From: laura gibbons
To: Commission-Public-Records
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Port Commission testimony 10/24/20
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020 10:21:08 AM
WARNING: External email. Links or attachments may be unsafe.
Hi, I would like to comment at the 10/24/20 Port meeting. Here is the written version of my testimony which includes the references.
Commissioners,
I am Laura Gibbons, a Seattle resident, and a volunteer member of the Aviation Team of 350 Seattle, a group that works for climate justice.
In your last meeting, you passed a resolution “To examine Port operations and policies for sources of racial bias and discrimination and to develop programs and policies
eliminating inequity in all aspects of the organization”. Once again, I’m impressed with the Port as it incorporates social justice and environmental sustainability in its internal
operations.
And once again, I’m going to ask you to think more broadly. I’d like you to read the many references I’ve cited so that you understand the impact of your planning.
Continued growth of aviation promotes disproportionately high adverse human health effects (see references 1-7) on people of color and those with low
income, due to the higher proportion of people of color and low-income residents who live near airports (8-9). On a broader scale, climate change is already
having a disproportionate effect on people of color and low-income communities (10-13).
If you really care about social justice and environmental sustainability, you will cancel your plans to expand flight capability at SEATAC.
Sincerely,
Laura Gibbons
References
1. Wing et al. Preterm Birth among Infants Exposed to in Utero Ultrafine Particles from Aircraft Emissions. Environmental Health Perspectives 2020;
128(4):047002.
2. Hudda et al. Aviation-Related Impacts on Ultrafine Particle Number Concentrations Outside and Inside Residences near an Airport. Environmental
Science & Technology 2018; 52 (4): 1765-1772.
3. Grobler et al. Marginal climate and air quality costs of aviation emissions. Environmental Research Letters 2019;14:114031.
4. Austin et al. Mobile ObserVations of Ultrafine Particles (MOV-UP) Study Final Report. University of Washington, December 2019.
https://deohs.washington.edu/mov-up.
5. See the fact sheet or full report at https://beaconhillseattlenoise.org/.
6. Schlenker and Walker. Airports, air pollution, and contemporaneous health. Review of Economic Studies 2016; 83 (2): 768-809.
7. Correia et al. Residential exposure to aircraft noise and hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases: multi-airport retrospective study.” 8 October 2013. British Medical
Journal 2013;347:f5561.
8.
https://www.doh.wa.gov/DataandStatisticalReports/WashingtonTrackingNetworkWTN/InformationbyLocation/WashingtonEnvironmentalHealthDisparitiesMap
9. https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/growth-management/growth-management-topics/sea-tac-airport-impact-study/
10. Mikati et al. Disparities in Distribution of Particulate Matter Emission Sources by Race and Poverty Status. Am J Public Health. 2018 April; 108(4): 480–
485.
11. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/06/29/climate-change-racism/
12. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25381/framing-the-challenge-of-urban-flooding-in-the-united-states
13. Tessum et al. Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial–ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure. PNAS March 26, 2019; 116 (13): 6001-6006.
