October 2009

Tories will 'definitely' scrap Heathrow's third runway

Posted by jamie — 6 October 2009 at 4:39pm - Comments

Some promising news from the Tory party conference in Manchester, where they've pledged to dump plans for Heathrow's third runway as part of their election campaign package. "We are absolutely firm on our opposition to expansion at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted," shadow transport minister Julian Brazier told the Evening Standard today. "It will definitely be in the manifesto."

It's great to hear their commitment being reaffirmed as it shows how isolated the government is on this issue. But there's a long way to go between promising to include it in the election manifesto, being able to form a government and then actually getting round to reversing the decision. Reports from the conference say that the Heathrow pledge in Theresa Villiers' speech received a polite smattering of applause, but her promise to crackdown on cowboy clampers roused the audience further still. Make of that what you will.

26 Governments protest at Iceland's continued whale hunt

Posted by Willie — 2 October 2009 at 4:53pm - Comments

Today 26 governments made an official protest (called a 'demarche') to the Icelandic government, caliing on them to reassess their current whaling operations, and end commercial whaling.

Video: the Inside Story of the plight of bluefin tuna

Posted by jossc — 2 October 2009 at 4:01pm - Comments

Yesterday’s 'Inside Story' on Al Jazeera TV was all about the collapse of bluefin tuna stock in the Mediterannean. The 25 minute programme provided a facinating insight into the politics and greed of the serious overfishing which has left bluefin on the verge of extinction.

Green points for Hewlett Packard and Apple in our latest electronics guide

Posted by jossc — 1 October 2009 at 11:55am - Comments

Apple and Hewlett Packard get green points this month, as HP is rewarded in the latest edition of our Guide to Greener Electronics and Apple releases details of their greenhouse gas emissions. But the big points go to activist consumers for proving once again that public pressure creates positive change.

Update: Canadian tar sands action wraps up

Posted by jamie — 1 October 2009 at 11:10am - Comments

Yesterday's fantastic direct action at Suncor's tar sands complex in Alberta is over. Two giant conveyor belts were blockaded for 10 hours and a giant banner was floated on the nearby Athabasca river. You can still catch some of the footage from the live video feeds and there are some great images in the slideshow above.