Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 08/09/2026theconversation.com/denmark-is-a...theconversation.comDenmark is a cycling nation, but our research shows rates are declining – here’s whyDenmark built the bike lanes – but people are still getting in cars. 111
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/08/2026Brilliant idea to highlight school flights in Green Schools. 010
Reposted by Colm O'BrienMike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · 15/08/2026As Britain swelters through another heatwave, few people will have heard that ministers have quietly dropped plans for solar carports. Cars cooler in summer. Shelter from the rain in winter. Clean electricity all year round. A missed opportunity?eastangliabylines.co.ukAs Britain bakes, ministers quietly park plans for solar carportsMinisters have quietly shelved plans that could have transformed Britain's biggest car parks into shaded power stations 28128671227
Reposted by Colm O'BrienOilibhear O Mordha @olliemoore.bsky.social · 15/08/2026This government is galloping backwards away from doing even the EU average of activities on Palestine. Tours cancelled,visas cancelled, botched OTB, and on and on and on 084
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 10/08/2026youtube.com/shorts/FDvTW... SUVs and pickups are more common now on Irish roads. They are more deadly for pedestrians. Time to regulate them.youtube.comThe Rise of Deadly Trucks and SUVsYouTube video by The New York Times 000
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 09/08/2026It's a huge improvement but it had to overcome quite a bit of resistance from some businesses who felt they would lose out. There's still so much to do in Ennis where cars take so much space on narrow streets. 110
Reposted by Colm O'BrienLynn O'K @lynnok.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Again???? Can we just stop polluting our rivers and killing our fish. 051
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 27/07/2026So basically people would need to remember to look both left and right instead of just in one direction when crossing the road/path. 110
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 25/07/2026Countries had a selfish interest in containing the virus. Containment was rewarded with low transmission rates. What rewards would a country reap by restricting flying for climate change reasons? None at all. 110
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 25/07/2026Greta Thunberg doesn't get much support when she participates in similar actions. 100
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 25/07/2026You're correct in that the greatest polluters are corporations and the rich. My point however is that if people (the voters) cared enough and voted in large enough numbers this could be solved. That simply isn't going to happen because of human behaviour - short-term thinking. 100
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 24/07/2026It's not just the jet set. It's our culture and human behaviour. You can't change human enough to stop climate change. 3110
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 22/07/2026‘I can’t work in the farce of climate change cruise tourism anymore’: why Antarctic guides quit their dream jobs share.google/cIiDs9TLqPlt...share.google‘I can’t work in the farce of climate change cruise tourism anymore’: why Antarctic guides quit their dream jobsThe moral struggles of guiding tourists through a pristine landscape. 000
Reposted by Colm O'BrienOla Løkken Nordrum @olaln.bsky.social · 21/07/202614 articles about ice cream. Only 4 mentioned net zero. Back from my Substack hiatus with a deep dive into how Irish media covered the June 2026 heatwave.open.substack.comIrish Media’s Climate Blind Spot During HeatwavesMy analysis of the main Irish news outlets shows that 54% of the June 2026 heatwave coverage failed to mention climate change. 15326
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Who voted for the parties that brought in all the data centres? 001
Reposted by Colm O'BrienLynn O'K @lynnok.bsky.social · 14/07/2026When people give out about protecting the fresh water pearl mussel and it blocking development-I always think, what you're being asked to protect is clean water for you to swim or fish in, and your drinking water. Clean water sighing be the most basic thing we demand of our government. 031
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2026According to the scientists we've had such events where up to 96% of species have gone extinct. 000
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Most species may not be able to adapt quick enough to the changing climate and may go extinct. 100
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2026There was an extra character at the end of that link. Fixed here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5611...youtube.comIst die Welt noch zu retten? | Little Yellow Boots | HDYouTube video by DokuRasiererHD 000
