Barry's blog

Campaigners opposed to the expansion of London City and Manchester Airports will join forces this Saturday in a protest against domestic flights.

The day will begin with a rally at London City Airport at 11am. Campaigners will then travel through London on an open top bus to Euston where they will board a train to Manchester. They will be greeted off the train at Manchester Piccadilly and travel for a second rally at Terminal 3 of Manchester Airport.

There are currently around 38 flights per day between Manchester and the London hubs. Climate activists argue that these are the most unnecessary flights of all because there are easily available alternatives such as the train, which produce a lot less carbon emissions.

Phil Thornhill from Campaign against Climate Change said "As unprecedented flooding devastates Pakistan, record temperatures stoke raging wildfires around Moscow and torrential downpours cause landslides that kill thousands in China - it’s time we got serious about the escalating threat from climate change before it’s too late.  Aviation symbolises the high-emission lifestyles of the developed world that are threatening billions, especially in the most vulnerable communities, around the world. We can start to get to grips with the growth in aviation by eliminating the shorter journeys that can be made in other, less carbon intensive, ways."

Local Manchester councillor Martin Eakins who will be attending the demonstration said, "Aviation from Manchester Airport contributes more greenhouse gasses than all other polluters put together in Manchester. Reducing our carbon output by ending domestic flights would go a long way to making our city environmentally sustainable."

Robbie Gillett from the ‘Stop Expansion at Manchester Airport’ coalition said "There are currently around 38 flights per day between Manchester and the London hubs. Airlines such as Flybe who promote these domestic flights are encouraging airport expansion and threatening the stability of the climate in order to line their own pockets. These flights are the most unnecessary of all and should stop immediately.  Instead, we need to create green jobs in sustainable transport networks such as rail."

Anne-Marie Griffin, Chair of ‘Fight the Flights’ at London City Airport said: "An end to unnecessary domestic flights for trips which could be taken by train, would have a hugely positive impact on the residents around London City Airport. Not only would they experience less flight noise and pollution from City Airports' domestic flights, but also from those heading to Heathrow. Travellers taking the train instead of the plane could help improve the lives and health of thousands of Londoners."

Campaigners in Italy have scored a fabulous victory against airport expansion.  There were plans to turn Siena’s Ampugnano runway, currently just an airstrip with just a handful of flights a week, into a commercial airport bringing short-haul operators such as Ryanair into the area.

It would have devastated the Tuscany countryside around Siena – amongst some of the most tranquil areas left in Europe. Local people, fighting to preserve their way of life, organised a feisty campaign which brought together local residents, students and politicians from the Greens and the Left.

Siena has a long history of radical protest and this campaign both tapped into and maintained that proud tradition. Campaigners made links with other airport campaigns across Europe, organised colourful, high-profile demonstrations, questioned the economic need for the airport. Critically, they exposed the murky links between the local council, the main bank in Siena and the developers of the airport.

 The decision of the authorities not to proceed with the airport is a triumph for local people who, when faced with the threat, chose not to dance to the authorities' tune but to pro-actively take them on, to challenge, to set the agenda and to expose their corruption. A great example for campaigners everywhere.

Environmental activists find themselves answering the same questions again and again, and one of these most frequently asked questions is “You’re saying no to coal power fire stations, no to airport expansion, and no to nuclear, but what do you want?”

I often find it hard to put into words what it is that I do want, especially when the things that we are fighting against appear more immediate. However last weekend’s Camp for Climate Action outside RBS headquarters in Edinburgh reminded me what I would like to see in the future.

Sustainability. Relying on sources that won’t dry up or run out. When I see a wind farm from a train window I feel like I’m looking at the future, and it’s safe and clean and far from the eyesore it’s made out to be.

Community. Climate camp has a strong sense of interdependence and a genuine sense of community. People look out for and support each other, which we saw at Edinburgh when protestors stuck together in stressful situations and made quick decisions as a collective.

Empowerment and self reliance. So many people are disempowered, and feel like they are unable to do something unless they have trained in a particular area. Climate camp is a space where people learn by doing, and within hours you will find yourself putting up a giant marquee or cooking for a hundred people.

