TagAirport Expansion(165)

Over My Head, written by Debi Wagner and published in 2011, is a personal account of a grassroots activist group's fight against a Sea-Tac Airport expansion. The book explores the community's struggle with toxic aircraft emissions and an unusually high number of cancer deaths among nearby residents. It blends personal narrative with environmental advocacy, documenting the health and quality-of-life impacts of airport noise and pollution on surrounding neighborhoods.

Legal memorandum analyzing King County’s role in proposed Des Moines Beach Park conveyor belt operation, including property rights and park use restrictions. Includes Department of Ecology letter clarifying fill material certification requirements for Port of Seattle’s third runway construction.

Meeting minutes from Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion discussing various airport-related issues including geese shooting near schools, conveyor belt project opposition, arsenic contamination concerns, and updates from local representatives on legislative matters and environmental issues. Karen Keiser. Dave Upthegrove. Brett Fish.

A retired Northwest Airlines chief pilot with over 15,000 flight hours argues against the construction of a proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, citing serious safety concerns including runway incursion risks, wind shear hazards from surrounding walls, and complications for fire and rescue operations. He contends that pilots will avoid the new runway because it is shorter and farther from the terminal than existing runways, meaning it will do little to reduce delays or increase capacity. Drawing a parallel to an unused commuter runway built at Sea-Tac in the 1970s, he warns that the $2 billion project will become a costly monument to poor planning.

This 2001 World Watch article by Ed Ayres examines the growing conflict between expanding airports and the cities surrounding them, highlighting the serious health, environmental, and noise impacts on nearby residents. It challenges the conventional mindset of simply building more airport capacity, noting that a 747 takeoff produces as much air pollution in two minutes as 3,000 cars, and that people living near airports face higher rates of illness and psychological harm. The article explores innovative design alternatives, such as inclined runways and energy-recovering landing systems, as more sustainable solutions to meeting rising air travel demand.