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Dr. Manfred Milinski in Hamburg has done work in this area. Featured in this documentary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5611... In summary he said "You can't change human behaviour enough to stop climate change".youtube.comIst die Welt noch zu retten? | Little Yellow Boots | HDYouTube video by DokuRasiererHD 100
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Many young people like flying, buying new clothes etc and are just as apathetic as their parents. 2120
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2026It's been demonstrated that most people would rather carry on as usual rather than make a sacrifice to save our future climate. 281
Colm O'Brien @colmobrien.bsky.social · 17/07/2026www.euronews.com/2026/07/16/i...euronews.comThe map predicting agricultural decline from climate changeA CSIC team in Barcelona has developed CADI, a platform that forecasts, on a 10‑kilometre grid, how much farmland will lose productivity to climate change by 2100; Spain’s interior fares worse than th... 011
Reposted by Colm O'BrienAl Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 17/07/2026Israeli attacks kill at least five Palestinians in Gaza despite ‘ceasefire’ aje.news/medyvg 511395
Reposted by Colm O'BrienIreland against Fascism @irlagainstfascism.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Murdered by a double tap way back in 2014. 1️⃣ On this day in 2014, the ‘israeli’ occupation forces bombed and killed four young boys who were playing football at a beach in Gaza. The boys: Ismail Mohammed Bakr (9), Zakaria Ahed Bakr (10), Ahed Atef Bakr (10), Mohamed Ramez Bakr (11), were all 24622
Reposted by Colm O'BrienElla McSweeney @ellamcsweeney.bsky.social · 13/07/2026What ospreys ask of us is simple: clean, fish-rich waters. Whether they succeed here will depend on whether the fish do too. www.irishtimes.com/life-style/2...irishtimes.comWhat ospreys ask of us is simple: clean, fish-rich watersImposing bird of prey can make Ireland home if plankton thrive 061
Reposted by Colm O'BrienSimon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 08/07/2026A reminder that, on one day in the last election, FF, FG and SF all visited the IFA and told them that they would work to shelter Agriculture from climate protecting laws. 38249
Reposted by Colm O'BrienRTÉ News @news.rte.ie · 08/07/2026The Football Association of Ireland will this evening host an Extraordinary General Meeting at Aviva Stadium to vote on a motion regarding the Republic of Ireland's upcoming Nations League fixtures with Israelrte.ieFAI EGM to vote on Israel fixtures at Aviva this eveningThe Football Association of Ireland (FAI) will this evening host an Extraordinary General Meeting at Aviva Stadium to vote on a motion regarding the Republic of Ireland's upcoming Nations League fixtu... 7126
Reposted by Colm O'BrienLynn O'K @lynnok.bsky.social · 07/07/2026I've just emailed my local SF TD Mairead Farrel about this. Think what that money that goes to greyhounds could do for children's sporting and activities. Say no to gambling. Say no to hare coursing and greyhound racing. Put the €19 million annually into rural sporting facilities for children!! 4205
Reposted by Colm O'BrienDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 07/07/2026Trump is a rapist. Most of the people he's appointed to his cabinet and nominated to the Supreme Court face credible accusations of sexual harassment. He, his VP, and his sons are actively defending Andrew Tate from prosecution for sex trafficking and rape. Just some things I think about sometimes. 28922226
Reposted by Colm O'BrienElaine McGoff @elainemcgoff.bsky.social · 07/07/2026Yesterday @antaisce.bsky.social and @FIE launched a legal challenge to the new judicial review cost caps. These new caps mean, if a member of the public or eNGO wins their case, they will still have to pay tens of thousands to correct the mistake by the State. www.antaisce.org/News/environ...antaisce.orgEnvironmental groups launch legal challenge against new regulations that severely restrict access to justiceTogether, An Taisce and Friends of the Irish Environment initiated a court challenge to new regulations that put a cap on the costs litigants in environmental legal cases can recover if they win their... 13515
Reposted by Colm O'BrienStephanie Rains 🪼 @acidrains.bsky.social · 05/07/2026Suggestion for Doonbeg if he really does come here in September #speirgorm 1208
Reposted by Colm O'BrienPádraic Fogarty @whittledaway.bsky.social · 26/06/2026County councils nearly all turning a blind eye to illegal peat mining. Only one, Longford, making any attempt to apply the law despite the practice being widespread. www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...irishtimes.comIllegal peat extraction in 44 bogs countrywide, but action taken by only one councilEnvironment watchdog defends implementation of law as TDs claim families being driven out of business 24919
Reposted by Colm O'BrienTODERIAN UrbanWORKS Inc. (TUW) @toderianuw.bsky.social · 05/07/2026“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas and city center in 2021.”politico.euHelsinki just went a full year without a single traffic deathThe capital city is Finnish’ed with car-related fatalities. 8515171
