London's Heathrow airport (LHR), already among the world's busiest, is looking to add a third runway – a move supported by airlines, business and union leaders. Environmental and citizen groups are vehemently opposed to this expansion, citing noise and pollution concerns. The battle between business needs and environmental concerns is nothing new, but as airport and airspace improvements become a higher priority for governments and the aviation industry, can middle ground ever be reached?

It begins with an idea – a plan to expand an airport, often driven by the promise of economic growth. Next, the debate over who will pay for it takes over. The plan navigates the roundabout of regulatory hurdles until it finally arrives at the intersection of "not in my back yard" and "we need this to survive!" Welcome to airport expansion 101.

The project to add a third runway to LHR has gained global media attention, especially after environmental groups purchased some of the needed land to create a tapestry of individual owners in order to stop the project. Supporters of the plan want LHR to expand and compete with other European hubs, insisting that the region will reap the benefits when world economies recover. Citing the capacity of other hubs around Europe such as Paris and Amsterdam, each with at least four runways, some government and industry leaders warn that Heathrow will lose its status as a world-class airport. Opponents think otherwise. When taken as a region, including all airports, they claim that London still competes favorably with other European markets. Instead of expanding Heathrow, more attention can be given to airports such as Gatwick, which has lost the services of several airlines, they argue.

On the environmental front, many opponents fear that adding a runway at Heathrow will increase traffic enough to sabotage efforts aimed at meeting new emissions standards. Proponents counter that LHR could meet pollution and noise limits, even with a third runway, citing a government analysis. As noisier airplanes are phased out of airline fleets and cleaner burning fuels and efficient engines are developed, three runways at LHR could be in use without violating any established limits, supporters say.

What about rail? The master plan for improvements at LHR includes a high speed Heathrow hub. Opponents of the runway plan prefer a railway hub in lieu of the third runway, insisting that the runway project will swallow up most of the £4.5b cost and leave little for a viable rail hub.

We grumble when airports are too far away and we moan about aircraft noise from airports near our homes. We complain about airline delays while we grouse about the costs of airport expansion. We don't always trust our governments or businesses to do what's in our best interest but we demand on-time, safe, quiet, affordable flights. So where do common sense, business foresight and quality of life happily co-exist? Don't look anywhere near the pile of dirt that may or not become Heathrow's newest runway.

Did you know? Before Chicago's O'Hare Airport opened a new runway in November, some homeowners under the flight path received soundproofing work on their homes -- paid for by federal grants and airline passenger ticket taxes.