Ireland’s natural environment in ‘very poor’ condition, EU analysis finds

Martha Stewart’s discussion of how it takes 10 years to see a formal garden take shape is a good reminder of the time element to gardening in an age when people want immediate results share.google/zlYSNE805Qsa...

Professor Ian Robertson speaks about his cutting-edge research and how AI technology might provide a solution to the attention crisis among workers while helping those suffering from anxiety regain a feeling of control @learnovate.bsky.social learnovatecentre.org/insights/art...

IPCC reports #renewables now 10 times more efficient than new #nuclear at #climate mitigation. 92.5% new power generation capacity added worldwide in 2024 was from renewables - with new nuclear nowhere. New nuclear vastly over-cost and over-time.

Today is International #SafeAbortion Day. Access to safe abortion protects the health of women and girls. As with all other health services, women and girls should be able to access safe and respectful abortion care, when they need it, without fear of harm, punishment or recrimination.

Where is Hans Rosling and his Factfulness when you need him? Interestingly, his research found the specialists in the field to have the least accurate and most pessimistic perception of issues such as education levels, mortality and morbidity.

Useful reminder from Peter Kellner on the problems we refuse to acknowledge are getting better, and the politics of hopelessness that this breeds open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...

I am sometimes criticised for being too negative and for failing to see the progress happening around Dublin. While that may certainly be true at times, I think the far greater issue in Dublin is that we tend to accept even the smallest progress as a major victory. My most recent Substack!

In the whole of 2024, one pedestrian was killed in a collision with a pedal cycle.

Climate News Round Up Saturday 27-09-2025 1. Our climate is on track to reach 4 billion deaths in the next 20 years. 4 billion dead humans in the next two decades because we are too stubborn and too obsessed with fossil fuels.

Here’s a good example of the poor scalability of the small container solution in dense urban environments (2nd Arr. Paris).

Words shape culture, & culture shapes behaviour. By reforming how we report on road deaths, we can foster a culture of responsibility, encourage safer driving, & create the conditions for systemic change. The alternative is to keep using language that normalises tragedy & obscures responsibility.

On one side, Ireland Inc falling over itself to give awards to Barack Obama and flog the capital to US tourists visiting for NFL spectaculars. On the other, our future President naming the US an imperial power. Bravo. www.rte.ie/news/politic...

🔔We are pleased to announce the release of Volume 9, Issue 3 (2025)! tandfonline.com/toc/rcah20/c... This new #ThematicIssue: Policy and practice includes 19 articles. Enjoy reading! #UrbanHealth #HealthyCities #Cities4Health #BuiltEnvironment #CitiesxHealth

"Car culture has a higher body count than both World Wars combined. So why don't we think of automobility in the same way we think about the bloody global conflicts — and what would it take to transform our streets into a tool to make our whole society more peaceful, rather than more violent?"

Thread. Constantly amazed but not really by how forward thinking & ahead of the curve women can be while still rarely knowing their names. She nailed it.

💡 Land-use & transport planning go hand in hand. 🚉🏙️ A new discussion paper reviews how Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden integrate land use & transport planning, sharing tools, lessons & opportunities for urban development and cross-Nordic learning. 👉 Read more: nordregio.org/publications...

Dear BBC, Stop calling it a war It's mass murder It's war crimes It's ethnic cleansing It's GENOCIDE via Petition For Peace - Send UN Peacekeepers To Palestine

Brilliant and powerful column by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I hate to say I told you so but… www.ynetnews.com/article/sjje...

"The ambiguity and equivalence of the rooms allow different functions to unfold within the same space," said Cierto Estudio. www.dezeen.com/2025/09/23/l...

A really great piece by my favorite tech journalist:

Remember: The GOP’s nonsensical culture wars are meant to distract you from corporate corruption and plunder. [Cartoon by Jace Avery]

"...what if temporariness itself has become the most durable feature of contemporary city-making? Projects with a promise for impermanence systematically reshape urban landscapes" www.archdaily.com/1034109/prov...

