This is such a waste of everyone's time and of government resources. Let people use normal words that have been flexibly used in many contexts for centuries ffs www.theguardian.com/business/202...

‘We don’t have a plan’ Invasive species are an important pressure on biodiversity but confusion reigns about what qualifies as 'invasive' and whose job it it is to take action www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Acadian Seaplants, a massive Canadian corporation and owner of Arramara Teoranta, has put in an application to harvest tens of thousands of tons of wrack from huge swathes of the west coast. Is your area affected? Get in touch to start a local campaign ✊️ my.uplift.ie/petitions/st...

It literally takes one minute to sign this petition to stop mass harvesting of seaweed from the west coast of Ireland without proper public consultation. I signed and it’s at 12,222 out of 15,000 rn — please sign:

Positive response in the Dáil yesterday from the taoiseach following Q on tangle nets from Jennifer Whitmore. Action must follow!

This cause is close to my heart - please sign: my.uplift.ie/petitions/st... @uplift.ie

"Figures from a fish counter in Waterville... show sea trout stocks have decreased by 95.6 per cent since 2002" The sea is empty, fishing as an economic sector is over, the only thing that will turn things around is strict protection www.independent.ie/regionals/ke...

Great panel discussion at the @social-democrats.bsky.social national conference on rewilding the sea. Thank you to TD Jennifer Whitmore and Cllr Joan Hopkins for the invitation 🐟

Thousands of sea animals needlessly killed as bycatch of crayfishing industry in practice Dr Nick Payne of @tcddublin.bsky.social says is shameful www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Sharks on brink of extinction caught in tangle nets in protected Irish waters "That the Irish Government still allows this form of destructive fishing throughout Irish coastal waters is an absolute disgrace" www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

After flooding in the past, successive governments promised protections, but instead, doubled down on dredging and delayed land-use reform, leaving communities exposed, writes Pádraic Fogarty. jrnl.ie/6946724

After Midelton was flooded in 2023 Leo Varadkar said we needed a Land Use Plan. The Plan is ready but @micheal-martin.bsky.social won't publish it. Instead, he's legally designating rivers as "highly modified" jrnl.ie/6946724

"one more instance of our failure to value the diversity with which nature has endowed this island" www.irishtimes.com/opinion/edit...

Listen to @whittledaway.bsky.social on @radiokerry.bsky.social yesterday re tangle nets being used in the Kerry Marine National Park

I am again calling out the vacuous nature of declaring an area a National Park without plans, resources or management measures. This time following the report showing that over a thousand seals were drowned in fishing gear around the Blasket Islands. www.radiokerry.ie/news/ecologi...

Good discussion here on flooding and natural solutions *including* the potential for beaver introduction, referring to an article I wrote a couple of years ago... www.rte.ie/radio/podcas...

The @irishexaminer.bsky.social view on tangle netting: "a shameful matter that needs to be addressed urgently" www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/ourv...

Spain's government is among the few in Europe now providing a clear alternative to the far right - pro migration, pro climate action and not apologising for it www.france24.com/en/europe/20...

A periodic reminder that very little has been done to address the biodiversity crisis www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

A new report from the Marine Institute catalogues the carnage of protected and endangered species from tangle netting, including within Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, our new marine national park where hundreds of seals are being drowned. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...

"Contrary to public perception, the recovery of bears in Greece has not been associated with a significant overall increase in damage to human property" New data showing how people and wildlife can get along 🐻 zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Predators affect deer not only by eating them news.stv.tv/scotland/the...

Last week a UK national security assessment warned that collapsing ecosystems around the world will trigger conflict and food shortages

“They cut speed limits, changed street design, removed space for cars… Now it appears that work is paying off. #Oslo & #Helsinki are reaping the rewards of committed action on making their roads safer, reducing pedestrian fatalities to zero last year.” #VisionZero #SpeedKills

Late last year the government designated 466 rivers as 'highly modified', meaning they will continue to be dredged for the purposes of agriculture, ensuring towns and villages face greater flood risk www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

🙌 Major climate win!  Amsterdam has become the first capital in the world to legally ban meat and fossil fuel advertising. 🌍 More than 50 cities worldwide have now pledged to ban the advertising of fossil fuels. www.desmog.com/2026/01/23/a...

30 times more money is spent destroying nature than protecting it www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

This is the green politics I'd vote for

A big day for the sea as the treaty to allow for the creation of Marine Protected areas on the high seas comes into force today! www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/...

A number of decisions in recent years point to the weakening of the farming lobby both in Ireland and across Europe... which is a good thing www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

If Denmark can get farmers to agree to dropping their nitrates derogation, adopting a carbon tax on meat, government promotion of plant-based diets and rewilding a fifth of the country - why can't Ireland? www.irishtimes.com/science/2026...

In this week's Science & Climate page in @irishtimes.com, @whittledaway.bsky.social looks at Denmark's radical plans for farming, including an agricultural carbon tax, and asks if Ireland could follow suit www.irishtimes.com/science/2026...

Scales of Justice with @attractaub.bsky.social is out now everywhere podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/t...

The valient efforts to rescue one of Ireland's rarest plants, hampered by the fact that no one is sure why it is being pushed out of it's traditional habitat www.independent.ie/regionals/we...

'One individual called on the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to “stop being silly stick-in-the-muds” and introduce the beaver to Ireland’s natural habitats' 😄 🦫 www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

The granting of another nitrates derogation makes a "nonsense of the response to the report by the Minister of State responsible for the NPWS, Chris O’Sullivan" that shows habits in "abysmal" condition www.irishtimes.com/opinion/edit...

It's taken a very long time and much remains to be done, but we should cheer the coming into force of the UN's High Seas Treaty which will, for the first time, allow Marine Protected Areas to be created beyond areas of national jurisdiction 🐳 www.economist.com/internationa...

Good piece from @fairseas.ie on why Marine Protected Areas need to be much more than lines on maps www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

The critically endangered Angel Shark. One of over 70 species of shark and ray in our waters. The Angel Shark was common up until 1960s. We know so little about them but we know fishing practices changed in 1970s with tangle netting... @whittledaway.bsky.social www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

It was great to be talking on the radio today about critically endangered angel sharks with film maker Ken O'Sullivan. Listen back here ⤵️ www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

I contributed to this review of our environmental performance in 2025 - despite some good news stories the headline indicators are still moving in the wrong direction. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Decommissioning the Ardnacrusha dam would be a fitting way to mark its centenary of service, and open the next century of rewilding www.limerickleader.ie/news/environ...

EU rejects Dutch manure exemption over water pollution risks

Meanwhile the Netherlands fails in its bid to retain its nitrates derogation nltimes.nl/2025/12/23/e...

It's a shame to see this challenge, though probably not surprising theskipper.ie/fishermen-lo...

Important end-of-the-year article on government priorities: fight tooth and nail to defend nature-killing activities like the nitrates derogation, do next to nothing to support nature protection or restoration. The result? Species and ecosystems continue to plummet.

Irish nature is in crisis. We know what needs to be done & we know we can succeed. We only need the political leadership to deliver an ambitious Nature Restoration Plan and the funding to make it happen. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

If we're to turn the tide on nature loss, we're going to need a government that treats it with the level of priority that was given to holding on to the nitrates derogation www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

A leaked draft of legislation for MPAs that nearly passed in 2024 indicates that the government is taking a minimalist approach with low ambition for restoration of marine life. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...

A highlight for me this year was the launch of @rewildyourland.bsky.social and I met dozens of people across Ireland who are already enjoying the thrill of rewilding. There are more plans in the pipeline so here's hoping that 2026 will see rewilding go from strength to strength in Ireland!