By Kati Winchell
As the wettest summer in nearly a century draws to a close with two hurricanes spinning in the Atlantic, there is an increased sense of urgency to achieve the Commonwealth’s 2050 net zero goals of reducing emission from 70 to 14 million tons of CO2. Yet, in the midst of this climate emergency, Massport is proposing to triple the number of hangars at Hanscom Civil Air Terminal for the exclusive use of private luxury jets — the most carbon-intensive form of travel per passenger. Just to be clear, this is not about military flights or any activities at the Air Force base, but rather about building nearly half a million square feet more hangar space for private jets.
If the proposed expansion goes forward, emissions from private jets at Hanscom are projected to grow by millions of tons, jeopardizing the state’s ability to attain its 2050 emission goals. For this reason, 39 local and statewide organizations have joined forces to educate the public about the threat that Massport’s expansion plans present to reducing our carbon footprint and to support the difficult decisions the governor will have to make to ensure that we meet our 2050 goals.
Sign the petition urging the governor to stop this private luxury jet expansion that so clearly runs contrary to Mass Climate Goals. For more information or to sign up for updates, see www.stopprivatejetexpansion.org.
Kati Winchell of Lincoln is projects director for Save Our Heritage.
“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.
Kati – than you for your excellent letter!
Squirrel readers – It seems clear that the huge expansion in hanger capacity at Hanscom will increase total private jet traffic, not just from Hanscom. Private jets — which are taken for personal convenience much more often than for business travel — are a luxury our climate cannot afford. Please take the two actions suggested at the end of Kati’s letter to help stop this “carbon bomb”.
As a former private pilot, I support decreasing private jets at Hanscom