Also by tracy

We've had a bumpy week in the blog relay after Jim dropped the baton earlier this week (shame Jim), but here's hoping one of our other climate campaigners, Anita, will get us back on track in this whistle-stop tour of Greenpeace staff here in the UK. Click here to catch up on the other entries.

I'm on my second run at Greenpeace having taken a short trip around other non-governmental organisations in between times, but I've always worked on climate issues here.  At the moment I'm lucky enough to head up the aviation team and work with some really smart, fun and inspiring people. But Greenpeace is like that. It has introduced me to some of the most amazing people from around the world. From schoolteachers, children and subsistence farmers in the Philipinnes who we worked with to successfully defeat a proposed new coal fired power station, to grandmothers who chained themselves to petrol pumps to ‘Stop Esso', and now, with local residents from Sipson who will lose their homes if the government and BAA go ahead with their crazy plans and build a third runway at Heathrow.  Not that we will let them!

We all huddled around a tv in our press department to watch Geoff Hoon's statement in parliament. Unsurprisingly Hoon announced they would approve plans for a third runway at Heathrow. But the irony of stating that the UK would have the strictest regulations on aviation emissions and at the same time allowing the construction of a third runway was lost on what sounded like cows let loose in the Houses of Parliament - I'm assuming those were actually MPs.

Hoon said that use of the new runway would be limited to half capacity, so you've got to ask yourself why build it? With the introduction of a new high speed rail between major cities in the UK which was also supported in the speech, we could eliminate the 100,000 flights a year from Heathrow to cities less than 300 miles away. Passenger numbers at Heathrow would fall to 1990 levels, negating the need for any more runway capacity. Hight speed rail will only make a difference to emissions if it is instead of airport expansion.

TV impressionist Alistair McGowan has bought a piece of the Heathrow third runway site along with Emma Thompson, Zac Goldsmith and Greenpeace.

It started like most good ideas around here, with a conversation down at the pub. And there have been many times over the last few months when I wasn't sure we were going to pull it off, but we're now the proud owners of a small piece of land within the site of the proposed third runway at Heathrow.

We're expecting the government will announce that they're going ahead with expansion at Heathrow this week and we now need you to join us. Sign up now to get your own piece of the plot. It's not a financial thing, but you will be included as an owner on the legal deed of trust.

Happy Christmas from all of us here at Greenpeace. And don't forget to make your new year's resolution to get active with Greenpeace and help us save Santa, um I mean the climate.

xx