Greenpeace pisses off Heathrow security with newest green stunt
Four Greenpeace activists were arrested after attempting to hang a banner that read, "Climate Emergency - No Third Runway" on the tailfin of a British Airways Airbus A320. They were arrested, taken to a nearby police station and cited with "unlawful and irresponsible" conduct. The stunt echoed recent protests of a possible airport expansion project, which would add a third runway and a sixth terminal, increasing the airport's flight capacity from 480,000 to 702,000 takeoffs and landings per year. Interestingly enough, in the same week that he announced the potential airport expansion plans, Gordon Brown also vowed to reduce emissions in the UK by 80% by 2050.
If OK'd, the new runway would not open until at least 2020. Transport secretary Ruth Kelly claims that if the expansion did not occur, "jobs would be lost and the economy would suffer."
I'm with the Greenpeace protesters: a new runway and a sixth terminal ain't gonna help the emissions plan, Gordon. And London residents in over 50 communities are also worried about the added noise pollution. No doubt it will be a contentious issue for years to come.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-05-2008 @ 4:03PM
jwnet said...
The third runway is merely a symptom. We can use it to draw attention to the problem, but the focus needs to be on reducing the pollution caused by air travel. Efficiency gains and changes in pricing are the two ways that come to mind.
Efficiency is a tough one for me since I don't know how much airplane fuel is consumed taxiing, aloft, generating electricity, etc.
Pricing seems easier, if alternatives like teleconferencing become cheaper, I suspect that would reduce the number of trips dramatically. The bulk of air travel must be business related. right?
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