Elaine McGoff

#IBikeIVote

Are you a little confused about how Ireland’s Presidential Election works?

Fear not: I have once again picked up some 🔴 popular 🟠 coloured 🟡 chocolate-based 🟢 confectionary 🔵 treats 🟣 to show how the #aras25 votes are counted.

@virginmedianews.bsky.social

Irelan asks for "no additional heating approach" to farming. IE if emissions don’t increase, they can be "climate neutral"

Try that with anything else. Ecuador can have no crime problem if homicide numbers stay stable. Ukrain can be at peace if bombing rate stays the same.

A better world beacons

IFI welcomes conviction against Uisce Éireann for sewage pollution of Cavan river Fine, costs and expenses totalling €7,658 imposed on utility

Dec 2020 - Uisce Eireann fined just €2000 for pollution incident in Cavan River.

Feb and July 2023 more pollution incidents from UE on same river. UE fined just €3500 for July incident resulting in fish kil.

Paltry fines not working.

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

@endseurope.com special report: Who’s ready for the Nature Restoration Law? - shows Ireland has a lot of work to do.

Ireland ranks 12/27 for preparedness. Worst when it comes to sea area designations and one of four countries to have no management plans in place in protected areas.

I'm utterly gobsmacked at how much this article misrepresents our research and our position. This follows personal communication which should have clarified any of these misinterpretations.

-also, the derogation limits organic nitrogen applied to land, not 'nitrogen emissions' & not artificial fertiliser
-multi species swards fix atmospheric N making it available for leaching to waterways, with potential pollution impacts
-the majority of nitrogen is from cattle urinating at pasture.

🐸

Pádraic Fogarty, ecologist, said [Irish Presidential candidate Heather Humphreys] had “little interest” in the environmental aspects of her brief.
'Mr Fogarty said the Irish environment had suffered as a consequence'
“We lost a decade on this issue because of that lack of interest”

Climate expert: We weren't hearing about the candidates' stances on climate action, so I asked them directly Here’s what Heather Humphreys and Catherine Connolly said about climate action and what it means for the election, writes Dr Cara Augustenborg.

Please email primetime@rte.ie to ask them to break the #ClimateSilence & ask the 2 candidates "How will you integrate climate change into your Presidency?” in the last TV debate on Tuesday

I've done the research to make this easy @thejournal.ie
www.thejournal.ie/readme/clima...

#Aras25

Come on man ffs

Why don’t we just paint everything neon: People, clothes, pets, poles, buildings, trees , lakes, rocks, every goddamn inch of this planet neon.

"Dangerously woke"? So like "dangerously inclusive"? "Dangerously welcoming"? "Dangerously peace-loving"? "Dangerously critical of power"? "Dangerously democratic"? Okayyyy .... go Irish youth!!

The max fine for a company who causes a fish kill through illegal pollution is usually just €5,000. And that's if anyone is even held responsible 👎

To actually stop nature destruction, we need a system with strong regulation and penalties.

Will I be the first to suggest the carbon offsets worked exactly as planned: they delayed real action for another 25 years

I don't know, the monetisation of nature seems to reach some people who are immune to the moral or emotional argument, but I really dislike it myself. In an ideal world, nature should be valued for its own sake.

New buildings must present ‘no net loss’ to nature, says Climate Change Council Advisers want conditions added to planning laws to conserve and enhance biodiversity

It’s premature of CCAC to call for the urgent development of a regulation on No Net Loss of Biodiversity. While some evidence suggests that NNL has potential benefits, there are serious concerns & evidence of ongoing issues with enforcement, compliance & monitoring www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025...

I agree with this, we need to avoid the mistakes that were made with carbon offsetting- which has totally failed. The principle that new development should not negatively impact on nature is sound, but implementation of NNL appears to be fraught with difficulties in various EU member states.

The Irish Times view on Ireland’s waterways: an ecological death Nutrients from agriculture and poor wastewater treatment have led to 48 per cent of waters being rated below minimum standards

'[this] could not have come at a worse time for the Gov. & farmers as Ireland attempts to retain its EU nitrates derogation.. The EPA findings undermine the case for retention ..The Min for Ag has called for an extension..This now looks like a specious argument.'

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/edit...

Eamon Ryan: Why is the Government delaying publication of the land use review? Fears around the report are misplaced and it is long past time for it to be published

Why is the Government delaying publication of the land use review?

As someone who participated in the process, I would say it's because the government does not like what the Land Use Review reveals or the scale of change it necessitates.
share.google/LsFvGkxLremk...

EPA Report Shows Much Stronger Action is Needed on Water Quality - Sustainable Water Network The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a coalition of twenty-five of Ireland’s leading environmental organisations working on water, has responded to today’s EPA Water Quality report [1] with deep conc...

EPA Report Shows Much Stronger Action is Needed on Water Quality - SWAN

"Despite government rhetoric, the real improvements needed to restore our rivers, lakes, and seas to good health just aren’t happening after over fifteen years of decline."

swanireland.ie/2025/10/epa-...

The data tells the same old sad story, while our Government tells another in efforts to secure another nitrates derogation.

Half of Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries in unhealthy state as standards slide again Agriculture, sewage, chemicals and physical damage all threatening nature’s waterways

It's the same old story - only worse @antaisce.bsky.social @swanireland.ie deeply concerned
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Indeed, although the pollution that arises definitely becomes an 'us' problem fairly quickly, but most people don't recognise that yet.

Decade-long decline: Irish waterways continue to be polluted Latest Water Quality Report from the Environmental Protection Agency indicates decreases in overall ecological quality of our waters

No surprises here but will the rhetoric change? I doubt it.

'Despite all the rhetoric about saving our nitrates derogation and turning the tide on water quality in Ireland, there is still no evidence of the necessary improvement across the board in our waters.'

www.antaisce.org/news/decade-...

This, while shocking, could be fixed so quickly. It's simply not good enough, and our waterways are paying the price.

'over 40% of these failures were avoidable, caused by poor plant operation, equipment breakdowns, and inadequate maintenance, training, or procedures'

SWAN Calls for More Urgent Action as EPA Report Exposes Persistent Sewage Failures - Sustainable Water Network The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), representing 25 of Ireland’s leading environmental NGOs, has warned that the recent EPA Urban Wastewater Treatment Report [1] demonstrates that pressing failures ...

SWAN Calls for More Urgent Action as EPA Report Exposes Persistent Sewage Failures

It “shows that more than 40% of the pollution failures are down to issues that could be rapidly addressed such as poor plant operation & inadequate maintenance & training"

swanireland.ie/2025/10/swan...

I would say that horse has long since bolted. Coconut milk? Google tells me that's been in use as a term since 1698. Soy milk has been in use since 1897. Consumers know the difference, it's not that hard to differentiate.

It's all just a distraction while the world burns.

Stop the EU’s Ban on “Meaty” Words for Plant-Based Foods Sign now

It's worth registering your displeasure on this here, in case politicians take some mad notion to actually represent what the public want or care about:

weplanet.yourmovement.org/p/noconfusio...

Stop the EU’s Ban on “Meaty” Words for Plant-Based Foods Sign now

Citizens petition on this moronic proposal here: weplanet.yourmovement.org/p/noconfusio...