LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Should not
happen
Airport at Pickering will contribute to species extinction
and reduction of wildlife in Rouge Park
Toronto Star, November 23, 2004
"Economics and the "opportunity" today on airport lands in Pickering will be far outweighed by environmental costs in the future. Airports are a major source of air, water and noise pollution.Aircraft are the most polluting form of transportation and dangerous emissions contribute tremendous environmental damage to the local area around the airport, to the region and worldwide, through greenhouse gases.
Toronto's Public Health Department study shows there are an estimated 1,700 premature deaths each year in Toronto and 6,000 additional hospital admissions due to air pollution. Aircraft engine emissions contain cancer-causing compounds which contributed to 11 per cent of the total estimated local cancer cases in one American study. Other studies suggest human lives are endangered and, in fact, lost due to aircraft pollution under certain parts of the flight path. Overall, it would appear cheaper and more effective to prevent human health damage than to attempt to cure it later.
In the 1970s, Rouge Park did not exist. Today Canada's "urban wilderness jewel" lies next to the proposed airport lands which will destroy many human benefits the park provides. Rouge Park reduces air, water and noise pollution, while an airport only produces them. The airport will also contribute to species extinction and reduction of wildlife in Rouge Park. Transport Canada's policy is "to regard all wildlife on airports as potential hazards to airport and aircraft safety." Wildlife and birds species, many of which are rare, threatened or endangered, will not read signs or stop at fences - they will disappear. Toronto's Pearson International Airport has contaminated waterways and discharged countless tons of oxygen-demanding effluents, hundreds of times in excess of the federal guidelines, which ended up in Mimico/Etobicoke creeks and Lake Ontario. De-icers degrade available oxygen in the aquatic ecosystems and fish suffocate. Runway construction here diverted and drained streams, destroying aquatic habitats. Spilled aviation fuel entered sewers and nearby creeks. The construction of the new 10,000-foot runway required the excavation of a new valley and the relocation of Etobicoke Creek. Such environmental damage should not happen in Pickering - next to one of the last remaining and most sensitive environmentally sensitive areas in Southern Ontario. Toronto's highways and roads are already heavily congested to a breaking point. Rapid transit only works if people use it. There are enough airports in the area and it makes no sense to invest in another Mirabel.Should one group benefit from the cost of environmental degradation which will so affect the quality of life of other larger groups of people - our own and future generations?
Environment, human health and quality of life should take priority.
Marian Martin, Pickering