February 2009 Archives

The US Air Transport Association (ATA) has fired its first shot across the Obama administration's bows as it continues its fight to prevent emissions trading, or other market-based tools, in the USA. ATA president and CEO James C May has written this for the National Journal's transportation expert blog.

The next day he was followed by his equivalent at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), Marion Blakey, on a related tack. Not a coincidence, I think it can be assumed.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the highly influential body that represents US manufacturers, has created an environment page on its website. It's called, not unreasonably I suppose, "Aviation and the Environment".

It has a page of FAQs, one of which reads as follows:

Why have I heard more about this issue in the last couple of years?
In some areas, aviation has been targeted by environmental advocates. These individuals have been vocal in their criticism from time to time and made some headlines. While well intentioned, their argument stems from a lack of information of aviation's history of environmental performance and plans for even more advances in the future.

So that's told them!

I'm not personally sure that it's the intellectual way forward though.