Earlier this year, 13 climate activists were sentenced for aggravated trespass after blocking a runway at London’s Heathrow airport. For Kara Moses, the protest was part of her Buddhist practice of loving kindness to life and planet.
Plane Stupid's Heathrow 13 escaped immediate incarceration yesterday for occupying Heathrow's northern runway last summer. But the threat of imprisonment remains firmly in place, writes Ali Tamlit, from a state determined to defend the corporations that are inflicting the systemic violence of climate change on us all. The peaceful fight for a better world must go on.
With the 'Heathrow 13' protestors expecting custodial sentences today for their occupation of a Heathrow runway last July, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP writes that their direct action followed years of official lies and broken promises, and forms part of a long tradition of direct action protests in defence of democracy.
A huge march of over 20,000 people including local farmers last weekend marked the biggest protest yet against a new international airport in France's Loire Valley. The peaceful occupation of a bridge was later attacked by riot police with tear gas and water cannon.
The demand for ever more air travel and new runways comes from a small minority of frequent flyers, writes Keith Taylor - the 15% who take 70% of flights. So we can reduce that demand with a frequent flyer tax - while making it cheaper for ordinary families to enjoy an annual holiday abroad.
Labour's new candidate for London Mayor has taken a firm stand against Heathrow expansion, write Victor Anderson & Rupert Read. But he's all for it at Gatwick - never mind the climate change. For those who oppose new runways on principle, there's only one choice: The Greens' Sian Berry.
Aerial surveillance is a proven and effective technique in tackling wildlife crime, writes Elizabeth Claire Alberts - so the arrival on the scene of a new wildlife organization dedicated to providing air reconnaissance services to frontline environmental defenders couldn't come too soon.
Airports around the world are waging a war on birds, writes Rose Bridger. It's meant to prevent aircraft bird strikes. But in fact, fatal (for people) collisions are rare - and even killing thousands of birds does little to reduce the number of strikes. Best fly less, and keep airports away from birds!
For today's tourists and travellers the elephant in the room is the jumbo jet which whisks us to our destinations - but pollutes the air, promotes destructive development, and isolates us from the the real world. Rose Bridger reviews 'Beyond Flying'.
The new Manchester Airport Enterprise Zone is causing the piecemeal environmental destruction of Green Belt countryside, reports Rose Bridger - all sacrificed to an archaic vision of fossil-powered economic growth.
Aviation emissions are a major clause of climate change, writes Valerie Brown - yet they remain unregulated. The gap between the best and worst performing airlines demonstrates ample opportunities for improvement - but is the political will there to impose effective regulation?
The UK Government's U-turn on new airport capacity in England defies all logic, argues Natalie Bennett. We must end our obsession with 'high speed projects' and invest in low-speed sustainable transport.
As the UK Government prepares to build new runways in SE England, Chris Goodall points out that air travel forecasts have been cut by 35% in the last six years. So why should we believe the latest numbers?
Rural communities all over India are battling against a land grab of epic proportions. And one of the biggest causes of land grabs is for airports to support India's domestic aviation boom. Rose Bridger reports from Kerala, where four new 'green field' airports are meeting stiff local resistance.
British Airways' commercial partnership with SeaWorld condones the physical and psychological suffering of orcas in captivity, writes Kathleen Haase, who meets the company's executives today. Her aim - to stop the sale of package holidays to SeaWorld parks and expose cetacean captivity as cruel and unethical.
Last Friday saw the successful completion of the world’s first international solar-powered flight. But, asks Valentina Jovanovski, will this innovation really change the face of air travel or is it just another white elephant?
The aviation industry deserves credit for being proactive about looking for alternatives to fossil fuels, says Paul Steele from the Air Transport Action Group
Veteran campaigner and former Ecologist contributor Joss Garman talks to us about past campaigning successes - and why a Green Investment Bank should be a top priority for the Coalition Government
Campaign group Fight the Flights begins a High Court challenge to overturn Newham Council's decision to almost double the number of flights from 73,000 to 120,000 a year
Author at the centre of recent documentary claims more than half of the environmental movement agrees with him that we should embrace genetically modified (GM) crops and nuclear power
Majority of UK Government departments are choosing to fly staff to destinations easily accessible by train, such as London to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester
