October 1st: Stay Grounded, Mass Action Against Aviation

stay groundedStay grounded!

 

Expansion plans at London City Airport have been announced and the government is expected to decide on where to build a new runway, probably at either Heathrow or Gatwick this October. These plans are devastating for local pollution, noise and for climate change.

In solidarity with local and international groups, and in defence of the climate and people all over the world, Reclaim the Power is calling for people to take safe and peaceful action against the aviation industry. Join us for a family-friendly flashmob and critical mass bike block at a London airport on Saturday 1st October.

The exact location is being kept secret, to keep the authorities on their toes – sign up now to receive more information.

Our mass action is just one part of a wave of international action planned to take place around the same time of year. In order for this action to be effective, *we need at least 400 people to take part*. We need to send a strong clear message that we cannot have any new runways in the UK if we are serious about tackling climate change.

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>> WILL YOU JOIN US IF HUNDREDS OF OTHERS PLEDGE TO COME?

GREAT! Here’s what to do next:

1) Add your email address to the pledge platform here: http://tinyurl.com/jxsxkyf, so that we know when we reach our target of 400, and so that we can let you know more info as it’s revealed. The more people who sign up, the more others will want to join, and the more effective we can be.

2) Get yourself along to one of the info-sharing / legal briefing / action training events, to ensure you are fully prepared to participate. Details of the events can be found here: https:// reclaimthepower.org.uk/ events/

3) Start thinking about who your affinity group is and what you’re going to bring and wear (see below for suggestions)

4) Join this Facebook event, and share it with all your friend.

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~ WHATS THE PLAN? ~

This will be a fun, colourful and safe event that everyone is invited to participate in. An action consensus has been agreed to set the safe parameters of this day of action. The health and safety of airport staff, passengers and ourselves are of paramount importance and a top priority, and just in case it is not clear we will not be going on to any runways!
https://reclaimthepower.org.uk/aviation-flashmob-critical-mass/aviation-action-consensus/

Visually and creatively we will focus on the polluting aviation industry, the affluent minority who are driving the so-called ‘need’ for aviation expansion, and the 300,000+ people who are already suffering from the effects climate change, and who are paying the price for this convenient luxury lifestyle, with their lives.

There will be three main ways that people can participate in the day of action, individually and as part of affinity groups that will have autonomy over how they operate.

(1) BLOCK A
will be family-friendly, in a publicly accessible *inside* area. Creative themes (for dressing up) will be:

* The "15%" – the minority of 'flash-the-cash', 'binge’ frequent flyers who we know are driving the so-called ‘need’ for airport expansion in the UK

* The tax man - and the heavy subsidisies to the aviation industry

* A die-in - representing the 300,000+ people who are already dying each year, all over the world, from climate change related causes

* Speech & thought bubbles - to convey the key messages in a creative and clever way

* Red lines – aviation expansion is crossing a red line for a just and liveable planet, and people are paying with their lives (wear red)

(2) BLOCK B

will consist of cyclists, and will be in a publicly accessible *outside* area. Creative themes (for dressing up) will be:

* Reimagining the alternatives – what could a future without aviation look like?

(3) Autonomous affinity groups are also invited to take creative action elsewhere, as part of the day of action, adhering to the same action consensus.

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~ WHY AVIATION? WHY NOW? ~

After years of delay, the controversial announcement of a new runway at Gatwick or Heathrow is expected this October. It comes just months after the green light was given to expansion at London City Airport, and makes a mockery of our own legally binding commitments for action on climate change. Clearly, more planes means more catastrophic climate change. It is time to fight back.

Air travel is by far the most carbon-intensive form of transport, and is the fastest growing source of carbon emissions. Yet, climate change is still remarkably absent from any discussion around aviation expansion. Moreover, aviation is unbelievably absent from any discussions, agreements and targets around tackling climate change! It was excluded from the Paris Agreement signed by the World's nations at the UN COP21 last December, and is even exempt from the UK's own Climate Change Act 2008. It is an industry that benefits from huge tax subsidies and unprecedented legal and regulatory loopholes, and is threatening the lives of communities both locally and globally, as well as the very planet we all live upon.

More info >>> http://reclaimthepower.org.uk/aviation-flashmob-critical-mass/more-info/

The Climate Crisis is a racist crisis!

