Airports and flying from place to place are a regular part of our daily lives. Even though some of us only fly perhaps once a year – if that – there is still enough air traffic to raise the question of how good or bad it is for the environment.
And that is why there was a demonstration at Manchester Airport on the 12 th January, which kicked off the year at the airport in somewhat memorable fashion.
Apparently the demonstration against flying was intended to be a peaceful protest by a group of green protesters. At the same time a separate group of campaigners had gone to Heathrow Airport in London to bring the world’s attention to the fact that they didn’t like the threat of having a third runway there.
All this relates to the environment of course. There is no doubt that each individual flight causes harmful pollutants to be released into the air. And even though there are a few hundred people on each plane in many cases, the level of pollution is still not suitable.
This is the reason why Manchester Airport was chosen as the venue for this demonstration. The idea was to alert people to the fact that there are alternative ways to travel, such as by train for example. According to a member of the green protesters, otherwise known as Northern Climate Rush, they are most concerned about flights within the UK.
Obviously if you want to travel to America you can do it by boat, but it will take you a lot longer than the average plane ride. However with journeys within the UK there are alternative options available. The example given by the protester was the journey between Manchester and London. This is just as easily completed by train as it is by plane, and there is a lot less in the way of environmental damage as a result.
But how effective will such demonstrations be in convincing people to change their ways?
One person ended up being arrested as a result of the demonstration at Manchester Airport, although protesters say that there were far more police officers there than was necessary. And of course on the side of the police, they said they handled the situation as it needed to be handled. Apparently they weren’t aware of how many protesters would be present on the day.
One thing is clear though – we can no doubt expect more and more demonstrations as time goes on. Some people may think twice about flying within their own country and start using the train instead. But many people are set in their habits already. Even though we can see the consequences of our use of the planet in our own lifetimes, we cannot think beyond that. And as a result, we may be leaving a struggling planet for those who live on past us.
So it seems Manchester Airport could be braced for more demonstrations in the future. We shall wait and see.