
Take Back the Sky
Protecting Communities in the Path of Aviation Expansion
Rae Andre(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 6. October 2004
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-57805-116-8 (ISBN)
Description
In this timely book, author Rae Andre alerts us to one of the most insidious threats to the health and well-being of many Americans: the environmental impacts of aviation. Written from her experience as an activist and a flight-path dweller, Take Back the Sky dramatizes the extent of this growing problem in case studies around the country where communities have fought (and usually lost) battles against airport expansion. More alarmingly, it details how communities have lost virtually all control over their local skies, with that power having been usurped by special interests and an unresponsive federal government. When Andre bought a charming bungalow in a Boston suburb, the small nearby airport handled only private and charter aircraft and a few military flights. Soon after, it began to accept commercial flights - and the quality of life for Andre and her neighbors plummeted.
As she explains, aviation-related pollution from noise, emissions, and chemicals leaching into water tables is among the least-known - and least-regulated - hazards Americans face, Andre plunged into research, organizing, and protest, discovering not only the ugly facts about aviation-related pollution but the extent to which unbridled commercial interests have infiltrated our government and our lives. Andre makes a powerful case that citizen action is crucial at this time, when plans are afoot to transform hundreds of small airports into busy commercial jetports. But how can we make the aviation industry more environmentally responsible? How can citizens and communities take back the power to determine their own fates? In Take Back the Sky, Andre provides the tools we need to answer these critical questions.
As she explains, aviation-related pollution from noise, emissions, and chemicals leaching into water tables is among the least-known - and least-regulated - hazards Americans face, Andre plunged into research, organizing, and protest, discovering not only the ugly facts about aviation-related pollution but the extent to which unbridled commercial interests have infiltrated our government and our lives. Andre makes a powerful case that citizen action is crucial at this time, when plans are afoot to transform hundreds of small airports into busy commercial jetports. But how can we make the aviation industry more environmentally responsible? How can citizens and communities take back the power to determine their own fates? In Take Back the Sky, Andre provides the tools we need to answer these critical questions.
Reviews / Votes
"The aviation industry promotes the noislest, dirtiest, and most inefficient mode of transportation, and billions of taxpayer doilars each year subsidize it. It is time to take back our skies, and our dollars, to invest in transportation that is quieter, cleaner, more efficient, and more community friendly. Rae Andre's blueprint for more livable communities and more sustainable transportation alternatives is a mustread for anyone concerned about peace and quiet." - Les Blomber, Executive Director, Noise Pollution Clearinghouse; "We have spent far too much time in this country fighting endless battles over airport expansion and far too little investing in the kind of high-speed rail that can solve the problem. Rae Andre is one of the first to address this issue, and she does it well." - Michael S. Dukakis, Vice Chairman of the Board, Amtrak; former governor of Massachusetts"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 146 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
425 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57805-116-8 (9781578051168)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rae Andre is Professor of organizational behavior and theory at Northeastern University. Her books include the best-selling parody The 59-Second Employee: How to Stay One Second Ahead of Your One-Minute Manager (coauthored with Peter Ward); Positive Solitude: A Practical Program for Mastering Loneliness and Achieving Self-Fulfillment; and Homemakers, the Forgotten Workers. Her work has also appeared in publications as diverse as the Wall Street Journal and Prevention. She lives in the Boston area.
Content
Preface The Quest for Environmentally Sustainable Aviation The Airport in My Garden Aviation Pollution Today Facing Up to Airport Expansion Massport: The Aviation Industry's Model Organization How the Air Transportation Industry Pursues Growth How Noise Laws Fail Communities How Will Citizen Involvement Solve These Problems? Contents