(Brian Iler, the chair of CommunityAIR, had this letter published in the April 24 edition of Now Magazine.)

We appreciate your support for substantial taxes on air travel in your Earth Day issue, given the increasingly desperate need to drastically reduce, not continue to expand, air transport.

This is particularly true for short-haul flights, which the Island Airport serves exclusively.

A Porter Q400 that is 70 per cent full of passengers – and most are far from that, from our observations – emits twice as much greenhouse gases per passenger as those emitted if each passenger drove an SUV, which is itself an environmentally expensive alternative to rail, of course.

We all love to fly. Unfortunately, the party has to end. Our planet demands it. Cutting back on flying, particularly short-haul flights, is an effective way to start addressing climate change.

And closing the Island Airport would be a potent symbol of our determination to finally get serious.

Brian Iler
CommunityAIR