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.

-Reduce commuter traffic. -Reduce toxic fumes. -Reduce commuter time. -Get exercise. -Reduce cost of commute. -Safety, country roads are too dangerous to cycle.

The climate crisis means that government in NI should commit to keeping fossil fuels in the ground. In August last year, earthquakes from fracking in the UK were big enough to damage people's homes. Fossil fuel company Tamboran have an application to start fracking in Co Fermanagh sitting on Diane Dodds desk and if this gets the green light will cause devastation to local communities, nature, people's health and livelihoods. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-48191165

Tens of thousands of mainly plastic election poster will be put up during the next election campaign. We don't need them. They are a polluting waste of time, money and resources. They reduce the democratic process to a meaningless exercise in Airbrushed face recognition. They cost a lot of money which at best favours parties and individuals with deep pockets and at worst leaves Politicians indebted to wealthy donors and lobbyist.

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.

Consumers need to pressure cocoa companies to address child labor and farmer poverty IMMEDIATELY. All people should be treated fairly, not mistreated or abused, just to make a delicacy for someone else. We want to send a message to big chocolate companys to purchase cocoa from farmers who use fair work practices. So please sign my petition, buy fair-trade chocolate only, and send letters to these companys to inform them of your unhappiness with their disregard for human rights. Choose Fairtrade Labels. https://www.greenamerica.org/end-child-labor-cocoa/chocolate-scorecard In 2010, Green America launched the Raise the Bar! Hershey campaign with allies, demanding that Hershey take steps to address the issue of child labor in their supply chain. Thanks to sustained pressure from Green Americans and Hershey consumers, the two-year campaign culminated with a commitment from Hershey to move to 100% ethically sourced cocoa by 2020. The Raise the Bar! Hershey campaign demonstrates how powerful a united consumer voice is. We must continue to build on the success of the Hershey campaign, and pressure other leaders in the cocoa industry to make serious commitments to eradicate child labor.

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/

Many of us in Ireland have extended family or good friends living in Australia. Cousins, aunts, uncles, colleagues, former school-friends, online pals - we all almost certainly have people there we care about. To the best of my knowledge air quality is around 200 times worse than what is considered a major health hazard and the equivalent of smoking around 40 cigarettes in their capital city. Thankfully, for now, the direct death toll is low; if we are proactive in helping and inspiring others to act we can make a real difference. It's not to late yet but time is of the essence. They need someone to step up for them. When we look at other English speaking countries like the UK and US it is quite obvious that, for all their size and influence, they aren't in a position to lead on this. It can be tempting to shirk away from our duty to our fellow man and worry about only our island and maybe our allies on mainland Europe in such complicated times, but please remember that their population contains among it descendants of our own ancestors who were sent there because of the famine (for they stole Trevelyan's Corn so our younger ancestors might see the morn), and a native people who suffered in turn from how our desperate ancestors were used by the British Empire to steal their land from them. They are not a people we can turn our back on in their moment of crisis, because as small as we are we have the power to get the ball rolling. Once we do it can create monumentum that will encourage our allies to follow suit, and put pressure on larger governments to do the same. To be blunt: We can act, and we should act, so we must act. It is the right thing to do.

The traffic lights at Raheny village are anti-pedestrian and punish people who travel on foot - particularly older people, young children and people with disabilities. This must change immediately.

We're in a plastic waste crisis and the policy of not allowing drinks to be bought using keep cups is nonsense https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/irish-rail-ban-on-reusable-cups-angers-passengers-1.4114752

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.