Plane Stupid disrupt Aberdeen Airport (video)

3rd March - Nine young protesters from the climate action group Plane Stupid Scotland have this morning shut down Aberdeen airport by setting up a golf course on the taxiway. They have surrounded themselves with fortified security fencing whilst another group are occupying the roof of the terminal building and have unfurled a banner reading, “Nae Trump Games with Climate Change”.

The peaceful protest began at 02.15am this morning whilst the runway was closed. Plane Stupid aims to prevent the scheduled reopening of the runway at 5am. The group intends to maintain its blockade for as long as possible to prevent the release of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

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Anti- Heathrow campaigners to meet airport residents from Clydebank, Paisley, Cramond, Aberdeen.

Communities from all across Scotland are co-ordinating and mobilising to halt airport expansion, with a little help from the 'Heathrow Ladies.'

Key figures from the attention grabbling campaign against Heathrow expansion will be touring Scotland to meet with communities fighting expansion plans at Scotland's main airports.

Next week two of the 'Heathrow Ladies' – Maggie Thorburn and Geraldine Nicholson – will speak at public meetings in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

• Monday 16th February-Glasgow University Union Reading Room 1.00pm Clydebank Town Hall Lecture room 7.00pm
• Tuesday 17th February- Cramond Davidsons Mains Parish Church 7.00pm
• Wednesday 18th February-Edinburgh Chaplaincy Centre Bristo Square 6.30pm
• Thursday 19th February-Aberdeen Arts Centre 7.00pm

The tour has been organised by PlaneSpeaking .

The tour has been timed to coincide with scrutiny by the Scottish Parliament of the National lanning Framework which may give the green light to expansion at Glasgow, Edinburgh, berdeen and Prestwick airports.

PlaneSpeaking spokeswoman Tilly Gifford said,

"We are delighted that the 'Heathrow Ladies' are coming to Scotland. They will meet both local communities and activists, telling their stories and sharing their experiences."

Tilly added,

"Communities, environmental groups and individuals across the country have become frustrated with the refusal of those in power to acknowledge the impact of aviation expansion on climate change and the extra noise it will mean for so many local people. What will really interest people is the way that the Heathrow campaigners have developed a radical, high-profile campaign which many believe we see off the plans to build a third runway."

Geraldine Nicholson is a mother of three young children who will find herself living 100 yards from the third runway if it is built at Heathrow. Together with other local people, the majority of them women, she formed the No Third Runway Action Group (NoTRAG). Geraldine now chairs
the organisation. She will tell the story of how a group of localpeople have taken on the might of BAA.

Maggie Thorburn has lived under the flight path to Heathrow for nearly 30 years. During that time she has seen BAA and successive governments break a series of promises about expanding the airport. She will explain how the experience has radicalised her to the extent that, despite having a walking disability, she is prepared to take direct action to stop further expansion at Heathrow.

John Stewart, who chairs the coalition opposing expansion at Heathrow, will also be part of the tour for three days (Monday –Wednesday). Last year he was voted 'the UK's most effective environmentalist'.

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Campaign against Climate Change Aberdeen: Biofuels not the answer!

My nearest climate campaign group Aberdeen--Campaign against Climate Change have been making there voices heard. Nice work everyone! Hope to see you all at the next meeting.

CLIMATE CAMPAIGNERS TAKE BIOFUEL FIGHT TO DOOR OF ENERGY COMPANIES AT EXHIBITION

08:50 - 24 May 2007

Climate-change campaigners made a brief protest during the All-Energy 07 show, which opened yesterday.

Aberdeen Campaign Against Climate Change was responsible for a short interruption to the speech by US Ambassador to the UK Robert Tuttle.

(left: soy motivated deforestation, increasingly for the production of 'green' biodesil)

Several members of the group, who are unhappy at US use of biofuels made from crops, unfurled anti-biofuels banners and made their views known before they were asked to leave.

The campaigners, who left peacefully, later continued their protest outside the show venue, Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

All-Energy 07, the largest renewable energy event in the UK, concludes today.

The campaign group's Almuth Ernsting said:

"The US government have been sabotaging progress at international climate conferences for years and their emissions continue to rise steeply.

"Large-scale biofuels do not mitigate global warming but make it happen even faster, as rainforests and other ecosystems are rapidly being destroyed to make way for vast monocultures to grow crops for cars in rich nations."

Campaigner Alan Fleming added:

"We are holding this protest to make sure that people distinguish between clean, truly renewable sources of energy such as sustainable wind, solar, wave and tidal power on the one hand and biofuels from large-scale monocultures on the other.

"We are glad the All-Energy conference will promote wind, solar and marine energy sources as part of the solution to climate change.

"However, companies with interests in biofuels who are presenting at the conference should be aware of the problems biofuels are creating.

"Both intensive agriculture and deforestation are major contributors to global warming and biofuels threaten to greatly increase those emissions."

All-Energy project director Judith Patten said of the protest:

"We live in a democracy. Thank heavens people are allowed to express their views."

One of the people quoted, Almuth Ernsting is more well known for her involvement in biofuelwatch. Bellow is a video where she explains more about that group. As you can see from the website, Almuths' views are based on rigorous research and complete independence. Biofuelwatch is an entirely volunteer led organisation.

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