Date: Wednesday, 8 December 1999 2:03
US-CITIZENS AVIATION WATCH ASSOCIATION News Release:
Concern about Aviation's Public Health Problems Voiced
CHICAGO, Dec. 7
"US-Citizens Aviation Watch Association is alarmed at the
Clinton
Administration's latest effort to expand the highly
polluting aviation
industry worldwide, by sponsoring an international aviation
conference
that is winding up in Chicago today.
We are concerned that the treaties they are making with these
other
countries will weaken our laws that protect our health and
environment,â?
said Debi Wagner, Associate Director of US-Citizens Aviation
Watch. She
also stated, Aviation appears to be one of the worst
polluters in the
world, causing serious and deadly public health problems to
what appears
to be a large percentage of the population living even many
miles from an
airport or flight track.
Aircraft emissions are not only a problem on the ground; they are
a major
problem in our upper atmosphere and a primary factor in climatic
change.
NASA researcher Patrick Minnis has stated, the number of clear
days over
the U.S. has decreased in the last 30 years, and we suspect that
much of
that is due to an increase in cirrus clouds, which we
suspect is probably
due to an increase in air traffic.
Yet, the most urgent problems happen here on
the ground. 70% of our
nation's population, 190 million people, lives within 20 miles of
a major
airport.
While children living near airports are
suffering from the effects of
the serious and deadly pollution from the constantly
increasing hazardous
and toxic air pollution from aircraft (ED: and,
importantly from
airport-associated road traffic, i.e. freight and passenger
transport to
and from the airport), the administration is wining and
dining aviation
ministers in Chicago with the purpose of significantly
increasing this
problem.
This conference follows a recent Clinton
Administration campaign of
misrepresentations which said that the unhealthy and damaging
effects of
aircraft noise are getting less harmful and affecting less
people, when,
in reality, they are getting much worse. According to
many reputable
sources, there are at least 10 million American school
children alone,
living in high noise areas that are designated by the
US-Environmental
Protection Agency as harmful, not the 600,000 total
Americans that
President Clinton claims. Children's health, learning
and motivation are
already being harmed by existing conditions.
Yet, knowing all of this, the purpose of the
conference partially
sponsored by the Clinton Administration is:
** to create a forum for the world's
aviation leaders to focus
cooperatively on critical aviation issues for the 21st century.
**· to discuss elimination of restrictions
and barriers that restrict
the growth of aviation and restrain global economic growth,
such as:
--· Restrictive
aviation regimes
--· Inconsistent
aviation policies
--· Airport and air
traffic management infrastructure
insufficiencies
--· Safety, security
and environmental concernsâ?
US-Citizens Aviation Watch Association is
appalled at the idea that
the Clinton Administration would back such a plan,
especially when viable
solutions are already being proposed in some other nations
to protect
their citizens.
Join US-CAW in protesting this latest assault
on the health and
environment of the world's people. For more information
call:
630-415-3370.
------------
US-Citizens Aviation Watch is an association
of municipalities, civic
and grass roots organization representing over 1.5 million
people living
in the United States. It is associated with like
organizations in 27
other countries. US-CAW monitors all types of airport and
aircraft-related safety: noise, air, water, and ground
pollution,
especially hazardous and toxic air emissions, and general
aircraft
safety.
Members include senior pilots and controllers,
as well as other top
experts from the aerospace and medical communities. US-CAW is
acutely
concerned about predicted hazards resulting from the massive
expansion of
airport service which already erodes existing safety buffers,
thus making
the skies far less friendly than we have enjoyed until now.
# # #
Contact:
Jack Saporito, US-CAW, (847) 506-0670
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation
at: Hilton Chicago & Towers
720 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605
Phone: (312) 922-4400----------
This page is maintained by
The Rivermouth Action Group Inc
as a community service.