Grind down the airheads

If the price of plane tickets took into account the real cost of environmental damage caused by air travel, it would be the most expensive way to get around. In fact it's the other way around.

A cool £9 billion worth of subsidies every year in the UK, plus not having to pay tax on fuel or VAT like other transport industries do, means flights can be artificially cheap and it often costs more to go by train, boat or even coach.

It's time to grind down those airheads and make it cheaper to Stay Grounded than jet around for breakfast in Barcelona and lunch in Lausagne. Or we'll all be in the frying pan.

• Lobby your MP and add your voice to campaigns like The Big Ask or One Planet Future.
• Even better, write them a letter. If you've never done it before, this guide will help. MPs tend to write long, wordy letters back but don't let this put you off here's how to respond to the response.
• Best of all, you can make yourself impossible to ignore and go and meet your MP in person. Check out your MP's surgery times and while you're at it, Canvass Your MP too and persuade them to increase climate change targets and include aviation emissions in the figures.
• While you're in the mood for MP badgering you could also take part in this campaign to lobby for lower train fares, and better rail links.
• Finally, keep an eye on Airport Watch which has details of different groups and organisations in the UK like this one or these local authorities campaigning against a third runway at Heathrow. You can also check out this list of local pressure groups, or national ones.

More info from the Green Thing Wiki >>

Here's a thing - This is one good reason why putting more runways all over the place is not a good idea. And here is another. They really just get in the way.