O'Dea is membership secretary of the Dublin Cycling Campaign. It was founded by Green Party minister Eamon Ryan in 1999. They are currently campaigning to get public transport facilities for bicycles, further restrictions on HGV vehicles for the city centre and proper cycling training schools.

"I'm a commuting cyclist. I've always cycled. I cycled in school, I cycled in college and now I cycle to work. I've always used the bike as the main form of transport. . . It's just the best way to get around . And it 's the fastest . In the city cars go at walking speed most of the time. My commute is about four miles so it takes me less than 30 minutes.

"We're a lobbying organisation. We have two people who sit on committees in Dublin City and Dun Laoghaire Council so these are strategic policy committees for transport.

"We're also trying to meet up with the gardai to talk to them about enforcement of traffic regulations and we deal with a lot of different government ministries . . .transport, health and education.

"Environmental issues are obviously a part of the reason for the cycling campaign. As a non-polluting form of transport, cycling has to be part of the solution to global warming and the world energy crisis. But there are also health reasons. And personally I just like cycling. It 's certainly more en joyable than being stuck in a car.

"It hasn't really been getting better for cyclists. There are more and more cars on the road. Cars are getting bigger.

Drivers are getting more aggressive and it's becoming more hostile. Far fewer parents are letting their children cycle to school because of that. And if people aren't cycling when they're young it might totally die out.

"On the other hand, I think over the last couple years there's been an incr ea se in peop l e t ak in g u p cy c l ing because they're simply sick of being stuck in traffic.

"It's more than a green issue, but I think it affects everyone and any changes that are good for cyclists tend to be good for pedestrians and residents, and make it a much more pleasant city to be in."

Anti-cruelty to animals
Sinead Hayes Peta and Animal Rights Action Network

SINEAD Hayes is a member of Animal Rights Action Network and Peta and is a staunch believer in animal rights.

Both organisations have a propensity for colourful, attention-grabbing campaignsf often involving nudity.

"Recently Peta had a demo called 'Fur out, love in' and they set up a bed by the James Joyce statue and had two male models and two female models and they had them on the bed.

"Last year I went over to Pamplona, because every year in July Peta create a fun alternative to the 'Running of the Bulls' called the 'Running of the Nudes'.

The running of the bulls is obviously a very dangerous unnecessary thing and 80% of Spanish people don't even agree with it any more. It's mainly tourists instead.

"Peta are good at causing controversy and have a way of getting their point noticed. I wouldn't say things like that are more important than chanting or placards or petitioning, but it does create more controversy and that gets it out to a wider audience.

"I first got involved in Animal Rights Action Network at a Morrissey concert.

They had a stand outside and I got talking to them and signed up. I started getting emails and then went along to the demonstrations, and the rest is history.

"I've been a vegetarian since I was 12 and I've always felt that animal cruelty was wrong. I think that animals should be treated equal ly and I don't agree with the mass production of meat, the factory farms and the harvesting. There are alternatives. It might have been necessary years and years ago but it's not now.

"The way people treat animals is similar to how people treat the environment generally. I think they abuse both really."

Anti-clim ate change
Oisin Coughlan Friends of the Earth

Oisin Coghlan is the director of Friends of the Earth and has spearheaded many campaigns highlighting the dangers of climate change.

"Recently we ran the 'Adopt a Politician' campaign. We wanted to send a copy of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth to every TD. We asked our supporters to adopt a TD because it cost 10 to send them. We raised a fair amount of money, but also people liked that idea. We sent them to all 166 TDs. It was a very concrete thing, and we're thinking of doing the same with the senators.

"Friends of the Earth is an international environmental justice group. We've done campaigns on waste, on the plastic bag tax, and a little on GM foods, but we're primarily focused on climate change.

"Traditionally countries become more interested in the environment when they become prosperous. But I think we were so delighted we were no longer the poor man of Europe that that didn't happen here. Now, however, we're realising that prosperity doesn't solve everything . . .we've discovered that it doesn't sort out healthcare or childcare and certainly not planet-care. We had become the dirty man of Europe for a while and we're now the fifth most-climate-polluting country in the rich world per person. And I don't think it's a solely leftwing issue any more.

"An issue like climate change isn't just for a minority of activists. People of all political persuasions understand how important it is. There are business opportunities that exist for Ireland in adapting to a low-carbon economy, so we're very open to the entrepreneurial side. We need government action, yes, but making the changes and bringing down our emissions is also going to come from entrepreneurial innovation."

Anti-GM food
Davie Philip Cultivate Co-op

THE Cultivate Co-op is situated not in a wood in Wicklow but amidst the bustle of Dublin's Temple Bar, but it's still a mecca for those who want to foster a sustainable lifestyle. Davie Philip is secretary for the Co-op and is also involved with the development of an environmental community in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary.

"I was an activist in the late '90s. Seven of us went to court against Monsanto and got the issue of GM food into the public consciousness. At that point a lot of us started asking ourselves: "This is what we don't want. . . but what do we actually want?" We started to look at permaculture, and sustainability, and organics.

I became proactive rather than reactive.

"The Cultivate Centre focuses on education and communication about sustainability. Last year the big energy price spike drove a huge amount of customers our way. We got way more phone cal ls asking questions like: 'Where do I get my car converted to biofuels?'

'Where do I get a wood pellet stove?'

'How do I insulate my home?' Questions provoked more by the impact on the wallet rather than the impact on the planet.

"I'm also involved with the Eco Village in Cloughjordan. That's a project that has been on the cards for eight years now. Set up by a number of activists, it will be a sustainable living community of 132 people and 30 families."