Opposition to OAK Airport Expansion at Port of Oakland Board Meeting

Photos: Leon Kunstenaar

(Oakland, Oct. 10) - As global warming driven hurricanes of ever increasing ferocity devastate lives and homes, the powers that be propose to enable ever more jet travel around Oakland,

With massive jet travel no longer in doubt as a principal cause of co2 emissions and based on dubious estimates of future "needs," the port of Oakland proposes to add sixteen more gates to Oakland International Airport.

"StopOAKers" from the Bay Area Climate Justice Spokescouncil once again descended on a meeting of the Port of Oakland Board to tell them that the proposed increase in gates at OAK will certainly result in an increase in noise and negative health effects in communities near the airport.

Their comments were preceded by a gauzy video about travelers attributing the high point of family visits to the wonderfulness of Oakland airport and the wonderful people therein.

Then human health experts and Oakland residents discussed how this increase in noise is virtually certain to degrade the health of the communities in the surrounding areas.

According to Daniel Fink, MD, a board-certified internist who is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert on the effects of noise on the public:

“transportation noise is the second worst environmental stressor affecting human health, exceeded only by air pollution. Aircraft noise disrupts human activities, impairs learning, disturbs sleep, and causes increased cardiovascular disease and death among those exposed to it”

Poor and minority populations are disproportionately impacted by these adverse health effects

“Transportation noise is a health problem for individuals and a public health problem for exposed populations. Much has been learned about these health effects from studies of how railway noise, road traffic noise, and aircraft noise affect humans. The adverse impacts appear to be similar for all types of transportation noise, but aircraft noise is particularly annoying to humans. The effects of air pollution and noise pollution are additive, but the individual effects of each type of pollution can be teased out by sophisticated epidemiologic and statistical techniques”

On July 17, 2023, the Port of Oakland released a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the Oakland International Airport Terminal Modernization and Development Project, which details plans to modernize the existing terminals at the Oakland International Airport. The project also includes building a third terminal with 16 additional gates. This expansion plan was proposed to meet projected increases in air travel through OAK and to reap the benefits of any increase in associated commerce.

According to the DEIR total OAK aircraft operations are proposed to increase by 74% (from 516/day in 2021 to 898/day in 2038), nighttime operations are to be extended with departures as early as 4:15 am and arrivals as late as 2:00 am, and the use of wide-bodied aircraft is projected to increase by 48% (from 16,816 in 2021 to 24,954 in 2038 for commercial and freight operations combined) – all of which will contribute to a significant increase in aircraft noise for communities adjacent to the airport and those underneath the flight paths.

Local environmentalist and climate justice groups have repeatedly pointed out flaws in the DEIR, including inflated future flight projections, no mention of community health impacts, limited mention of aircraft noise impacts and no inclusion of studies quantifying the increase of greenhouse gas associated with an increase in flights.

Compounding the highly unhealthy environment caused by air travel is the fact that just 1% of flyers account for 50% of all aviation emissions. These are mostly frequent fliers taking unnecessary, recreational trips. Everything we do to make airplane travel more convenient, or cheaper, or more attractive - as the OAK expansion is trying to do - will have an extremely destructive impact on our climate and our lives.

AIRCRAFT NOISE IS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM, NOT JUST AN ANNOYANCE:

Alternatives exist! The full Environmental Impact Report for California High Speed Rail was recently approved for the entire length of the line, and other options for more environmentally responsible travel within California and across the country are in development. In addition, the COVID pandemic reinforced the efficiency of online video calls versus traditional face-to-face business meetings. The volume of air travel in and out of OAK has dropped as a result, even after the pandemic has eased. There is very little justification for expanding OAK at this time.