Stop the 3rd runway!

Of all the insane proposals put forward by this increasingly wretched government their plans for airport expansion must be some where near the top of the league. That’s why I was happy to be there at the weekend supporting the action against the proposed third runway which will demolish about 1200 homes as well as making lives of tens of thousands of people a misery. The new runway will increase the airport capacity by 50% from 480,000 flights a year to 720,000; and BAA also wants to end the “alternation agreement” which regulates flights at Heathrow’s existing runways: planes leaving the airport currently switch directions at 3pm in order to give the people of West London a break from the noise. If the policy changes, the airport could take a further 72,000 flights a year on top as well as condemning thousands of local people to non stop noise.

What about the wider issues- of climate change? Depending on whether you believe the government’s figures or those produced by academic researchers, by 2050 the greenhouse gases produced by the UK’s air passengers will equate to between 91% and 258% of the carbon dioxide the government says the whole economy should be producing. Its airport expansion plans, in conjunction with those of other nations, will cause runaway climate change even if we were to spend the rest of our lives shivering in the dark. So much for the economic benefits of new runways.

Don’t think that it will be any better with the Tories who are predictably just as committed to run(a)way climate change via increased air travel. The LibDems too like to sit on the fence and proclaim that we should be expanding regional airports like Lydd (as if these are somehow more cuddly and their emissions less toxic). Pathetic cop out as usual. If the position of political parties on airport expansion isn’t touchstone of their real commitment to ‘sustainability’ then I don’t know what is.