To say I’m less than impressed by Dublin City Council would be the understatement of the year. On “Car Free Day” they closed just 25 streets out of 4,000. That’s 0.625%. I cycled, walked and ran around Dublin and noticed little, if any, difference. The city was as car-dominated as always.

Profiting while the world burns: countries plan to produce more than twice the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). www.npr.org/2025/09/22/n...

This cathedral-like health centre in Copenhagen aims to boost wellbeing, empowering its users... www.wallpaper.com/architecture...

Our new #article with Hocking et al: Linking Social Infrastructure and Social Capital: Barangay Halls as Cornerstones of Resilience TL;DR: community spaces serve as hubs, enabling communication, coordination, and support especially in low-resource settings www.researchgate.net/publication/...

David Wallace-Wells is the best climate journalist working today, arguably the best journalist period, and this is a fantastic summary of where things stand on climate change:

In 2024, every glaciated region lost ice for the third year in a row. Glacier meltwater adds about 1.2 mm to global sea level in a single year, raising flood risks in coastal zones. @wmo-global.bsky.social #StateOfWater report shows how the water cycle is becoming dangerously erratic: bit.ly/4nt8Kxn

Fossil fuels don’t just change the climate. They harm us across our lifespan: 👶 before birth 🧒 childhood illness 🧑 adult disease 👵 deadly impacts in older age Read Cradle to Grave, a new report from @gchalliance.bsky.social: https://loom.ly/iyujTV0 #Cradle2Grave

Climate change and subsidence risks: a case study approach Free #CPD webinar 🗓️ Mon 22nd Sep, 1-2pm details 👇

The Irish Times view on the latest housing figures: more worrying signs

This is absurd. How did we let society get here? Flying is kept artificially cheap with subsidies, despite being one of the most climate-damaging activities - while housing costs are pushed higher and higher by government policy. Our priorities are upside down.

🚨 New on Substack, my post on Dawson's Heights, Kate Macintosh's masterpiece: municipaldreams.substack.com/p/dawsons-he...

Lack of nursing home beds ‘means older people staying longer in acute hospitals’

Join @maryrice-lungdr.bsky.social and colleagues on Sept 22 at #ClimateWeekNYC for a discussion of how fossil fuel emissions and climate change affect children's lung and brain development—and what parents can do to keep their kids safe: https://loom.ly/8Wuz9bw

Architectural Thinking in a Climate Emergency Edited By Sofie Pelsmakers, James Benedict Brown www.routledge.com/.../Pelsma.....

Irish media reporting on road collisions too often dehumanises victims and hides driver responsibility. Cyclists and pedestrians are people first — the language we use matters. Read our full statement below.

"Fifty-five heatwaves over the past quarter-century would not have happened without human-caused climate change, according to a study published Wednesday." www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...

"We will never know what diseases might have been cured or what advances in technology might have been invented had the lights not gone out in the labs." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...

Why aren't we doing it in Ireland!? On the one hand our policy makers are all about compact, mixed use, 15-minute city development, while on the other hand they are gutting the apartment standards that might make this possible! www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

People are less likely to believe conspiracy theories when they get clear, simple, and early information from trusted sources. Using tools like “prebunking” and reaching people where they are (like on social media) can help build trust and reduce misinformation. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The EPA is proposing to roll back the endangerment finding, a move that defies science and endangers health. National and state-level organizations representing clinicians: Sign on to urge the EPA to keep this vital protection. The deadline is September 17. ✍️ forms.gle/CpVXHCpkbA9Y...

👏 The success of the Climate Health Champions toolkit and training from @nychealthsystem.bsky.social is a clear signal that clinicians can and want to be part of the solution, not just passive observers of a worsening crisis.

Warsaw has added a striking new landmark to its riverfront: the Kładka Bridge, a walking and cycling crossing that links the historic Old Town and revitalised Praga district. Opened in 2024, it embodies their ongoing effort to reconnect with the Vistula River, and expand its active travel networks.🧵