[RTC List] Bringing Delta Airlines to the Eureka/Arcata Airport

Tue Dec 18 13:29:20 PST 2007

Hi William. Please note that email came not from me, but from local transportation expert Aaron Antrim. I have great respect for Aaron, and he certainly presents things much more differently than I might. He is working hard in our community on transportation needs.

Michael "Eat the Rich" Welch
Exerciser of Restraint

William Van Hefner wrote at 06:53 AM 12/18/2007:

>Michael,
>
>Thanks much for the intelligent and thoughtful reply. I am definitely
>concerned with the environment as well. I must admit that it does irk me
>when I read knee-jerk overreactions to real-world problems with no
>realistic solutions offered though. IMHO, this is the type of attitude
>that actually harms the environment by making environmentalism appear to
>be the pursuit of some radical fringe, which can't be taken seriously.
>
>Unfortunately, there really is not much of a mass-transit alternative to
>air travel in this area, unless you count Greyhound and Amtrak. As you
>rather eloquently pointed out in your own article though, few people would
>want to spend any amount of time (let alone 6+ hours) in a Greyhound bus,
>let alone in a Greyhound bus terminal. There are real, valid safety
>concerns involved, if nothing else.
>
>I still believe that air travel is (or should be) inherently more
>efficient than ground transportation for a number of reasons (chief among
>them, the fact that you can fly STRAIGHT to a destination, not around a
>twisty, crowded roadway). Until someone "man's up" (no sexism intended)
>and invests their own money in a better alternative for this area though,
>I'm stuck with the same practical alternatives as everyone else.
>
>One of my chief complaints about the RTC is that it seems to more of a
>place for people to whine about our problems or raise more funding to
>"study the subject", rather than being a group that actually DOES
>something. At least this Delta situation provides many of us with the
>ability to vote with our pocketbook, rather than propose some
>pie-in-the-sky (no pun intended) project or proposition for us to let the
>government solve the problem (the single most inefficient way possible to
>solve any problem).
>
>
>
>
>William Van Hefner
>President
>
>Vantek Communications, Inc.
>e-mail: vantek at sonic.net
>
>
>
>> As someone who occasionally flies, local business owner, as well as a
>> sustainable transportation advocate, I am in a bit of a quandary over
>> whether I personally support expanded service at ACV.  I certainly do,
>> however, support everyone's right to make their own choice about
>> whether or not to fly and/or buy into the travel bank based on their
>> values, needs and available information.
>>
>> In that light, I feel compelled respond to William Van Hefner's post.
>>
>> Just because air travel is faster doesn't mean any less fuel is
>> consumed.  On the contrary, modern jet aircraft get very roughly the
>> same passenger-MPG as an efficient passenger car
>> (http://www.lafn.org/~dave/trans/energy/fuel-eff-20th-3.html#air_eff
>> ).  However, load the same car up with 2, 3, or even 5 people, and the
>> passenger car will offer 2, 3, or even 5 times the passenger-miles per
>> gallon.  Greyhound buses average 167 passenger-MPG.
>>
>> Fuel efficiency isn't a direct indicator for comparing climate change
>> effect, however.  Jet emissions are different than passenger car
>> emissions in that they contain nitrous oxide and leave "con trails."
>> These emissions, and the altitude at which they are produced,
>> significantly increase the climate change effect of air travel.  Read
>> more in this Christian Science Monitor article: "Air travel latest
>> target in climate change fight:"
>> http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0817/p01s01-woeu.html
>>
>> Currently, air travel accounts for 3% of greenhouse gas effects.  This
>> will likely rise, as the number of air miles traveled is increasing at
>> a rate of about 5% of year.  Also see this article from Science Daily,
>> "Jet Contrails To Be Significant Climate Factor By 2050:"
>> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/06/990624080829.htm
>>
>> See also this article by HSU Energy researcher Michael Winkler,
>> "Logging Global Warming:" http://www.green-wheels.org/node/164
>>
>> Of course, jets no longer fly out of ACV, so the climate change
>> effects of prop planes must be considered differently.  I would
>> venture to guess they consume more fuel flying at lower altitudes in
>> thicker air, but that their per unit of emissions effects are less
>> than the climate change impact of jets.  However, it is important to
>> remember that most travel out of ACV is to connect to jet flights.
>>
>> I realize finding alternatives to air travel can be challenging, to
>> say the least.  As I am sure many others will, I may continue to fly
>> when there is no other viable option.  But I often opt to ride the
>> Amtrak and Greyhound buses instead of fly, and see plenty of
>> opportunity for their improvement if there was greater passenger
>> travel demand.  One example would be making Wi-fi internet available
>> onboard like some metropolitan public bus systems do, or providing
>> power stations for laptops.  Another example would be offering better
>> BART connector service for these buses in the Bay Area.
>>
>> I saw how bus travel can be different when I was in México and was
>> surprised at the quality of the buses and stations — since middle
>> class people rarely fly in México, they have frequent, high-quality
>> bus service between cities, at several service levels.  Some service
>> levels even include beverage service and meals, with seats that rival
>> airlines' business class.  More in my article here:
>> www.green-wheels.org/node/129
>>
>> --
>> Aaron Antrim
>> 707.633.4464
>> Principal, Transit Information Solutions
>> www.transitinfosolutions.com
>> Outreach Director, Green Wheels
>> www.green-wheels.org
>>
>>
>> On 17 Dec 2007, at 11:14 PM, William Van Hefner wrote:
>>
>>> Michael,
>>>
>>> Perhaps if we all got together and booked flights on one of Al Gore's
>>> private jets we could reduce the "carbon footprint" enough to
>>> warrant air
>>> travel for those of us in Humboldt that are not millionaires?
>>>
>>> Are you seriously suggesting that it is somehow more eco-friendly for
>>> several people to spend 6+ hours driving to San Francisco than it is
>>> for
>>> 30+ people to fly there at once in a little over an hour? I'd really
>>> like
>>> to see the math on that one.
>>>
>>> Unless you are volunteering to drive everyone there yourself in a
>>> 30+ seat
>>> bus that runs on vegetable oil, I don't see how it is that stopping
>>> people
>>> from flying is going to help the environment. It is inevitable that
>>> most
>>> people will eventually need to travel to/from the area. Telling
>>> everyone
>>> to "telecommute" doesn't really help. It is easy to tell other
>>> people what
>>> to do without providing any type of relevant solution to the
>>> problem. If
>>> you believe so strongly in the subject, perhaps you should do
>>> something to
>>> create an alternative for people that is economically and
>>> environmentally
>>> feasible.
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> William Van Hefner
>>> President
>>>
>>> Vantek Communications, Inc.
>>> e-mail: vantek at sonic.net
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi John. Not sure how you made that leap, but I will say this.
>>>>
>>>> Air travel is about as far as we can get from the sustainability
>>>> that both
>>>> businesses and the public must figure out how to achieve. It is a
>>>> convenience choice which saves time, but at very large costs to the
>>>> environment.
>>>>
>>>> It is not going to be easy, but we all must figure out how to correct
>>>> human-caused climate change. Telecommuting goes a long way toward
>>>> that.
>>>> And voice- and teleconferencing can help as well.
>>>>
>>>> John Yolton wrote at 03:25 PM 12/17/2007:
>>>>
>>>>> In response to Michael. I moved back to Eureka in 2000 (from
>>>>> Atlanta) so
>>>>> I could enjoy our 'quality of life', I hope you are not
>>>>> insinuating that
>>>>> business travelers should be excluded from that enjoyment.
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>
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>
>
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