Aviation Justice
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United Airlines: Climate greenwash at its finest
Earth Day brings out the worst in polluters. This Earth Day, United Airlines started touting its newly-revamped carbon offset program, allowing customers to alleviate the guilt of climate pollution by spending money on climate-enhancing projects in three different countries. What United’s green PR team didn’t mention is that up till March, they were busy suing … Continue reading
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The aviation industry claims that it’s going green—but that’s not what the data shows. New research by David Lee, co-author of the recent UN Environment Program report “Bridging the Gap,” shows that the global aviation industry is rapidly increasing its contributions to global warming. According to David Lee, aviation emissions have grown over 11% between 2005 and … Continue reading
Kai is an inspiration to me. He’s a former airline pilot who loved his work, but could no longer bring himself to participate after discovering the global environmental impacts of his industry. Kai and his partner Sheila have taken steps to simplify their lives and reduce their impact on the Earth, and are currently in the … Continue reading
Washington State’s King County (encompassing Seattle) just released their latest report on local climate emissions. The analysis, developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute and others, tracks both local emissions as well as emissions associated with the production of goods or services imported into the region. According to the report, air transportation constitutes 9% of King County’s total … Continue reading
The New Yorker castigated President Obama for his “climate betrayal,” for his attack on global aviation climate regulations. Read staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert’s article, the best short overview I’ve seen of the global battle over aviation and climate. “Some international disputes are significant for symbolic reasons, others for substantive ones. The current conflict between the … Continue reading
We had about 130 people attend three amazing aviation justice events in the San Francisco Bay Area last week, featuring John Stewart and Dan Glass on a live video link sharing the lessons of the victory at London’s Heathrow airport. On Wednesday, we held a small roundtable for activists from local environmental and transportation justice … Continue reading
The Aviation Justice Express tour hit California, with Los Angeles area residents attended a public event and protest against the Santa Monica Airport, organized by Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution. Residents are working to address pollution, noise, and safety issues. Writes the Santa Monica Daily Press: “Residents of three communities reiterated their concerns about Santa … Continue reading
I’m halfway through my tour of America talking with activists about the success of the Heathrow Third Runway Campaign. I have spoken with groups in New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. And yet I haven’t moved from my office in Inner London. That wasn’t the original plan! But, when I was denied entry to the … Continue reading
Anthony Rayson, the co-founder of STAND (Shut This Airport Nighmare Down), writes about their Aviation Justice Express event last week in Peotone County, Illinois, where residents are trying to defend their community from a massive new airport project, over three times the size of Chicago O’Hare. In an unfortunate turn of events, politicians have pitted … Continue reading
A wide variety of media has been covering the ordeal of John Stewart, one of the speakers invited to headline the Aviation Justice Express tour. John was detained, interrogated, and deported from New York’s JFK airport, and subsequently again denied a visa to return to the United States, in spite of public support from hundreds … Continue reading
We kicked off the Aviation Justice Express tour with a community meeting at a diner in Howard Beach, New York City. What had originally been billed as a friendly consultation with British activists went high-tech, with the two British speakers beaming in via Skype, despite being not receiving visas to speak in the United States. … Continue reading
Twitter was in an uproar when news got out that British environmentalist John Stewart was barred from entering the United States to participate in the Aviation Justice Express tour. Friends, strangers, elected officials, journalists, and even critics spoke out: Heathrow campaigner, John Stewart barred from US. A heroic campaigner, and a gent. Utterly scandalous: thisislondon.co.uk/standard/artic…— … Continue reading
Environmentalists from across America and Europe are surprised and outraged that John Stewart, voted the UK’s “most effective environmentalist,” was barred from entering the US. Stewart was invited to the US by a coalition of environmental organizations. Continue reading
Seattle hip-hop artist J-Reed wrote a song called “Look Up In The Sky,” about the impacts of aviation, in support of Debi Wagner and other Sea-Tac airport neighbors. The song’s instantly become part of the soundtrack to our movement! Please download and share widely. look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane … Continue reading
London illustrator MISSBADCHILD created two fantastic posters for the Aviation Justice Express tour, bringing together so many of the problems that we’re fighting, and the solutions we’re seeking. The tour kicks off on September 30! Check out all her designs
