Aviation Conspiracy: EPA To Be Sued Over Aviation Pollution!!!

Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#493...............................................................................August
10, 2008 Past newsletters can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm If you want to get the
newsletter sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy
rockaway@prodigy.net

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Quote of the Week: "Ships, aircraft and industrial equipment burn huge
quantities of fossil fuel and cause massive greenhouse gas pollution yet
President Bush stalls with one bureaucratic dodge after another." California
Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. quoted in a news story this week as he
announced California's intention to sue the EPA over their failure to
address greenhouse gas emissions.

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EPA To Be Sued Over Aviation Pollution!!!

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As Bill Sees It (Editorial): N.Y. Times Airs Criticism Of Aviation
Expansionist "Chuck" Schumer's Helicopter Fix!!! Speaking of politicians who
pollute America, I was surprised to see a New York Times story that actually
criticized media-hound and aviation industry expansionist Senator "Chuck"
Schumer on the aviation noise issue. The Times has long been one of
Schumer's biggest supporters; so a story that included criticism of his
helicopter route change over Long Island, New York, got my attention.
According to the N.Y. Times story, some Long Islanders say the Schumer's
fix of the helicoper noise problem only increased the number of noisy
flights and shifted the noise to new communities. Obviously, there are some
New York Times management employees who are not living in one of Chuck's
"noise sensitive," politically-protected areas and are getting impacted!!!
As aviation noise pollution in the New York City metropolitan area
increases, thanks in large part to the efforts of Schumer, it's apparently
spilling over into the politically protected communities. Schumer, like all
politicians (especially democrats), love to portray themselves as concerned
with people's health and the environment, and go to great lengths to create
a environmentalist (pardon the pun) smokescreen to con the public with. So
it was a pleasure to see a case when the media actually aired some criticism
of another one of Schumer's aviation expansion schemes that was promoted as
a noise fix. As you can see in the YouTube video on the upper right, Schumer
uses helicopters himself and no doubt regularly flies over his Long Island
constituent's homes in his corporate pal's helicopters!!!

Bush Continues To Pollute America!!! Highly polluted China is a good place
for Bush, as he seems to love pollution so much. Maybe he'll stay there for
the last 162 days of what must be the most inept, disastrous American
presidency in our history. An old proverb says "a fish smells from the
head," meaning corruption of a government starts with the leader. When it
comes to ignoring the health impacts of pollution, the smell of Bush
"leadership" has permeated the entire government so badly it may take more
than a new president to get rid of the stench. I just wonder how much how
much more damage he will do to America in his last 162 days. I'm sure I'm
not the only one who will breathe (pardon another pun) a sigh of relief when
he finally leaves office.

Aviation Industry Polluters Create An "Environmental" Web Site!!! After
having successfully fought off efforts to control their pollution for years,
now the aviation industry is cranking out a environmental orientated web
site to clear up the "myths and untruths about aviation's impact on the
environment. While there seemed to be a lot of information about "emissions"
I didn't see one word about noise. I guess the industry that helped defund
the EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) in 1981 is still
doing all they can to keep the lid on that discussion. At least this shows
that our enemy is getting worried enough to address their increasing
contribution to global warming.

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States Warn EPA On Impending Lawsuits Over Aviation Pollution!!! WASHINGTON,
DC, August 3, 2008 (ENS) - Formal letters warning of impending lawsuits over
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's failure to address greenhouse gas
emissions from ocean-going ships and aircraft have been filed by four state
attorneys general, three state agencies, New York City and a coalition of
conservation groups. The conservation groups' notice of intent to sue was
filed Thursday by the public interest law firm Earthjustice on behalf of
Oceana, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity. The
state and local jurisdictions filed similar notices on the same day,
formally declaring their intent to sue the EPA for unreasonable delay. The
states California, Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey, and the California Air
Resources Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District, New York City,
and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also filed
notices of intent to sue in 180 days. California Attorney General Edmund G.
Brown Jr. said, "Ships, aircraft and industrial equipment burn huge
quantities of fossil fuel and cause massive greenhouse gas pollution yet
President Bush stalls with one bureaucratic dodge after another." "Because
Bush's Environmental Protection Agency continues to wantonly ignore its duty
to regulate pollution, California is forced to seek judicial action," he
said. According to a report issued Thursday by Oceana, aircraft currently
account for 12 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. transportation
sources and three percent of the United States' total carbon dioxide
emissions. The United States is responsible for nearly half of worldwide
carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-03-092.asp Editor's Note:
Sue the bastards. It's the only thing they pay attention to and respond to.

