General Aviation is Self-regulated!

How special is general aviation? According to Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine;

general-aviation industry is almost entirely “self-regulated.” The TSA has proposed that it be allowed to impose certain security measures on private jets, such as requiring operators to ensure that their passengers are not on the no-fly list, but for now the agency screens only those Americans who cannot afford to fly on private planes. The TSA administrator, John Pistole, suggested he sees a less substantial threat from general aviation than he does in the commercial realm, and the general- aviation “community” is not enthusiastic about government regulation. “Clearly the general-aviation community has a lot of equities and interest in our rules,” he told me, delicately

Wow, the general aviation community is not enthusiastic about government regulation! Very convenient for the special few. They are not enthusiastic about unleaded fuels even though one gallon of aviation fuel has enough lead to measurable lower the IQ of many thousands of children. Maybe even yours. DO you every notice those private planes in your environment? If you live in the United States you and your family are subjected to airborne lead. Just don't get enthusiastic about this.

Oh, don't be surprised when a general aviation craft is part of a terrorist attack. At least that's what Jeffrey Goldberg says. See his article here.

Boycott Aviation Now

I have followed a learning curve over the past months trying to understand the pending struggle with the aviation industry for the skies and our health. One thing is certain. Aviation is winning and without challenge.

There are many reasons for our complacency in the face of challenges that far exceed those created by other battles for the public good. One recent example was the unregulated tobacco industry. Leveling the playing field regarding the issues of tobacco took several decades and the battle is far from over. Smoking bans in public places is recent for many areas of the country. Smoking was allowed and accepted everywhere as recently as the 1980’s.

People liked to smoke and many remain addicted. Medical doctors endorsed their chosen brands in television ads. Educated people argued against scientific findings that revealed links to cancer and other life threatening maladies. The same rancor currently ensues over the matters of global climate change.

There are many examples of modern cultures blindly consuming and living with products that were later found to be carcinogens. Asbestos was once a modern and benign miracle product. Formaldehyde is another slightly obscure carcinogen that lingers in almost every modern household. Mercury is still pumped into children and forged into cavity ridden teeth.

And we should not forget lead. Much effort was made in the 1970’s and 80’s to rid our culture of this very dangerous element. Except for highly leaded fuel [avgas] that remains the standard fuel for general aviation.

Which brings me back to the subject at hand. What is so exceptional about aviation? Maybe because aircraft manufacturers are a major component of the military industrial complex? Maybe law makers are disproportionately wealthy and thus likely to be pilots or benefit from aviation in special ways? Maybe we all want to be ‘jetsetters’.

I have listened to several interviews of Bill McKibben, climate change environmentalist. Mr. McKibben, bless his heart, always mentions how many miles he’s traveled over recent periods of time. This is from an educated man that understands the ravages of global climate change yet does not sense the incongruency of his beliefs and actions. Maybe he believes his efforts are worth the cost and incongruency. Sounds like exceptionalism to me.

And then there is the culture itself. I recently read a major vacuum cleaner designer / manufacturer makes separate models for America. Know why? The American models are louder because Americans equate noise with power!

How bad is aviation? We know that even low levels of jet noise causes an elevation in blood pressure and hyper tension. We know exhaust from jet engines creates some of the deadliest carcinogens know to science. We know high levels of noise cause aggressive behavior. We know that tiny levels of lead can permanently damage a child’s brain. These are facts.

But what about the large communities in major cities that are blasted day and night by the noise and pollution of aviation. Is it simply a coincidence that areas of significant gang violence in Los Angeles fall beneath the flight patterns of LAX airport. Every major city has a similar relationship. Coincidence? Considering the many know facts related to health issues prompted by aviation can we really believe these are coincidences? Can a civilization afford to overlook these types of coincidences?

Aviation remains basically an unregulated industry with the punitive and well funded arm of the FAA defending and promoting the industry down to the most minuscule facility. Anytime there is a conflict between citizens and aviation there will always be the battle cry; ‘if the peasants cause trouble for aviation the FAA will step in and cancel any advances made.’

There are many examples of aviation exceptionalism. Ground citizens cannot identify individual aircraft as identification is not required to be visible from the ground. Even if you could discern the tail wing ID number FAA considers ownership information to be confidential. Hey, they are part of the military industrial complex, aren’t they?

Helicopters can fly anywhere they want. They can hover right over your house for hours and there is nothing any ground citizen can do.

This is just a small set of justifications for a Boycott Aviation Now effort.

What can be done to support sanity in our skies? We need to communicate with our neighbors, friends and coworkers. We need to write our newspapers and email news programs in an effort to educated a very illiterate public. Everyone needs to know how often aviation is supported by our purchases and decisions and what aviation means to our health and the health of our children.

We need to create a ‘bank’ of basic letters ready for personalizing and forwarding to all that will listen.

We need bumper stickers that say:

Boycott

Aviation

N ow

Please Raise Your Hand If You Want More Lead In the Air

The EPA is asking for comments regarding the continued use of lead in aviation engines. The program is titled:

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Lead Emissions From Piston-
Engine Aircraft Using Leaded Aviation Gasoline; Proposed Rule

and can be found at:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-9603.htm

Excerpt follows:

Given the recent findings of the science summarized by EPA in the
AQCD for Lead as well as the findings of the CDC, the Agency is
concerned about the potential for health and welfare effects from
exposure to lead emissions from aircraft engines using leaded avgas. On
a national basis, emissions of lead from aircraft engines using leaded
avgas are the largest single source category for emissions of lead to
air, comprising approximately half of the national inventory.\6\ There
are almost 20,000 airport facilities in the U.S. at which leaded avgas
may be used, and in some areas of the country there are densely
populated residential developments immediately adjacent to these
airport facilities. As described in Section V, we estimate that up to
16 million people reside and three million children attend school in
close proximity to airport facilities servicing piston-engine aircraft
that are operating on leaded avgas.

Be sure to wave at the next piston plane as it flys over your home, children and gardens.

A Rogue Industry

Some would say the airline industry is a rogue industry. Maybe some questions would help determine the truth:


Can a citizen influence where airlines fly? No!

Can a citizen influence when airline fly? No!

Must an airline respond to complaints of noise? No!

Can any aircraft fly over your home anytime at any loudness? Yes!

Are airlines and airports subsidized by the taxpayer? Yes!

Does general aviation comply to lead free fuel regulations? No?

Can a citizen readily identify an aircraft? No, or with difficulty.

Can a State regulate aircraft on behave of it's citizens? No!

Can a State regulate aircraft noise? No!

Are airlines responsible to any agency regarding citizens on the ground? No!

How did the aviation industry become so special? How are they different from a 'normal' citizen?

If I drive a vehicle without a recognizable and traceable license I would be ticketed or arrested. Have you ever tried to identify an airplane? If you can determine the ID your are very lucky indeed. But say you get lucky, what is the next step? A group recently went to court to obtain aircraft ownership information. This was after trying to obtain this information via the Freedom of Information Act. The FAA maintains this information must be kept secret for reasons of privacy. Wow, these folks can fly over my [and your] house anytime, over and over, and their identity is protected by a taxpayer funded federal agency.

I own a 1964 Studebaker Avanti. Nice car! Of course I can't obtain leaded fuel. No problem. I understand the importance of keeping lead out of the environment. So I rebuild the engine at considerable cost so I can use unleaded fuel. Or if I was willing to break federal law I could try to get LEADED fuel at any airport. Essentially all general aviation aircraft still use leaded fuel! Think about that next time you are overflown. Why is aviation so special?

Looks rogue to me.