I say yes to compost toilets, yes to recycling, yes to grey water systems, yes to reusing everything and anything you can, yes to educating yourself, yes to including everyone, yes to mucking in, yes to vegan food, freegan food and local organic produce.

Yes to consensus decision making, to being cooperative, to taking the initiative and not waiting for someone to give you permission to do what needs doing.

Yes to helping out your neighbour, and yes to helping out someone who lives on the other side of the world to you. Yes to active participation, yes to creativity and yes to fun.

Yes for all of these and for taking action to bring the institutions which threaten this future for my generation and for generations to come to their knees.

Who would’ve guessed it? Donald Trump, the American golf course tycoon who has been a driving force behind aviation expansion at Aberdeen airport, has launched a lawsuit in a bid to stop the expansion of an airport near his home in Florida.

The Celebrity Apprentice boss filed papers in Palm Beach County Circuit Court on Monday 19th July, accusing county officials of failing to assess noise and associated pollution from jet engines at Palm Beach International Airport, near his Mar-a-Lago estate and members-only beach club.

The complaint, which also targets the airport's director, Bruce Pelly, aims to block construction of a second runway and prevent planes flying over his properties. Plans for the expansion are currently on hold.

Johnny Agnew, 22, from Plane Stupid Scotland said: "This is amazing hypocrisy. Donald Trump's plans would significantly contribute to expansion at Aberdeen Airport. He has created a living nightmare for families who don’t know if they will see their next Christmas in their own home."

"This new information that he is actually fighting to block Airport Expansion near his own home shows that he can only act in self-interest and will never benefit Aberdeen.  He is simply acting to make big money for himself, and shows complete disregard to the local community's suffering and to the environmental degradation that expansion at Aberdeen Airport would cause."

Alan Flemming, an Aberdeen resident commented, "For years now we have been opposing Aberdeen Airport expansion because of the greenhouse gas emissions and excessive noise pollution it would cause. Trump has been a driving force for this expansion. He supports the airport expansion plans as they will allow rich Americans to fly into his resort and money to fly into his pocket."

"To find out that he's blocking an airport from expanding in his home town in the states is an outrage to those who have been fighting the proposed expansion at Aberdeen Airport."

The first major climate trial since the failure of the Copenhagen talks has begun in Aberdeen Sheriff's court this morning. Nine defendants from Plane Stupid Scotland will face charges of Breach of the Peace and vandalism after closing down Aberdeen Airport in March 2009.

The group intend to take the battle for climate justice from the court of public opinion to the court of law in Scotland. They plan to highlight the social and environmental impacts of expanding the airport which they argue will mainly benefit a proposed luxury hotel and golf complex owned by business tycoon Donald Trump.

Interest has been building around the case since Climate 9 public campaigns were launched in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London, which have drawn global and local support for the group and helped forge alliances with social justice campaigners and racial justice movements.

The defendants are pleading not guilty on the grounds that their actions were to prevent the larger crime of runaway climate change and have assembled a witness list of world-renowned experts in climate related fields including public health consultant Jenny Griffiths and Geoff Meaden, who contributed to the successful Kingsnorth 6 defence as a flooding and mapping expert.

The defendants were joined outside court by around 50 friends, families and supporters.

For more information, statements of support and how you can help the Climate 9 see climate9.com/ or email info@climate9.com. You can also ring 077655 01687.

Source: Flickr

Activists from the group Manchester Plane Stupid have breached airside security at Manchester Airport today in a protest against the expansion of the airport. The protest involves two groups. The first group of 6 people cut through the perimeter fence and created a human circle around a stationary plane using arm tube lock-ons.

A second group have used tripods to blockade the road entrance to the World Freight Terminal preventing airfreighted goods from being taken in or out. They have unfurled a banner reading: “More air freight = more climate change. Stop all airport expansion now.”

The group are protesting against the recent decision to expand the World Freight Terminal which will involve the demolition of historic homes on Hasty Lane.

Lisa Jameson from Manchester Plane Stupid said, “This isn't just about airport expansion or rising carbon emissions. This is about challenging an economic system based on the absurdity of infinite growth on a planet of finite resources, a system which prioritises bail-outs for the banks and then makes us pay for it in public service cuts. Capitalism is the cause of the problem, climate change is just a symptom.”

