Caleb – I appreciate your writing. And I’ve thoroughly enjoyed flying over the years – it’s been quite a privilege to visit places my grandparents could have only dreamed of visiting.

But there are several serious problems with flying, that  are now increasingly obvious – that we ignore at our peril, and that of our kids, and grandchildren:

·        Fossil fuels are in limited supply – and increasingly so. The recent spike in gas prices is a harbinger of things to come. There are activities that are essential for our survival – food, and building heating – that must have priority over other less essential uses. Longer-term, we need to ensure that that supply of fossil fuels last a lot longer than it is forecast to last at current consumption levels. Air travel – and particularly short haul air travel, where more sustainable alternatives are readily available (admittedly not quite as convenient) – that isn’t really that essential, is one of the first places to start cutting back consumption. In this light,  government policy should discourage air travel, not encourage it.

·         Similar considerations apply with respect to climate change – which has the direst of consequences for us if we don’t drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly. Flying, and, again, particularly, short-haul flying – has to be a major target for reductions. Unlike other forms of transportation, it just isn’t possible to substitute renewable energy sources for jet fuel.

·         There are now a number of studies that establish significant  health hazards that flow from residing in proximity to a busy commercial airport – from carcinogenic exhaust gases, to noise from incessant aircraft movements interfering with ordinary living.

For these reasons, we think  government policies should remove subsidies for air travel, and start providing serious support for environmentally sustainable transportation.

Did you know that the federal government has subsidized the Island Airport – through outright grants, and by allowing public assets (held by the Toronto Port Authority) to be spent. Here are some of those subsidies:

·         $35 million in spurious compensation for stopping the bridge ($20 million to Porter to compensate it for not being able to start an airline, which it used as seed capital to start Porter!),

·          another $15 million to build ferry facilities, and a new ferry,

·         all the while claiming an exemption from property taxes to the City (arrears have accumulated to some $38 million owing by the TPA, according to the City).

So it’s not a matter of being anti-flying, but more about taking responsibility to begin to address some very significant problems.