April 2000 Earth Times Story On Aviation's Contribution To Global Warming
Gases!!! The GAO found that, in the United States, aviation emissions
accounted for about three percent of the greenhouse gases and other
emissions that contribute to the global warming phenomenon. While this
percentage is small in relative terms -- other transportation sources
contribute 23 percent, and other industrial emissions account for 41
percent -- aviation emissions are potentially significant for a number of
reasons:

* Jet aircraft emissions are deposited directly into the upper atmosphere
and some of them have a greater warming effect than gases emitted closer to
the surface, such as automobile exhaust.
* The primary gas emitted by jet aircraft engines is carbon dioxide, which
can survive in the atmosphere up to 100 years.
* Carbon dioxide, combined with other exhaust gases and particulates emitted
from jet engines, could have two to four times as great an impact on the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide emissions alone.
* The growing demand for jet air service is likely to generate more
emissions that cannot be offset by reductions achieved through technological
improvements alone.
* The report recommended further research into the impact of jet exhaust on
the global atmosphere to help guide the development of new aircraft engine
technology. It also called upon governments to reduce emissions through
improved air traffic control and regulatory and economic incentives.

The FAA Should Listen To Pilots About Fuel And Safety: Some pilots say the
airlines, desperate to cut costs, are forcing them to fly without enough
fuel for comfort. The airlines say it's not so, that the pilots are
complaining as part of a pressure tactic in contract negotiations. FAA
spokesman Les Dorr says: "We can't dabble in the business policies or the
personnel policies of an airline." What? If there's any question that the
business and personnel policies force the personnel to fly without enough
fuel, the FAA has a responsibility to get involved. If it's not true and the
pilots are wrong, an investigation will determine that. It can't be OK to
take a serious allegation that passenger safety is being compromised and
declare it none of the government's business. As a passenger, I know I'll
feel more comfortable if the pilot decides how much fuel we need - not an
accountant or executive in a corporate office. I work in an industry that's
in a financial crisis, and I've seen how that can affect decisions about the
resources needed to get the job done. (But in my industry, only the
computers crash.) So if the airlines and pilots can't agree on what
constitutes sufficient fuel, I'd like an outside expert to intervene. The
FAA ought to settle that issue, or hand it over to an agency that will.
http://blogs.courant.com/travel_columnists_leblanc/2008/08/the-faa-should-listen-to-pilot.html

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Important Aviation News Stories This Week

Long Islanders Not Happy With Schumer Helicopter Fix!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/10coptersli.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=nyregionspecial2&oref=slogin

WHEN Paul Adams, a neurobiologist from Stony Brook University, bought a
summer cottage here 15 years ago, he was looking for the quietest place he
could find on Long Island.

Overlooking Long Island Sound, and surrounded by preserved land, the
three-and-a-half-acre plot was the perfect spot for the hummingbird
sanctuary he envisioned.

But as helicopter traffic has more than doubled at East Hampton Airport
during the past decade, trying to hear "the subtle sounds of a hummingbird"
became futile, he said, especially on Friday and Sunday afternoons and
evenings and Monday mornings.

"There is this thundering noise that is roaring overhead," Dr. Adams said,
referring to the sound of helicopters flying between Manhattan and the
Hamptons. "There are times it is like a war zone here."

To help minimize the din, a voluntary agreement took effect in May, brokered
by United States Senator Charles E. Schumer; the Eastern Region Helicopter
Council, an industry group; and the East Hampton and Westhampton Airports.

Using a new route approved by the Federal Aviation Administration,
helicopter pilots were asked to fly at a minimum altitude of 2,500 feet,
traveling a mile to a mile and a half offshore, weather permitting, over the
Sound rather than over inland neighborhoods.

"In the first few weeks it was a bumpy ride, especially in part of the North
Shore, but things are looking better," Senator Schumer said in an e-mail
message. "There are signs of improvement over the last few weeks." He said
that if complaints did not continue to decline, he would "not hesitate to
act to protect Long Islanders, who have put up with noise and disruption
long enough."

