Please support this campaign

Seakay

Not sure if this is in the right place as it's not about saving cash but saving a specific environment (if a second runway is developed at last one village will be demolished, and any increase in use is likely to adversely affect Hatfield Forest, one of the last areas of ancient broad leafed woodland) plus, of course expansion would impact on the enviroment generally with fuel use, increased road and rail use, possible road building etc etc.
Anyway, please take a look at

http://www.stopstanstedexpansion.com/

for information on the issue, and then consider signing the petition.
"
PRIME MINISTER AND E-PETITION AGAINST STANSTED EXPANSION

Tony Blair has set up a website for e-petitions and one of our members has created one against Stansted expansion. The wording is:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop the further expansion of Stansted Airport beyond 25 million passengers per annum."

Will you add your name and encourage others to do the same to help make it a popular one? To sign, go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Stansted/.

Stop Stansted Expansion
01279 870558
info@stopstanstedexpansion.com
https://www.stopstanstedexpansion.com "

Seakay

Over 900 signatures already - thanks to all MSEs who've already signed.
This petition stays open until November next year, so please keep on spreading the word!

Cardew

Whilst I would also join a pressure group if I was personally affected by the proposed Stansted expansion, it is still a classic case of NIMBY(Not In My Back Yard). If you win it is inevitable that someone else near another airport will lose.

The proponents for the Stansted expansion argue that it will have the least environmental impact of all the airports in range of London.

Given that the demand for air travel will have to be met, where do you suggest the expansion should take place?

gromituk

Cardew wrote:

Given that the demand for air travel will have to be met

The demand is only there because it has been too easy to build airports and air travel is not taxed properly. The demand doesn't have to be met: it can be curbed.

Poppycat

Signed ....

Cardew

gromituk wrote:

The demand is only there because it has been too easy to build airports and air travel is not taxed properly. The demand doesn't have to be met: it can be curbed.

That may well be so.

However that isn't the point! The Government of this country, and just about every other country in the world, have not taken that approach. They have taken the view that increased air traffic is essential for the Economy.

So the Government having decided Britain cannot act in isolation, and that we need more capacity, the question is where should that capacity be found.

Should the Tories be elected that policy on increasing capacity won't change.

The whole point of this petition is NIMBY - not that I blame them!

gromituk

I agree that the UK acting alone might not be practical, but it looks like the EU might act as a whole.

NIMBY or not, delaying the extra runway gives more time for people to come to their senses and put the brakes on the spiralling level of air travel.

Seakay

Cardew wrote:

Whilst I would also join a pressure group if I was personally affected by the proposed Stansted expansion, it is still a classic case of NIMBY(Not In My Back Yard). If you win it is inevitable that someone else near another airport will lose.

The proponents for the Stansted expansion argue that it will have the least environmental impact of all the airports in range of London.

Given that the demand for air travel will have to be met, where do you suggest the expansion should take place?

a) I do not "give" that the demand has to be met - thanks for expressing that view so clearly gromituk

b) I live in Cardiff so in what way am I a NIMBY?

tr3mor

Seakay wrote:

a) I do not "give" that the demand has to be met - thanks for expressing that view so clearly gromituk

b) I live in Cardiff so in what way am I a NIMBY?

Well, surely you should be promoting a petition to disagree with all airport expansion, not just that at Stanstead.

Seakay

tr3mor wrote:

Well, surely you should be promoting a petition to disagree with all airport expansion, not just that at Stanstead.

You seem to be saying that as I don't live near Stansted Airport, I can only campaign against it's expansion if I also campaign against all other airport expansions. I do not recognise your logic, but if you are involved in / know of a campaign that you think that I or others may want to support then I suggest that you let us know about it.

tr3mor

Seakay wrote:

You seem to be saying that as I don't live near Stansted Airport, I can only campaign against it's expansion if I also campaign against all other airport expansions. I do not recognise your logic, but if you are involved in / know of a campaign that you think that I or others may want to support then I suggest that you let us know about it.

If it has been shown that extending Stanstead is the greenest option to expand the airport capacity of London then it shouldn't be campaigned against.

I'm sure there are options: Expand Stanstead? Expand Heathrow? Build a new airport on a wildlife sanctuary in the Thames estuary? Tax planes out of the air?

Don't just join a nimby-ist campaign about Stanstead if you want to achieve the latter because you might get some of the other options!