This climate camp press conference took place at Harlington Baptist Church, near Heathrow airport.

There was a large turnout - one or two hundred people by my estimation, packed into a small church. These were mainly local residents who are concerned about the impact expanding Heathrow will have on the surrounding areas, and activists / environmentalists who see the airport as an environmental disaster area.

Speakers included members of Greenpeace, the wife of the Vicar who had kindly lent the Church for the day and who publicly lends his support to the activists, people involved in 'Flashmobs' at Heathrow in the past, local MPs, and also an environmental scientist who gave a detailed account of what scientists believe the effect of pumping vast amount of CO2 into the air is doing to our planet.

Also present were several people who have recently taken direct action against the Government to raise awareness about Heathrow, including one of the activists who climbed onto the houses of Parliament, a Greenpeace activist involved in a recent high-profile action, and activist Dan Glass, who managed to superglue himself to Gordon Brown a few days ago, urging the PM to 'Stick to his promises about Heathrow.' (This really happened!)

The atmosphere was cheerful, determined, and informative. The crowd was a mix of young and old. From what was said, it was difficult not to come away with the feeling that Climate Camp has genuinely affected public opinion on the matter, having gained a vast amount of positive media coverage over the past year.

Links:

CLIMATE CAMP WEBSITE:
 http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/

STOP KINGSNORTH POWER STAION WEBSITE:
 http://www.wdm.org.uk/kingsnorth/index.htm

SUPERGLUE INCIDENT:
 http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/07/stuck_on_you.html

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All images Copyright Billy Macrae 2008
These lo-res versions may be circulated in connection with Climate Camp.
(For hi-res versions, drop me a line.)

An edit of this story will be placed on my photo-blog along with other stories on similar issues:
http:www.billymacrae.blogspot.com