26th October 2007

A 100 people descended on a field near Staverton last weekend to protest at the expansion plans of the airport. Greens from Gloucester, West Glos, Cheltenham and Stroud were amongst them and have very active in the campaign. Read letter from one of the participants by clicking on 'Read more'

The increase in business and larger planes flying from Staverton is clearly expansion. Just because the M5 is close does not mean we should ignore the expansion of this airport. Flights by UK citizens are equivalent to almost 20% of the UKs climate damage. We need to reduce our emissions drastically to prevent the worst of climate change: predictions show we will be using out entire emissions allowance on flights.

We have already seen the effects of climate change with worldwide floods, hurricanes and droughts. The arctic may be ice free in 23 years, the jet streams shifted this year and the Amazon is threatened by drought and deforestation, avoiding dramatic and catastrophic climatic events is now unlikely. Scientists are adamant that "there is no chance for the climate without tacking aviation". We must act now.

I was at Camp Hope with fellow Green party members, local residents and other campaigners but would rather have been celebrating a new wind turbine and other local sustainable power generation, rather than trying to get the message across to those still burying their head in the sand. It's not even a matter of looking after our children's future - this is happening now.

Elinor Croxall