With the route change, however, some say the noise has simply shifted. Scott
Russell, the Southold town supervisor, said that this year "the flights
actually seem more frequent and more imposing on this community than last
year," especially as they head over the Mattituck Inlet through Cutchogue,
Peconic and Southold toward East Hampton. "The agreed-to altitudes of 2,500
feet are not being honored."

The helicopter council said it has received 250 calls this summer, including
Memorial Day weekend, on its toll-free hot line. Robert Grotell, special
adviser to the council, a professional pilots' group, said that in recent
weeks "the complaints have been more centered on the North Fork than in the
other areas on the North Shore that had previously been generating
complaints."

According to a report by East Hampton Airport, pilots complied with the
recommended track or route approaching and departing the airport 84 percent
of the time on the July 4 weekend, compared with 50 to 60 percent on
Memorial Day weekend. Altitude compliance was consistently around 63
percent. The airport received 7,200 complaints in 2007.

Mr. Grotell said the industry was "trying to reduce the noise levels in the
various communities that expressed concerns."

Representative Tim Bishop, who met with representatives of the council after
the Fourth of July weekend, said, "We are on the right trajectory."
Residents' complaints were "significantly lower than last summer," with
Mattituck and Cutchogue their "locus," he added.

Kathleen Cunningham Faraone, chairwoman of the Airport Noise Abatement Task
Force, whose members are appointed by the East Hampton and Southampton Town
Boards to monitor airport noise, said the problem is that compliance is
voluntary. "The helicopters are the cowboys of the sky - they can do
whatever they want," she said.

Also, while flying higher mitigates the noise, now "it's the frequency of
flights" that needs to be monitored, Ms. Faraone said. At East Hampton
Airport, there were 6,719 helicopter takeoffs and landings in 2007, mostly
in clusters of about 300 each weekend in the summer.

While flight traffic has been flat this summer, "there are too many of
them," Ms. Faraone said.

The problem is not just on the East End, however. As the helicopters head
from Manhattan over the Throgs Neck Bridge, the whirring can sometimes be
heard in Great Neck and Port Washington, according to Collin Nash, a
spokesman for the Town of North Hempstead. The new noise-abatement route is
supposed to divert that traffic farther north over Long Island Sound as
well.

But a weekly analysis of complaints to a new 311 hot line in North Hempstead
that began on June 9 cited 86 separate flyovers noted by a caller from Port
Washington, starting within 20 minutes of 8 a.m. and lasting until the
afternoon, according to Mr. Nash.

David Nuss, chairman of the helicopter council, said that pilots who were
"flying neighborly" typically chose to fly across the North Shore because
"that allows them to fly higher."

In the old days, Mr. Nuss said, pilots had the option of flying along the
South Shore to the East End, generating complaints from towns to the north
and east of Kennedy Airport. Because of airline arrivals, however,
helicopters "can't fly as high going past Kennedy as we can going over La
Guardia," he said. Additionally, he added, the South Shore "frequently gets
a fog bank covering it," while the North Shore is clear. With most pilots
choosing the northern route, now there are "almost no complaints" from the
South Shore, Mr. Nuss said.

Michael Roth, owner of New York Helicopter Charter, said that his dozen or
so pilots fly 10 to 15 round trips from Manhattan to the Hamptons on
weekends, ferrying up to four passengers at a time at a cost of $2,450 for a
55-minute one-way trip, and that they "fly friendly," using "the highest
altitude we can fly."

As soon as the helicopters depart New York, they climb to 2,500 to 3,000
feet, he said, "and we maintain that until we go into descent in East
Hampton." They also land at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach and at the
Southampton heliport.

"If there was no demand, we wouldn't be flying there," Mr. Roth said.

James L. Brundige, East Hampton Airport's manager, said he had been asking
the Town Board for a seasonal tower to provide "better control over the
traffic," including routes, altitudes and the number of flights.

Because East Hampton Airport airspace has no F.A.A. radar coverage,
helicopter pilots fly under visual flight rules and do not have to file a
flight plan. They only have to announce when they are within landing range
and follow federal safety protocols

date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:45:14 -0400 author: Bill Mulcahy