Air/Fair Toronto is a group of people speaking out for a fair and equitable
approach to environmental issues in the Greater Toronto Area.
We come from all parts of the city, and many political perspectives. We
have one common conviction: that we should share the environmental burdens created
by providing the services we need. One part of the city or the region should
not have to bear the whole environmental burden of a service we all benefit
from.
Toronto City Centre Airport
Air traffic into and out of the city of Toronto now uses two airports:
Pearson International Airport, a very large airport on the north end of the city,
and Toronto City Centre Airport, a regional airport on the waterfront.
Recently, in the name of a "clean green waterfront", various lobbyists and
activists have demanded the city take measures to prevent Toronto City Centre
Airport from living up to its potential; some have even demanded that it shut
down.
These people claim they want to prevent pollution, but the evidence suggests
they really only want to move it. Take a look at the facts. We'll tell you the
story in words, pictures, and sounds. See if you think moving pollution
from Toronto City Centre Airport to Pearson is fair.
What is Environmental Equity?
Environmental equity, or fairness, means that a city, or a region, or a
country should not inflict its environmental problems on the poor or the
powerless, but should share both the problems and the cost of cleaning them
up equally.
What does Environmental Equity Have to Do With the Environment?
Nearly everything. Without environmental equity, an environmental
program simply doesn't work. If decision makers can get away from pollution
and the problems it causes, they have no incentive to deal with it.
If people who call themselves environmentalists and claim they have
a "green" solution turn out to want to move the problem, rather than solve
it, then they care less about the environment than about something else:
their real estate values, their quality of life, and their health. Real
concern for the environment demands a real solution, not sweeping the problem
under someone else's rug.
What are the Ideals of Environmental Equity?
- It shares its highest ideal with the rest of the environmental movement:
don't pollute. Choose the clean solution. Achieve the best quality of life
for everyone with the least impact on the Earth and on future generations.
- We don't yet have a complete solution to the problem of pollution. Where
we can't avoid environmental problems, share them. Don't shunt the problem
off to another part of town, or another part of the country. When someone
proposes an environmental solution, ask whether the "solution" will really
eliminate pollution, or just move it. If research into alternatives is under
way, ask who will have to live with the pollution until the research produces
a working alternative. Shared pollution is pollution everyone has a strong
incentive to reduce.
- Sometimes, we can't share pollution problems directly. Sometimes, we
have to clean up one part of town first. When that happens, the communities
that have to wait deserve recognition and compensation.
Click
here to read the whole statement of principles...