Los Angeles residents Martin Rubin and his wife Joan founded Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution in 2003. I interpret the term “Aviation Justice” literally to mean that all attributes of aviation must be justly considered. How aviation affects the Earth, both in the atmosphere as well as at ground level must be a significant factor … Continue reading
British aviation/climate policy appears to have moved in a fundamentally more sustainable direction. The British Department for Transport just released a new report which suggests the possibility of not allowing the construction of new runways in the UK until 2050 as a way to ensure the reduction of greenhouse gases from aviation. While writing a … Continue reading
Our new book, Why Noise Matters (Routledge, 2011) is the first major work to put the issue of noise pollution in the wider political context. It also makes a compelling case that noise pollution is not just hurting people – noise is the pollutant which disturbs more people in their daily lives than any other … Continue reading
The possible passage of HR 2594, the House bill that would make it illegal for US airlines to comply with EU aviation environmental policies, is sparking serious worries about a trade war between the US and Europe. The cause? A greenhouse gas emissions trading plan that would add about $3 to the price of a … Continue reading
A broad coalition of environmental and development groups came out strongly against HR 2594, the House bill that, if passed, would make it illegal for American airlines to comply with European Union climate protection policies. The group consists of: ActionAid USA, Earthjustice, Environment America, Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace USA, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources … Continue reading
Anirvan Chatterjee is a San Francisco Bay Area entrepreneur and climate activist. He and his wife spent 2009-2010 attempting to travel around the world without flying, while documenting the work of climate action movements in a dozen countries. Climate change has a human face. Last year, we met dozens of Vietnamese teens trying to deal … Continue reading
A bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives introduced HR 2594, the EU ETS Prohibition Act, which would make compliance with the European aviation emissions trading system illegal. The bill is being introduced by the following members of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, who have collectively received over $2 million from the … Continue reading
It’s the market-base solution the US is fighting against. It is called the European Union Environmental Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and it has caused an almighty row between the US and Europe, which has ended up in the European courts. The EU ETS has been in place for some years but what has caused the … Continue reading
Debi Wagner is a Seattle airport neighbor, and a community activist who worked against the expansion of SEA-TAC airport. She’s the author of Over My Head, a memoir of 17 years doing airport environmental justice work. “Aviation Justice means to me just what the word justice implies. There are certain people singled out for abuse. … Continue reading
With a stretch of Los Angeles’ 405 freeway closed this weekend, JetBlue thought they’d get a PR win by offering cheap $4 flights between Burbank and Long Beach airports. But the news was overshadowed by their defeat in a nationally-followed race between four modes of transportation: bike, metro + foot, rollerblade, and plane + taxi. … Continue reading
John Stewart was a key organizer in the successful decade-long campaign to stop the expansion of London’s Heathrow Airport. He’s one of the speakers on the Aviation Justice Express tour this October. “The way aviation currently operates is deeply unjust. Aviation contributes 5% of global emissions. Its emissions are rising faster than just about any … Continue reading
Chris Cain is the publisher of Seattle’s Port Observer newspaper. “Aviation justice is…justice delayed. But not just delayed, but prevented, ignored all the while ‘injustice’ is promoted and hyped. Billions are spent each year promoting air travel and vacationing and tourism and globetrotting, while comparatively little is spent on mitigation of impacts. Aviation Industry Anarchy! … Continue reading
What’s the carbon footprint of US federal government agencies’ air business travel? The Council on Environmental Quality just released the tally of federal agencies’ greenhouse gas emissions for fiscal year 2010, and we pulled out air travel data: 5.2% of reported emissions came from air business travel — that’s 3.4 million metric tons of CO2 … Continue reading
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Earthjustice, Environment America, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club have teamed up to take on American airlines’ attack on European aviation climate emissions standards, denouncing industry greenwash. “[I]f American and United are committed to reducing their environmental impact and protecting the earth, ‘it makes … Continue reading
With national U.S. climate legislation failed, and Republicans running away from market-based solutions, the onus is on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop national greenhouse gas standards. After the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the EPA must regulate dangerous greenhouse gases as a pollutant, environmental NGOs asked the EPA to start setting standards … Continue reading
The Battle of Heathrow was a decade-long campaign to prevent the massive expansion of Heathrow airport. Initially started by local homeowners worried about local impacts, it eventually grew into a struggle over the future of British climate policy. Near the heart of the struggle was John Stewart, the chair of AirportWatch, who helped hold together … Continue reading
