Mt Rainier

Mt Rainier
Mt Rainier

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Externalities and Risk - The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport


Birds, Third Runway, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

The City of SeaTac held a meeting on March 24, 2015 that included discussons on the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sustainable Master Plan by Port of Seattle representatives.   A news report of the meeting can be found on the SeaTac blog.

My comments at the meeting addressed the issue of externalities associated with airport operations and their impact on the surrounding community, especially in the area of health.  Externalties are an important topic in social and economic policy.  An externality is the consequence of an economic activity affecting a party that did not choose to participate in that activity.

There are a myriad of issues surrounding development in the area of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.  The airport is an engine of growth and development which brings business into the region, and as a hub, enables the flow of commerce to other areas of the country and the world.  The airport provides economic benefit through the multiplier effect.  The multiplier effect is an economic term to express the economic effect that the introduction of an engine of growth has on the community.

The airport provides jobs to support direct and ancillary airport operations.  As business cluster around the airport (e.g. Car Parks, shuttles), these activities provide an engine for the economy's growth.

However economic activities have costs, as well.  In addition to direct costs to service airport operations, costs may include building more roads to service traffic that serves the airport and other municipal items.

There are a number of externalities arising out of airport operations.  These issues involve air, water and noise pollution, impacts on the respiratory and other health systems, and even sense of smell.   There are psychological impacts, as well, including psychological impacts that express themselves over a wider social framework.

Airport externality issues are felt on a local basis, by those living at the edges of the airport, nearby, those under flight paths and on a city level as cities adapt to the challenges presented by the airport's growth. While these externalities are felt most acutely locally, they are also expressed over a wider distance throughout the region as the area struggles to deal with challenges presented by increased commercial and passenger activity.

I list blog articles regarding  externalities in a variety of areas (below) to establish a context within which the impact of the airport can be viewed as an individual example of an externality.


"Externalties"
 "World Air Pollution Organization Report on Air Pollution and Health"
 "Climate Change and Global Health"
 "Avian Flu"
"Mt Rainier Balance of Risks"
 "Nuclear Balance of Risks"
"President Ronald Reagan and Alzheimer's Disease"