Plane Stupid supports the Black Lives Matter UK invention at City Airport earlier this week.  Developing a dialogue with, and demonstrating solidarity with communities impacted by aviation and climate change locally and internationally, has been part of the work of Plane Stupid for some time. Globally, climate change disproportionately affects people of colour.

 

In addition, in the case of City Airport, it is the predominantly non-white and low income community of Newham who will suffer the worst local environmental impacts from airport expansion – including noise and air pollution, leading to health problems such as heart disease, sleep disturbance, asthma, and depression - all of which can lead to early death, and compound existing health problems. By contrast, the people flying from City Airport are predominantly white, and typically have an annual salary of over £90,000.

 

City Airport has recently been granted permission to expand, despite the obvious contribution of this expansion to climate change, and the aggravating impact expansion will have on existing inequalities in the Newham area.

 

Plane Stupid believes in a just and sustainable transition to a peaceful, low carbon future. Plane Stupid is against all airport expansion, and will continue to take direct action in pursuit of this aim. Plane Stupid supports all other actions targeted against aviation where these are not inconsistent with our ethos.

 

 

Plane Stupid stands in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter's #ShutDown

Yesterday morning #UKBlackLivesMatter carried out a series of actions across the UK following a call for a #ShutDown.

Their actions were highlighting that for Black and Brown people, every
day is a crisis in a system based on White Supremacy. That racism can be
felt in many different ways, from the extreme brutality inflicted by
police and state violence, which has resulted in 1,562 people losing
their lives in police custody in the last 20 years; to the abhorrent
detention of people fleeing war-zones; to the subtle and insidious forms
of racism such as Black people being up to 37 times more likely to be
stopped and searched. #BlackLivesMatter call for a #ShutDown of racism,
and only by taking disruptive direct action are their voices beginning
to be heard. Business as usual is a crisis. Therefore, we must #ShutDown.

By no small coincidence, some of these actions affected two major UK
airports: Heathrow and Birmingham. For us the links between our
struggles are clear. Expanding aviation, which is driving climate chaos,
is part of the same way of thinking that is driving racism in the UK.
Politicians and businessmen want to expand aviation to make more money
for them and their friends. Also, the majority of flights in the UK –
over 70% -  are taken by a rich minority of the population – just 15%.
Globally, just 5% of people have ever taken a flight. The rich minority
benefit, whilst other people pay the cost. This can be through losing
their homes and or suffering pollution which affects their health
locally and globally. The rich want to profit at the cost of other
peoples' lives and communities.

Climate change is already killing 300,000 people a year and this will
only get worse. The effects of climate change aren't colour blind, as it
is primarily Black, Brown and indigenous people in the Global South who
feel the effects first and hardest. The UN estimates there will be 75
million climate refugees by 2030. We're already able to see the effects,
for instance, in Syria. It is only because those in power don't consider
these lives to matter that they can make such life destroying decisions.
The rich in the Global North benefit whilst the Global South pays the
price. This is Climate Colonialism. This is Environmental Racism.

Our movements have a lot to learn from one another and have so much in
common. Fundamentally, systemic change is needed to bring an end to both
racism and climate change. People of colour's struggles have much to
teach us, historically and in the present day, about what it means to be
affected by these issues and how to fight back. #BlackLivesMatter are
bringing these issues to the fore, and showing the rest of us that
direct action is necessary to bring about change. It's time to #ShutDown.

From the UK to Atenco, Mexico - NO NEW RUNWAYS!

Today (3 May 2016) our comrades in Mexico are remembering their loved ones who were brutally repressed 10 years ago by the Mexico State. That repression took the form of murder, torture and sexual violence. The communities had been resisting displacement and forced removal by the authorities to make way for a new airport. The intimidation and oppression those communities face, mainly indigenous people, is ongoing.

We condemn the actions of the Mexico State, and the companies involved in the airport project in Atenco, Mexico. We support the right of the people of Atenco to defend their lands and to resist capitalist oppression. We stand in complete solidarity with the people of Atenco.

We particularly condemn the involvement by UK companies in the airport project, including engineering consultancy Arup and architects Foster and Partners. 

We know that our struggle for ecological and social justice can only be achieved if the people of Atenco win their struggle against the airport and all forms of capitalist oppression. We stand in solidarity with the people of Atenco!

