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Architects lose green sheen by winning third runway contract

The Eden Project from matstrange on Flickr

One of third runway architects Grimshaw's earlier works (photo by Mat Strange)

Even though it hasn't been officially announced, it's been widely reported that architectural firm Grimshaw has won the bid to design the third runway at Heathrow. How much design a strip of tarmac needs I don't know, but presumably there's more to it than my ignorant assumptions suggest.

Grimshaw are, of course, the firm behind such eco-hits as the Eden Project and the firm's chairman Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has something of a reputation for sustainable and environmentally considerate approaches to architecture. Read more »

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Largest airport operator in the world? Not any more...

Stansted

The sun sets on BAA's dominance of the UK aviation sector, probably derailing Stansted expansion plans for good measure.

Times are tough at the enormous aircraft hangar that I like to imagine BAA plot their world domination from. Being the biggest airport operator in the world, not to mention being best mates with the UK government's inner circle, you'd think they'd pretty much be able to do what they wanted. But it turns out the Competition Commission is going to make them sell three of their seven airports - Stansted, Gatwick and either Edinburgh or Glasgow.

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You've got to build runways...

Stansted high court challenge
Campaigners took their opposition to Stansted expansion to the courts today, but are there other reasons to think it might never happen?

Another day, another airport expansion. It's a bit like the opening to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - as Arthur Dent lies in front of the bulldozers to protect his house from being flattened to make way for a road, the man from the construction company berates him: "What do you mean, why's it got to be built?" he says. "It's a bypass. You've got to build bypasses." Substitute runway for bypass, and comedy morphs into reality.

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When advert meets reality

This time its coming from British Airways and not us. You'd have to assume that BA and BAA simply can't see the irony in this video - but showing Terminal 5 under water (given the amount of emissions their short haul flights are causing) looks like a glimpse of the underwater future that we'll all be swimming in if we don't start cutting back on CO2 emissions - starting with aviation. Maybe they're subconsciously admitting that they are a major cause of the problem...

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Greenpeace reaction to Plane Stupid protest at Stansted Airport

8 Dec 2008

Reacting to this morning's protest at Stansted, a Greenpeace spokesperson said:

"The climate change secretary Ed Miliband called for a Suffragette-style movement to pressure governments to act. Well, he got his wish. The Suffragettes were disruptive and lambasted by the establishment of the day, but have been utterly vindicated by history, and no doubt it will be the same with Plane Stupid.

"The delays to passengers are unfortunate, but right now we're in the most important hundred months in human history as we try to beat climate change before it's too late - and the government's plans to expand airports could destroy our chances before we start."

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"More scared of climate change than jail": Plane Stupid shuts down Stansted

Plane Stupid activists occupy Stansted's only runway and effectively shut the airport down

'Please DO something' - Plane Stupid send a message to the government

My favourite climate protesters Plane Stupid struck again this morning when they shut down Stansted, London's third airport.

Taking advantage of a temporary maintenance closure in the small hours of the morning, they set up a camp on the runway. Wearing high visibility vests with the message, "Please DO something", and raising a banner which read 'Climate Emergency', they barricaded themselves with fortified security fencing. The blockade led to 56 Ryanair short-haul flights being cancelled, and the eventual arrest of over fifty young climate activists. Oh, and prevented the release of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere in the process - the average flight out of Stansted has a climate impact equivalent to 41.58 tonnes of CO2.

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Breaking news: High Court challenge to Stansted expansion plans

After the increasing evidence of a damaging Labour rebellion on Heathrow expansion, and yesterday's "tap on the little finger" for Plane Stupid's parliament protesters, today there's news of a new challenge to the government's airport expansion plans - this time through the High Court.

Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has lodged an appeal challenging the government's decision to allow an extra 10 million passengers a year on Stansted's existing runway.

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Stansted and City airports get the expansion go ahead

Stansted Airport

There've been two new blows to the UK's prospects of tackling climate change in the last couple of days.

First, City Airport got permission to increase flights to and from the airport by up to 50 per cent - despite the presence of dozens of flashmobbers registering their opposition outside Newham Town Hall (where the decision meeting was taking place), and local planners, teachers and campaigners from a number of organisations inside the hall. And despite the fact that the airport representatives couldn't and didn't even try to answer the accusations that they'd lied and their noise figures were inaccurate.

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Greenpeace reaction to Stansted expansion

9 Oct 2008

Reacting to news that the government has today backed plans to allow the expansion of Stansted Airport, Greenpeace senior transport campaigner Anita Goldsmith said:

"Only this week the government signaled that it will adopt a new tougher target to cut climate-trashing emissions, including those from aviation. But giving the green light to another 20,000 new flights from Stansted is in clear contrast to that commitment.

"Labour has promoted a binge-flying culture in Britain for too long. And unfortunately it looks like it will be business as usual from the new transport secretary.

"Brown's re-shuffled cabinet is still dealing from the bottom of the pack when it comes to climate change."

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255

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Stansted: how you can help to stop BAA's expansion plans

Stansted: filghts will  more than double if a new runway is built

News just in from Carol of the Airportwatch/Stop Stansted Expansion group of skullduggery afoot by airport owners BAA to influence their application to build a second runway there. Apparently BAA has recently resorted to 'encouraging' not only its own staff members, but also those of its many suppliers, to write in to the local Uttlesford District Council in support of its new runway proposal.

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