Not All That Is Green Is Growing

Britain's Green Party says it will back the "Airports Pledge" campaign -- designed to foil the government's attempts to expand aviation facilities in the UK. It's a broad indictment of the aviation industry in general, saying plans to expand both Stansted and Heathrow airports is bad for the environment.

"This conference has heard a lot about the hazards of climate change," said a report on the Green Party's website. "Aviation is the fastest growing source of the CO2 emissions which cause global warming. The Labour government's disastrous airport expansion proposals will mean millions more flights and much more pollution. It must be stopped."

With that in mind, the Green Party statement said, "The campaign encourages members of the public to pledge to actively oppose government plans for airport expansion in a wide variety of ways from lobbying politicians and companies to participating in direct action and voting only for politicians who oppose airport expansions."

As ANN reported in December, the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair has approved a plan to add runways to both Heathrow and Stansted. But Green Party member Spencer Fitz-Gibbon, said, "The Air Traffic Bill was a milestone, because it meant one of the houses of parliament had actually agreed that aviation emissions must be drastically reduced. But Bills passed by the Lords go nowhere unless taken up in the House of Commons. So we need more people to lobby the bigger parties to make sure this Bill comes into law. It's a crucial plank in the fight against climate change."

Fitz-Gibbon, a member of the House of Lords, has been arrested twice while protesting airport expansion in Manchester. And, if his statements at a weekend leadership conference were any indication, he's not finished yet. "Many Green Party activists have taken part in non-violent direct action including against airport expansion. Direct action is a vital component of radical politics in a system where vested economics interests exercise so much power and the democratic deficit is so immense."

FMI: www.greenparty.org.uk