For more information about Atenco's resistance, see: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/5055-mexico-san-salvador-atenco-fights-for-land-resists-proposed-airport

#Atenco

#MayoRojo

 

Tunnel Trio fined £305 each


    By Paula Bayer, supporter

I've got to admit I was dreading today, with more Plane Stupid activists up for sentencing by the same district judge who promised prison to the runway blockaders. It's a relief that the 'tunnel trio' were charged with a fine-only offence and got off today with just an order to pay £305 each. Then we went to the pub and relaxed. It was definitely a better result than seeing activists sentenced to an "almost inevitable" trip to Wormwood Scrubs and Holloway!


The 3 Plane Stupid activists had blockaded the main road entrance to Heathrow on Thursday 26 November 2015 for - the Court heard - 4 hours and 29 minutes. The maximum sentence for infringing a Heathrow airport byelaw that prohibits blocking the road is a fine of £2500. They were each fined £200 (a third reduction on £300 for a guilty plea), plus £85 prosecution costs and a £20 victim surcharge. The judge remarked that the Prosecution's low application for costs was more "generous" to the defendants than it could have been. The judge explained that she gave below the maximum fine as she had to take into account their income and ability to pay. Only one of the three activists had a previous conviction.

In a short court session lasting under an hour, in one of her few remarks the judge told the tunnel blockaders that their action was not effective because the runway occupation had already done the job successfully. Two months ago, she had asked at least three of the runway blockaders why they had chosen an ineffective runway occupation when more emissions are caused by other modes of transport and she felt it would have been more effective to block a road - specifically, she told them, the M25. It seems she just can't decide which Plane Stupid blockade she loves best - blockading a tunnel or a runway! Well, have both until the government lives up to its climate promises and duty of care.

The day began with a laid back and fun gathering outside Uxbridge Magistrates Court. The cops weren't there, but did later turn up to be given some buttercups by a local supporter. They put them in the office. The trio read a brilliant statement outside court. After a loud cheer, they went in.

There were 28 seats in the public gallery but we had been told that only 13 of us were allowed in. Along with one member of the public who wasn't a supporter watching, there were 14 empty seats despite there being about 20 supporters still outside. One of us mentioned this to the court staff, asking for more of us to be let in, but we were told, "The court sets the number of seats. It's been arranged beforehand. It's not our decision." One then added, "We've got to keep this under control." I wonder if they're worried there'll be a repeat of the last trial's terrible cheering of the activists, but in reality it wasn't really a problem as most of the other supporters were happy being outside in the sun.

We showed our switched off phones to police as we entered the gallery, this being on the orders of the judge. Bizarrely, the judge's first comment as she entered the court at 10.55 was that she had received "intelligence that some of you were intending to record the proceedings. I'm sure you've all turned your phones off and are aware that any electronic recording would be an offence."

Well the judge may (or may not) find court sessions fun to relive again and again, but I can promise you that we're sticking to Breaking Bad or David Attenborough if we want to watch an old recording. Even Channel 5 would be more fun to watch than a recording of court.

The defendants gave guilty pleas. The defence barrister then read a statement from the defendants:

"On the day that Parliament was debating new runways at Heathrow and a week ahead of the UN Paris climate summit, we wanted to take action which could not be as easily ignored as many campaigns have been in the past.

We believe that those working in defence of local communities, climate refugees and the environment must speak up for those who do not have a platform for their voices.

For most of us, all we will gain from new runways is dirtier air, more noise and more floods due to climate chaos. There are more than enough runways for people who take one holiday a year; demand for airport expansion only comes from a minority of frequent leisure flyers. This 15% of British people take 70% of our flights, often to second homes abroad and they have a high income.

While the huge business entity that is Heathrow spends tens of millions advertising its plans for expansion, where are the voices of the locals whose lives will be entirely uprooted or the climate refugees who are forced to migrate as global warming increases drought? This is an issue of class: a familiar story of a rich and powerful elite trampling over the livelihoods of those lacking power.

Plans for new runways at Heathrow have been found "untenable in law and common sense" in a 2010 High Court judicial review because they contradict the Climate Change Act 2008.

Our sole intention was to draw media attention to the issue."

The judge retired to examine the means forms and returned at 11.15.

On passing sentence, she remarked:

"I acknowledge that each of you was protesting about an issue that you care about passionately, on the day Parliament was debating that issue."