Reposted by Colm O'Brienevo1963.bsky.social @evo1963.bsky.social · 05/07/2026Incredibly unsurprising. Labour is nothing but the party of the status quo. 618341
Reposted by Colm O'BrienElla McSweeney @ellamcsweeney.bsky.social · 05/07/2026“Restoration without pollution control is not a policy, it’s a gesture, and an incoherent one at that. It spends public money cleaning up what private and public polluters are permitted to dirty, in a publicly-funded loop without end.” By me for @irishtimes.com www.irishtimes.com/life-style/2...irishtimes.comIreland punishes tax evaders. Pollution should be just as riskyNature absorbs the impact of polluters because the political will isn’t there to make the consequences serious enough to stop them 16822
Reposted by Colm O'BrienNaomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Everybody in the "climate space" (which means everyone on earth...) needs to understand these mind-blowing figures. Google's "total electricity consumption jumped from 31 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 to 43 TWh in 2025." In ONE year. The AI corporate arms race is eating the world. 7043282446
Reposted by Colm O'BrienElaine McGoff @elainemcgoff.bsky.social · 20/06/2025Lady's Island lake is the end result of decades of agricultural nitrogen water pollution. The only way we can turn the agricultural nitrogen pollution problem around is if those in power admit that their measures aren't working. It's time to actually listen to the evidence, not the spin. 38732
Reposted by Colm O'BrienElaine McGoff @elainemcgoff.bsky.social · 03/07/2026If I read one more reference to 'gold plating' of EU law in Ireland....Can anyone show me the evidence? Should we look to the over half our rivers and lakes polluted? The trend which is getting worse? The 25% of our most pristine waterbodies now lost? A 🧵 www.irishtimes.com/ireland/hous...irishtimes.comTop Government adviser calls for action to roll back ‘gold-plated’ environmental lawLaws exempting key projects from national climate goals should be followed by moves to curtail environmental screening, says taskforce chief 1011657
Reposted by Colm O'BrienDale Ryder @kryton3298.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Analyst News New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has doubled down on his comments comparing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to “monsters” that “move dark money,” and support the "status quo" in Israel, which includes the killing of children in Gaza. 35309132
Reposted by Colm O'BrienGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Blatant lobbying, not for the sake of our country, but for the fossil fuel industry, in which almost all the ultrarich - including, in all likelihood, the proprietors of these newspapers - are heavily invested. These people are not and never will be your friends. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-...carbonbrief.orgAnalysis: UK newspapers have already printed 63 editorials in 2026 backing North Sea drilling - Carbon BriefUK newspapers have already published 63 editorials this year calling for more oil and gas extraction in the North Sea, according to Carbon Brief analysis. 431557780
Reposted by Colm O'BrienLynn O'K @lynnok.bsky.social · 30/06/2026@micheal-martin.bsky.social the Irish hare is a protected animal. It should not be hunted, caught and then chased by greyhounds. It is only done by a tiny minority of people. It is not what the vast majority of people in rural Ireland want. Please don't vote against this bill. 041
Reposted by Colm O'BrienLynn O'K @lynnok.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Why are FFG so keen to continue to support a practice that has almost no support amongst the electorate. The whole rural Ireland shtick is nonsense. I don't get the why of this!!! 1101
Reposted by Colm O'BrienJewish Voice for Peace @jvp.bsky.social · 01/07/2026JVP commends the American Academy of Religion for its “Resolution in Solidarity with Gaza." The resolution condemns the Israeli regime’s policies of genocide and scholasticide in Palestine, defined by the UN as the “intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system.” 312554
Reposted by Colm O'BrienDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 29/06/2026This is a great example of what's called "pluralistic ignorance" -- the phenomenon whereby most people share a particular view, but they *don't think other people share it*. In this case: most people are concerned about climate change but think others aren't.sherwood.newsOver 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the sameThat perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll.... 551591587
Reposted by Colm O'BrienDublin Commuters @dublincommuters.bsky.social · 29/06/2026Meanwhile multiple phases of BusConnects, all four Luas extensions and various Dart+ projects go unfunded 🙄 Always money for cars and roads… never any for solutions to Irelands congestion problems 03920
