Support Candidates Pledge on Health & Our Environment
- por: The American Working Group for National Policy & many others.
- destinatário: Presidential Candidates
Presidential Candidates Pledge Regarding Aviation Impacts On Our Environment And The Public Health Of Airport Neighbors
Despite overwhelming evidence, the aviation industry has long denied its major and growing contribution to climate change #1, as well as to dozens of serious airport-poisoning diseases such as cancer, asthma, lung disease and noise issues affecting a significant percentage of the population #2/#3. This is unacceptable and must change. There must be full disclosure and transparency to the American public regarding these issues.
I pledge, as a candidate for the Office of President of the United States of America, that if elected I will mandate an immediate halt to all airport expansion projects, and I also pledge to appoint new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) leaders who will give full and comprehensive consideration to the environmental impacts of aviation on communities surrounding airports, as well as to aviation impacts on our atmosphere with regard to global climate change. Furthermore, I hereby pledge to simultaneously work for the implementation of other viable short- to long-term transportation solutions that are sustainable and environmentally friendly until adequate aviation technology can be developed and implemented #4/#5.
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#1 See studies such as Travis, 2002, documenting when aircraft were grounded after the September 11th tragedy, whereupon temperatures over North American immediately reverted back to pre-1950s levels.
#2 Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management and Center for Clean Air Policy. "Controlling Airport-Related Air Pollution," June 2003.
#3 http://areco.org/studies.htm
#4 See: General Accounting Office report GAO-02-185, NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM: Long-Term Capacity Needed.
#5 For more information see: http://areco.org/studies.htmEconomic Stimulus
Sustainable solutions are not being considered because they do not financially benefit those that are behind the current scheme; however, there is a comprehensive solution that will work for all stakeholders.
Better Solutions and the Need to Think Out of the Box:
* Better solutions cost about 1/3 the cost of expanding highways and airports and can be built today.
* Better solutions will create hundreds of thousands of new, full time jobs while at the same time create hundreds of new businesses, in one state alone. This equates to millions of jobs nationwide.
* Better solutions will make the air transportation industry and our local airlines more sustainable, thus creating new jobs in that industry also.
* Better solutions will relieve residents from significant environmental and public health harm, while giving aviation technology much needed time to implement state-of-the-art tech and practices.
* A viable comprehensive solution for these problems exists. It is backed by independent government analyses/reports and works for all stakeholders (including air transportation employees, area residents, U.S. taxpayers, and travelers). This viable solution creates a sustainable air transportation industry and sustainable economy.
GAO-02-185: NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM: Long-Term Capacity Planning Needed Despite Recent Reduction in Flight Delays outlines this sustainable solution. We paraphrase:
1. Remove non-safety/navigation issues from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight and assign oversight responsibility to the Department of Transportation (DOT); this allows comprehensive, long-term transportation capacities needs to be evaluated at all times and eliminates the propensity for quick unsustainable aviation fixes.
2. Reinstate the operational and management controls that Congress removed (such as exceptions to the high-density rule, etc.). The removal of these controls is the direct cause of the massive air transport delays of 2000 and all years since.
3. Build a Wayports (reliever) system to open slots at major airports. This will allow major airports to adequately service origin and destination flights, thus eliminating the need for airport expansion. Note: about 57% of the traffic at major airports is transfer traffic.
4. Build a national, world-class High-Speed-Rail system linking airports and communities together. Code sharing & joint ownership with the aviation industry will help create a sustainable solution.
In order to make our economy more robust, it is imperative that the air industry be given adequate time to develop required technologies. By implementing the Government Accounting Office (GAO) plan during the years it will take to upgrade the air industry, millions of new jobs and businesses will come into being at about one-third the cost of the proposed highway and airport expansions, while eliminating congestion.
In a time of employment unrest, it is important to realize that the majority of these created jobs will be high quality, high wage jobs. Construction/trades jobs currently proposed for rehabbing existing airports would be transferred and expanded, not eliminated. Overall airport safety would be significantly improved by not forcing additional capacity into existing land-locked airports or crowded airspace. Finally, it would further reduce the need for our dependence on foreign oil.
For more comprehensive solutions, see: Martin, Peter & Alan Martin. A Vicious Cycle: How Can The Government Justify Expanding Airport Capacity To Solve An Overcapacity Problem? Oct. 30, 2003, p. 31-33 and also: www.wayports.com
This white paper represents the input and conviction of hundreds of organizations, etc. representing both sides. Contact: The Working Group for National Policy, Inc. for more information: (630) 415-3370 or <awgnp@comcast.net >
Thank you.
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