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Climate expert slams Heathrow protesters
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 Protesters opposing Heathrow's third runway have been dealt a major blow after one of the world’s leading climate experts said they did not deserve support. Jim Hansen, director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, criticised green warriors in an article in Sunday’s Observer, saying the runway's opponents were targeting the wrong area. The academic told campaigners that building a third runway had no comparison with the dangers posed by coal power. He was quoted as saying: “I don’t think it’s helpful to be trying to prevent air flight. “The number of runways you need for your airports depends on traffic. You don’t want to be so restrictive that you end up burning more fuel because planes are having to circle and wait to land because of lack of runway space.” Hansen, who has predicted the world has only a few years to halt the rise of carbon emissions and who has encouraged US president Obama to “act decisively”, hit out at protesters, including Greenpeace, who believe Heathrow’s third runway will become “the battlefield of our generation”. “Coal is 80% of the planet’s problem," he said. "You have to keep your eye on the ball and not waste your efforts. The number one enemy is coal and we should never forget that.” Last year Hansen helped defend a group of campaigners arrested after occupying a coal-fired power station in Kent. They were acquitted after the American told the court the protest was justified because 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted daily from the plant putting 400 species at risk of extinction. • Heathrow third runway is threat to Gatwick (22 Jan 2009) • GTMC welcomes go-ahead for third runway (16 Jan 2009)
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