Road transport accounts for a quarter of our carbon dioxide emissions and this continues to rise as traffic grows. The Government wants to widen 115 miles of the M1. Many towns and villages along the M1 already have problems with air pollution and increasing traffic will make this worse.

How you can help

Stop M1 widening
The Government wants to widen 115 miles of the M1, from the M25 up to Luton and from Leicester to Leeds. The widening of southern end of M1 will affect nationally designated sites: Smithcombe, Sharpenhoe and Sundon Hills and Fancott SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest).

This campaign is about fighting it: No to M1 Widening www.nowideningm1.org.uk
Support the campaign by committing to various actions under promises: distributing leaflets, get signatures for a petition or send a postcard to the Transport Secretary. All are available on the group's website:

http://www.nowideningm1.org.uk/action.php

Work has started adding an extra lane to the M1 between junction 6a-10 and junctions 31-32 but the government wants to widen 115 miles of it and we can still stop it!

The costs have escalated from 3 billion last year, to over 5 billion.

Climate change is already happening and we need urgent action action to reduce emissions if the worst disasters are to be averted. Road transport already accounts for a quarter of our carbon dioxide emissions and this continues to rise as traffic grows.

Increasing capacity on the roads simply generates more traffic and dose little to ease congestion. Supporting alternatives to car use is far more cost effective and better for our health and the planet.

What's the Problem?
You can't build your way out of congestion - road widening and new roads simply encourage more traffic. The government's own studies confirm this. When the proposals for the widening were originally agreed, it was noted that the only way to lock in the benefits would be to employ road-user charging. This has not been mentioned in the current documentation.

Climate Change
This is already happening - freak weather events are occurring far more often and the pattern of our seasons is changing. Left unchecked climate change will cause droughts and famines. Floods will leave thousands homeless and without land to grow crops. Only a massive reduction in our CO2 emissions can stop this nightmare scenario occurring. CO2 emissions from road transport are actually increasing and currently constitute 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Air Pollution and Noise
There are many towns and villages along the M1 - many of these already have problems with air pollution and increasing traffic will make this worse. Pollution from traffic has been shown to increase respiratory problems such as asthma and chronic bronchitis. Over 24,000 people die from air pollution in the UK every year.

Oil is running out
The need for oil has already fuelled many conflicts. No-one knows exactly when the oil will run out altogether, but the sooner we end our dependence on oil, the better.

Road Traffic Accidents
Over 3,000 people are killed every year on roads in the UK, and a further 200,000 injured. Encouraging more people to drive on motorways will not improve road safety. Reducing speed limits on motorways will reduce accidents, congestion and pollution.