Transport

Ken keeps up the pressure against Heathrow expansion

Posted by jossc — 18 February 2008 at 1:27pm - Comments

With just over a week to go until the consultation process ends, London mayor Ken Livingstone is keeping up the pressure on the government to abandon plans to build a third runway at Heathrow airport. During a visit to Sipson, one of three villages threatened by the bulldozers if the plans go ahead, Ken said: "It is vital that all airport expansion in London and the South East, including Heathrow, is halted now as it is completely contrary to the growing evidence on the role of aviation in contributing towards catastrophic climate change.

Article tagged as: aviation, climate change, co2 emissions, heathrow expansion, ken livingstone, transport

New congestion charge kicks out gas guzzlers

Posted by jamie — 13 February 2008 at 6:48pm - Comments

Traffic jam As reported in yesterday's news, London's congestion charge is being modified again to improve the capital's green credentials. From October, vehicles emitting the highest amounts of CO2 will have to pay £25 a day which gets a big thumbs-up, while the most efficient cars will get into central London free of charge.

Some commentators have pointed out that this effectively changes the purpose of the charge from reducing congestion to reducing pollution, and that's no bad thing. According to the World Resources Institute, road transport spews out around 10 per cent of global emissions (pdf), so providing incentives to move to more efficient models is going to do a lot to cut those exhaust fumes.

Article tagged as: cars, climate change, congestion charge, emissions, london, transport

Make cars greener says ex-Shell boss

Posted by jamie — 6 February 2008 at 11:48am - Comments

As one fossil fuel giant sidelines its alternative energy projects and invests in even more damaging technologies such as tar sands, the former head of another multinational has made some startling demands vis a vis car efficiency. To all intents and purposes, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart- ex-chairmen of Shell - wants to see all gas guzzlers banned.

Expanding on a column he wrote for the BBC website, Sir Mark said that the EU should bring in a minimum standard of 35 miles per gallon (mpg). "Nobody needs a car that does 10-15mpg," he said. "We need very tough regulation saying that you can't drive or build something less than a certain standard. You would be allowed to drive an Aston Martin - but only if it did 50-60mpg."

Article tagged as: cars, climate change, fuel efficiency, road transport, transport

Clean grafitti hits London streets

Posted by jossc — 4 February 2008 at 4:07pm - Comments

Stop Heathrow: clean graffitti on Defra's doorstep

Anti-Heathrow expansion activists were out and about at the weekend keeping up the pressure on the government to think again about plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. This time they took to the streets - literally - to get the message across, using a new method called 'clean grafitti'.

Taking a cue from the "wash me" messages scrawled on the back of delivery trucks, clean (or reverse) graffiti uses high-pressure steam to imprint images on dirty walls and pavements.

Article tagged as: aviation, BAA, climate change, co2 emissions, heathrow, transport

Airfixed: how the government's Heathrow consultation has been rigged

Posted by jamie — 25 January 2008 at 12:07pm - Comments

The government's consultation on Heathrow is fixed.

  • There is evidence of extraordinary collusion between the government and BAA working together to influence the outcome of the consultation. [1]
  • The prime minister and government ministers have made repeated comments that they want the expansion to go ahead, pre-empting the outcome of the consultation. [2]
  • The evidence put forward within the consultation is confusing and incomplete, making it impossible for people to make an informed response to the consultation. [3]
  • The consultation document is heavily biased, presenting leading commentary on the economic benefits of Heathrow expansion, and down-playing the effects of the proposed expansion on the climate and on Londoners. [4]
Article tagged as: aviation, climate change, co2 emissions, heathrow, transport

Airfixed! Why the government's consultation on Heathrow is a sham

Posted by jossc — 25 January 2008 at 11:36am - Comments

A Greenpeace volunteer at the Heathrow consultation exhibtion in London

Greenpeace volunteers attended the final Heathrow consultation exhibition today to let the public know that the whole process is a sham - ignoring the threat of climate change in favour of the quick profits to be made from airport expansion.

Article tagged as: aviation, BAA, climate change, co2 emissions, heathrow, transport

'Divided consumer attitudes' to climate change mirrored by government

Posted by jossc — 18 January 2008 at 5:45pm - Comments

Earlier this week the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released a report identifying things the public should be doing to limit climate change. Third on the list is to "avoid unnecessary short-haul flights". Apparently we find this hard to do because of "divided consumer attitudes" - ie, we want to have our cake and eat it.

Article tagged as: aviation, climate change, co2 emissions, DEFRA, DFT, heathrow, transport

BA reprimanded for lying to its customers

Posted by jossc — 11 January 2008 at 1:01pm - Comments

You may remember that a few weeks ago we ran a story about British Airways emailing the members of its Executive Club (who number in the tens of thousands) asking them to sign a petition supporting the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport.

In it, BA chairman Willie Walsh made the rather remarkable assertion that the massive increase in traffic wouldn't increase emissions in climate change gases. According to Mr Walsh, the fact that airliners would spend less time queuing for take-off and landing spots would reduce CO2 emissions by 330,000 tonnes a year, a figure which the email implied had been endorsed by the government.

Article tagged as: aviation, british airways, climate change, heathrow, transport

An email from British Airways

Posted by jamie — 27 November 2007 at 4:06pm - Comments

An email to members of British Airways' Executive ClubThanks to marcus for letting us know about an email that's been sent from British Airways to members of its Executive Club. In it, CEO Willie Walsh appeals to members' sense of loyalty - nay, duty - and asks them to support a third runway at Heathrow. He's even provided an easy online petition to sign - how sweet is that?

He makes no mention of how vital a third runway is supposed to be for the UK economy which is curious, seeing as it's the drum government ministers have been beating recently. Instead, he plays on the drubbing Heathrow's customer service has received in the press by insisting that a third runway will make the "customer experience" that much more comfortable.

Article tagged as: aviation, british airways, climate change, heathrow, transport
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