ripple effect terminal velocity Friday, 16 January 2009 And so the Heathrow decision is announced. Yes, with a few ‘green’ sweeteners. The worst thing about it from my point of view was hearing a senior minister trying to spin the decision as a way of cementing the UK’s leadership position in addressing climate change! Au contraire. It demonstrates how little leadership we have on climate change within the country, when the government still cannot bring itself to say even ‘you know, folks - the reality is that we won’t be able to fly as much in the future’. Because, let’s be honest, this should be one of the easier ‘green’ messages to communicate: I don’t believe that ministers could not concoct a populist message, when the growth in air travel has largely benefited the wealthy, who are now able to fly several times a year. Just mention second homes abroad ... My hope is for local government - collectively - to step into the breach, and provide clear leadership. After all, it’s local government that has had the guts to tell people that the bin fairy is dead.