The Fight over Flight
Uploaded on Jul 25, 2010 / 213 views / 497 impressions / 3 comments
Description
The recently approved plans for a third runway at Heathrow have
sparked fierce debate about air travel. Anti-flying groups have
spoken up in opposition to the plans, mostly citing environmental
concerns. While many are concerned about the impact...
The recently approved plans for a third runway at Heathrow have
sparked fierce debate about air travel. Anti-flying groups have
spoken up in opposition to the plans, mostly citing environmental
concerns. While many are concerned about the impact airport
expansion will have, others worry that restricting our freedom of
movement would be a backward step. Regular air travel has only
recently become affordable for most people, and critics argue there
is a heavy dose of snobbery in the dismissal of cheap flights. So
is there more to the fight over flight than concerns about carbon
emissions? Is the freedom of flight now a necessity to be defended,
or a luxury we should sacrifice for the good of the planet? This
Battle of Ideas debate filmed by WORLDbytes volunteers is
revealing.
3 comments
adj3
I think perhaps they need to find less harmful fuels because people aren’t going to support it. There are people that need to fly frequently to see family in other countries, to earn money for themselves or family etc. These are sacrifices they aren’t going to want to make and shouldn’t have to.
imlovinit
Meyer Hillman has to be nuts audience points are axcellent freedom to fly is a must
violaviols
I am a bit confused by the video, as the debate has tackled many wide issues without coming up with any sort of conclusion. This clearly shows that environment is an important topic as much as it is all but limited to nature. It is social, it is political and it is economic. And it is an open debate. Indeed, I just checked the Battle of Ideas website and the next upcoming festival will have a debate on the use of cars. One of the end sentences presenting the discussion is: “Or should we give up on the freedoms and thrills that motoring has brought in favour of more ‘sustainable’ forms of transport?”. It recalls some of the opinion about flights as a right for our freedom. Personally I am very concern with climate change. It is worth searching alternative means of transport, and making them more sustainable. But I agree with some of the speakers that said that most of the population will not support flights reduction. And there is a need of a more grassroot approach; the big powerful are not going to solve a