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# Letter: Martin Rubin on Santa Monica Airport pollution and private jet fees
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/smoke-screens-editor/
- Published: 2008-08-02T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:29:04.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*By Martin Rubin Director, Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution*

Regarding “Flying with a little less baggage” by Melody Hanatani, July 30, 2008: Because the city of Santa Monica is taking this rather insignificant step and making a big to-do about it, I feel obligated to try and set the record straight.

This fits quite well into the category of smoke-screens and mirrors. It is, as Susan Hartley points out, “… a slap in the face to the thousands of residents suffering daily from the fumes.” For multi-millionaires to throw a dollar or two into an environmental kitty will, in no way, scratch the surface of the environmental injustice they commit each and every time they board a private jet and fly out of Santa Monica Airport.

If the city of Santa Monica truly wanted to address the air pollution crisis that has gone on now for about 20 years, they would take some time and money and begin an ongoing robust data collection of the idle/taxi/jet blasts. The data could go right into a computer modeling program that would yield important information. Modeling, after all is the EPA’s preferred method over monitoring. We do not need to waste precious time with more ambiguous monitoring studies that totally miss the target. We could wait and wait; all the while families and their pets are getting seriously sick from breathing toxic jet emissions day in and day out.

The fact is that although emission standards for aircraft are the responsibility of the FAA and the EPA, banning the gross polluting aircraft from landing at an airport has never been tested in a court of law. With regard to the new ordinance banning the faster C and D class aircraft, the city of Santa Monica points out that as the proprietor of the airport, they have the proprietary right and obligation to protect against safety and health impacts to the surrounding communities and to protect itself from liability claims. Santa Monica needs to aggressively address the air pollution issue, too, and stop with the smoke-screens and mirrors already. Again, this “Carbon Offset Option” offers no relief to the impacted residents who have been forced to breathe toxic jet emissions.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 2, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/080208.pdf?ref=smdp.com)