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# Flying with a little less baggage
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/flying-with-a-little-less-baggage/
- Published: 2008-07-30T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T00:25:03.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*New program doesn’t appease some residents impacted by fumes*

City Hall is trying to think more globally when it comes to the Santa Monica Airport, outside of flying that is.

In a time when the airport is being criticized for jet fuel pollution, local aviation officials are giving travelers the opportunity to take back some of the dirty air created during their trips to the city.

A new service recently made available through the airport’s Web site gives pilots and passengers the option to buy carbon offsets, which is the cost it would take to cancel out the greenhouse gas emissions from the flight. By plugging in their point of origin, destination and number of passengers, flyers can calculate their carbon output and offsetting price, donating that money to non-profit organizations which use it for activities that would cancel out the emission equivalent from the flight, whether it be planting trees or installing solar panels.

The cost to offset a round-trip flight for two from San Francisco to Santa Monica would be about $5.27, but the ultimate price of environmental awareness is priceless, according to Rod Merl, the airport’s senior administrative analyst.

“Our community is concerned about what they can do,” Merl said. “We wanted to create that opportunity for people.”

SMO is considered to be the first general aviation airport to provide the voluntary program.

Carbon offsetting has become an increasingly popular strategy the past several years, the globally-minded giving money to neutralize the negative contributions from the cars and homes.

Among the first organizations to jump in the field was the Carbon Fund, a Maryland-based group founded about four years ago.

The non-profit currently offsets more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from nearly 900 businesses and individuals.

“When people started thinking about offsetting emissions, the aviation industry and travel industry in general have been out in front when it comes to trying to find ways to reduce (carbon dioxide),” Russell Simon, the communications manager for the Carbon Fund said.

The Airport Commission reviewed the program at its meeting on Monday. Susan Hartley, one of the commissioners, said that while she is glad the airport is thinking globally, she believes it should think more locally.

“Letting pilots buy carbon offsets instead of curtailing their flights is a slap in the face to the thousands of residents suffering daily from the fumes,” Hartley said. “SMO needs mandatory tug usage instead of permitting aircraft to taxi up and down the runway spewing their toxic emissions.”

She added that there needs to be air quality and health risks studies conducted.

Martin Rubin, the director of Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution, said the carbon offset option doesn’t offer relief to residents who live near the airport, emphasizing the need to ban the fastest jets from the airport. City Hall’s prohibition on categories C and D aircraft is currently being challenged by the FAA in court.

“If the city can ban the faster aircraft they should also ban the most polluting aircraft,” Rubin said.

The program is among several environmental initiatives taking place at the airport, including advocacy and waste reduction practices. The City Council is expected to approve the Santa Monica Airport Sustainability Plan in the fall.

“This plan will build upon existing efforts and implement new policies and programs that will make Santa Monica Airport the most environmentally sustainable general aviation airport in the United States,” Shannon Parry, the sustainable city program manager for City Hall, said.

Jump hedline: New program doesn’t appease some residents impacted by fumes.

Suggested pullquote: “Our community is concerned about what they can do.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 30, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/073008.pdf?ref=smdp.com)