protest

27th February 2008 - Campaigners opposed to Heathrow expansion have scaled the roof of the Houses of Parliament and hung protest banners from the building before Prime Minister's Questions is due to begin.

The three men and two women from climate action group, Plane Stupid, opened an outside door before walking along the roof and dropping two banners. The non-violent direct action comes on the day a government consultation into Heathrow expansion ends. The protesters are making paper aeroplanes out of confidential Whitehall documents that reveal the process is fixed, and gliding the planes into the MPs' car park below.

One week to go until the most sophisticated and cruel practical joke ever to be played on the two million plus residents of West London and Berkshire ends. The more I read the absurd consultation document the more I am convinced that they either can’t possibly be serious, or that they truly believe – like Mikey O’Leary - that climate change is just the current florescent angst of today’s youth.

A classic example of the DfT’s blinkered lunacy is the above paragraph from page 44 of the consultation which explains with glee what a third runway would bring. Read that last sentence again. Apparently the "unconstrained demand forecast" by 2030 would in fact be restricted, by unexplained "environmental constraints". What are these constraints that dare upset the analysts' demand forecasts?

They may not be the Putney Debates, but there's not a lot in it. Residents' meetings held throughout West London have been so over-subscribed that organisers have had to move the location or turn residents away.

The meeting in Putney saw over 700 people queuing to get into St. Mary's Church ("the biggest attendance at any airport meeting ever organised by the council and the biggest public meeting in 20 years" according to a local councillor). A meeting at Chiswick earlier in the week saw over 1,000 people turn up, and organisers had to persuade the local choir to hold their practice elsewhere. A meeting in Richmond-upon-Thames was attended by over 600 people.

There are meetings all over London (details after the jump), so if you have any questions about the expansion, or if you just want to make your voice heard, make sure you go to one. There's also the Central Hall rally on the 25th of February, so if you only go to one event, make it that one!

Who said we were the radicals? A poll in today's Guardian says that one in eight 16-19 year olds supported a ban on flying on holiday.

This might be down to their dreading another family holiday, but it's more likely to be a sign that younger people are really worried about their impact on the climate. Unlike most politicians, teenagers will still be around when the shit hits the fan, and they're unhappy that their parents' pollution is damaging their future.

The same poll revealed that 10% of young people said they'd be up for taking part in 'guerilla activities' carried out by green groups. Get involved...