John Stewart on aviation justice

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 other sector.  Yet only 5% of the world’s population has ever flown.  It is largely the rich world that is producing these emissions but it is the poor world that is being hit first, and most acutely, by climate change. That is deeply unjust.

“It is also deeply unjust to people living under flight paths.  The authorities are cynical about it.  Concentrate ever more planes on narrow flight paths to enable a growing number of people to jet off on subsidized holidays or to allow business to become over-dependent on air travel.  Throw a few crumbs of comfort to the people in the noise ghettos, even though, for many in these noise ghettos there is no chance of escape for reason of personal circumstance, age, income or disability etc.  Deeply cynical.  Deeply unjust.

“That is why we need an aviation justice movement.”