Noting the defendant's submission that the purpose of their action was media attention, she continued with that remark - easily the most absurd today - praising the effectiveness of the runway blockaders she had planned to imprison:

"However, there had been another protest earlier that year that had already drawn significant media attention to the issue. It was difficult to see what your action achieved over and above that already achieved."

She settled on a pronounced sarcastic tone for the last word of her remark: "your character witnesses speak of your compassion and kindness."

"Your action showed a spectacular lack of consideration. Those flying may not have just been a rich caucus of people who travel frequently."

And it was all over by 10.20.

Media coverage of today's trial has given very little space to the issue of climate change, so I will here. It is why we are forced to take disruptive action. It is science.

Most of us will have seen the harrowing images of Syrian refugees such as the toddler Alan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey last year. There have been many of these tragedies. Over 4 million Syrians have become refugees.

We know that climate change means that more families become refugees. Although climate change is only one factor among many, these could be the individual stories of some of an estimated 75 million people forced to leave their homes by 2035 due to climate change, which brings increased floods, drought and extreme weather.

We know that, according to peer-reviewed research, climate change was a factor that helped spark the Syrian civil war, among other reasons. Public figures such as Prince Charles and Barack Obama have spoken about the link, with the US president saying: "It’s now believed that drought and crop failures and high food prices helped fuel the early unrest in Syria, which descended into civil war." In fact, his entire speech to the military about climate change is well worth reading.

Even a mere 2C rise in global temperatures - now considered at the low end of realistic expectations - would eventually force the migration of 20% of the world’s population from cities flooded by sea level rise, such as New York, London and Cairo. Again, this is peer-reviewed research.

If business as usual continues, numbers of climate refugees will snowball. If we burn all available fossil fuels, by 2300 most currently inhabited land may be so hot that humans would die from heat exhaustion within 6 hours. This too is peer-reviewed research.

There is no planet B. We must welcome refugees because no matter where borders lie, no human is illegal. Those of us who are able to act to prevent runaway climate chaos should know that we are responsible. We are complicit in the actions of our governments if we sit by.

For many of us, it is difficult to erase the photograph of Alan Kurdi from our minds. Let it remind us of the human cost of doing nothing when we could have done something.

Tunnel Trio in court on Tuesday 19th April

A message from The Tunnel Trio:

Hi everyone,

Back in November we blocked the main inbound tunnel leading to Heathrow airport. We parked our van across the lanes and locked ourselves to it. We would like to take this opportunity to explain our actions.

The building of a third runway at Heathrow has been discussed in Parliament multiple times now. Its purpose would be to meet the demands of the 15% of people who take 70% of flights in the UK. It is leisure flights, not business flights, that are on the rise and the people taking those flights have a high income. While the huge business entity that is Heathrow spends tens of millions advertising its plans for expansion, the locals whose lives will be entirely uprooted struggle to make their voices heard. This is an issue of class: a familiar story of a rich and powerful elite trampling over the livelihoods of those lacking the power to resist.

Further afield, it is those people previously colonised and exploited by more ‘developed’ nations that are suffering the effects of climate change most severely, and who lack the resources to respond effectively to the crisis. The aviation industry is the fastest-growing source of climate pollution, and if we are to tackle the climate crisis, airport expansion should be out of the question. Because the building of a new runway will threaten the aims of the 2008 Climate Change Act, expansion plans have been deemed by the High Court as ‘untenable in law and common sense.’

Further to this, air pollution levels in the UK are on the rise, and pose a huge threat to public health. The day we locked on to our van to block the tunnel, the building of another runway was debated again in Parliament. Our action raised awareness of the threats to the global environment, local communities, and public health posed by a new runway. Every mainstream newspaper outlet that day published a story about the Parliamentary debate, and alongside it were photos of the roadblock and our “No New Runways” banner. Just days after our action, it was announced that the decision had been pushed back. It is scheduled to be debated again in the summer.

Acts of resistance are far more effective when they have the support of the public. At 10am on Tuesday 19th april at Uxbridge Magistrates Court we will be on trial, pleading guilty to and being sentenced for a charge of Obstructing the Highway. Meet outside at 9am. It is likely to last around a couple of hours. Please come along to stand in solidarity with all of those battling the violations that airport expansion poses.

Uxbridge Magistrates Court
The Court House
Harefield Rd
Uxbridge
UB8 1PQ

See map

Yours with hope and solidarity,
The Tunnel Trio