings of such northerly species have been a cause for concern and it is of interest that we monitor such important indicator species in a time when the planet faces climate crises and is undergoing the 6th Mass Extinction. Read more here: https://www.orcireland.ie/call-to-cull-seals-in-irish-waters and here: http://www.ecoevoblog.com/2019/03/05/seal-cull/

It has been a devastating year for environmentalists and ocean advocates all over the world as Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on July 1st 2019 and re-commenced commercial whaling for the first time in over 30 years. For many years Japanese whalers hunted whales in Japanese and Antarctic waters under the guide if "scientific whaling", now although not fishing in protected waters of the deep southern ocean, they have began commercial hunting of whales in Japanese waters. In 2019, Japanese whalers killer 232 whales , including 187 Byrde's whales, 25 sei whales, and 11 minke whales. Despite global out-cry and a dwindling demand for whale meat consumption in the country, the Japanese government have now passed a law to fund commercial whale hunts and to promote the consumption of whale meat in schools, despite the meat being highly toxic and dangerous for human health. Read more: https://www.orcireland.ie/japanese-whalers-kill-223-whales-completing-their-first-hunt-in-over-three-decades Read more: https://www.orcireland.ie/japanese-government-to-fund-more-whale-hunts The slaughter of protected species like minke, Bryde's and sei whales are brutal and horrific, as whales are harpooned, sometimes with explosives. On contact with the animal, the harpoon spread open to prevent the whale from escaping and death is slow and excruciatingly painful. Whale populations around the world are facing a multitude of human impacts from plastic pollution to overfishing and entailments, the last thing the world's marine biodiversity needs is further over exploitation and abuse. Please SIGN our Petition to urge Japans Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe to STOP JAPAN COMMERCIAL WHALING to protect cetacean species in Japanese waters instead of slaughtering them for profit and boycott Japanese goods and services until they END WHALING. Please sign to urge Japans Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano to urge Japanese officials to END COMMERCIAL WHALE HUNTS in a bid to tackle the world's biodiversity loss crises! Join us for a protest outside the Embassy of Japan in Ireland, Dublin on February 13th to celebrate World Whale Day 2020.

Plans have been mulled for years to try to keep everybody happy. But an apparent solution made public in May 2019 includes removal of rows of trees, narrowing footpaths, interfering with historic bridge walls, and even the removal of some existing pedestrian crossings. And for what? The draft plans show a route which is not continuous, leaves people cycling exposed at junctions, and looks too narrow for current demand in cycling. Often a lack of funding is given as a reason for delaying projects, but the Liffey Cycle Route has mainly suffered an issue with “politics of space” — mostly a fear of removing cars from parts of the quays despite international examples showing that this is the way to go.  This is as much about what kind of capital city Ireland wants as it is about cycling: A car-dominated city centre or enabling sustainable transport which is better for transport capacity, health, the local air quality, and even climate change -- which is better for local residents, business, workers and tourism.   Cycling has increased in Dublin in the last decade but the creation of safe and attractive cycle routes has remained stalled long after economic recovery while at the same time extra lanes have been added to motorways near the city. Rather then keep spending years of planning each route, Dublin needs to start a quick-build network and there's no better place to start than the quays which connects so much of the city. We are asking that city and national authorities go back to the previous plan of continuous two-way cycle path on the quays to at least trial it for 8-12 months and then ask if people want to go back to the way things are now. MORE DETAILS:  How a two-way cycle path on the north quays can be trialed -- Can Dublin #GreenTheQuays if it means disrupting car traffic?: https://irishcycle.com/2019/08/06/can-dublin-greenthequays-if-it-means-disrupting-car-traffic/ How the NTA’s plan for the Liffey Cycle Route is on the wrong path for Dublin’s future: https://irishcycle.com/2019/05/22/liffey-cycle-route-is-on-the-wrong-path-for-dublins-future/ ‬ ‬ Motor traffic around Dublin's River Liffey quays shocked international cycling experts https://irishcycle.com/2019/12/09/motor-traffic-around-dublins-river-liffey-quays-shocked-international-cycling-experts/ Liffey Cycle Route: Timeline and coverage: https://irishcycle.com/2019/12/10/liffey-cycle-route-timeline-and-coverage/