Following the recent decision to stop expansion at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead airports, the aviation industry is likely to look to regional airports such as Manchester to increase profits.

“The third runway at Heathrow was stopped because ordinary people stood up to the government at the time and the aviation industry using a broad range of tactics. Direct action has historically played an important role in creating social change and will continue to do so.”

The aviation industry consistently overstate their importance in creating jobs and their contribution to the economy. The lack of tax on aviation fuel is costing the UK economy £9 billion per year. There is also a tourism deficit in the North West region of £2.2 billion. That is the difference between what Britons flying abroad spend in foreign countries and what foreign visitors spend in the North West.

Each round of airport expansion is justified on the promise of more and more jobs. In the 1990s Manchester Airport promised to create 50,000 jobs with the second runway – but the actual number was far lower. We need to begin a just transition to a low carbon economy by creating jobs in sustainable industries such as rail and renewables”

Annie McLaughlin said, “Recently, we've seen attempts by British Airways to use the courts to overturn workers' right to strike. We support the rights of all workers to fight for good conditions. It is essential that the changes needed to prevent climate change are not used as an excuse to restrict workers rights.”

The airport, which is owned by local councils, has kept local residents in the dark about the proposed expansion plans, failing to adequately inform them that their homes face demolition.

McLaughlin continued, “The proposed expansion of the freight terminal makes no sense, economically or environmentally. The existing capacity is not fully utilized and an expansion would simply be a stepping stone to expansion of the airport as a whole, which would be an environmental disaster.”

“With the planet on the verge of climate breakdown it is essential that the real cost of aviation expansion is taken seriously – currently emissions from aviation are not included in Manchester City Council's Climate Change Action Plan.”

Gordon Brown has come to a sticky end. He cuts a forlorn figure: out-of-office, soon to be out-of-Parliament. His aviation policy is in tatters, the jewel in its crown – a third runway at Heathrow – is no more. The new Government has pledged to scrap it.

That decision comes at the end of a momentous campaign lasting nearly a decade, involving local communities, activists, national campaign organisations, sympathetic politicians, some trade unions and even some leading business figures. A progressive rainbow coalition if ever there was one.

You'll probably remember our mate Dan supergluing himself to Gordon Brown. The pictures should act as a warning to the new Government. Yes, Heathrow has been dropped and they're saying that there won't be any new runways at Stansted or Gatwick either. But what about the proposed expansion at Southend, London City, Manchester, East Midlands, Glasgow... need I go on?

Cancelling Heathrow is one thing. The real test comes with these regional airports. Activists stand ready. Unless Cameron and Clegg scupper these plans, they can count on a very sticky future.

Source: Flickr

Many Plane Stupid activists have been down to the Isle of Wight to show our support and admiration for the Vesta's workers. This community has dared to take back some control of their futures away their bosses and from politicians too blind to see the symbolism of a wind turbine factory closing while promising Apollonian efforts to tackle climate change.

Contrast that with the aviation industry. New runways and promises of new jobs in the aviation sector look empty in a world of peak oil and a rapidly changing climate. The workers of Heathrow, Stansted, British Airways, Ryanair and the rest would do well to learn a lesson from this island community. When the dying Heathrow dream is finally abandoned they'll be left sitting on the cold tarmac whilst the bosses and their political cronies fly off with the last of the liquidated assets. The only solution is to wrestle back their fates and demand a just transition to a sustainable future.

Act now to demand a more sustainable future. Cabin crew should refuse to serve another packet of peanuts until there are enough jobs building windfarms and insulating lofts. Baggage handlers must not pack another plane until they're taught about the orchards and fields and helped to find jobs which support and strengthen local communties. We have to stop waving through development which will wreck the environment but offer up a couple of unsustainable shift jobs on minimum wage.

The transition to a low carbon economy can be brutal or it can be fair, but capital and capitalists will not adopt a system which distributes the most pain to those who can afford to pay it unless we force them. A just transition has to be fought for. When workers in the fossil fuels industries look to Vestas and start standing up for their futures then Plane Stupid would be proud to stand there with them. On Tuesday the courts will try to evict the Vestas workers. We'll be there to stop them.