From:            sarah shifley
To:                Commission-Public-Records
Subject:           [EXTERNAL] Public Comment for August 11, 2020 Port of Seattle Meeting
Date:              Tuesday, August 11, 2020 6:36:55 AM

WARNING: External email. Links or attachments may be unsafe.

Dear Port Commissioners,

The substantial, sustained drop in Sea-Tac use -- as shown in the Q2 2020 Financial Performance
Briefing -- presents you with an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate and change the course of Sea-Tac
operations. The Port should seize this opportunity, starting by taking steps to fully understand two
things:Sea-Tac's role in our current climate crisis, and the ongoing environmental injustices its operations
engenders. Then, you should actually do something about both. 

Based on King County's most recent greenhouse gas emissions inventory, emissions from Sea-Tac (and
King County International Airport to a lesser extent) based on fuel pumped make up about a quarter of
the County's emissions. And that's before considering that aviation emissions have a 2 to 4 times greater
warming impact than on-the-ground emissions. You are enabling these emissions. They are your
responsibility. To act as though you have done your job environmentally by looking only at onthe-ground
operations is negligent. To not address the full emissions that you enable -- or to even
acknowledge that they exist -- is irresponsible and immoral. 

And on top of that, we know that air and noise pollution from Sea-Tac operations is concentrated on lowincome
communities and communities of color, causing various life-threatening health conditions, preterm
births, and lower learning outcomes. This concentration of pollution is a result of your inaction,
and it is fully your responsibility to address it.

Instead of building new bathrooms at Sea-Tac or patting yourselves on the back for purchasing natural
gas, here's what the Port should be doing in this moment:

1. Completing a thorough greenhouse gas emission inventory of airport operations, including all
emissions from fuel pumped and factoring in radiative forcing.
2. Completing an analysis of the disparate impact Sea-Tac traffic air and noise pollution has on
marginalized communities and communities of color.

Finally, I understand there are concerns about revenue and cost-burdens on locally-owned small
businesses. But the Port has the authority to restructure usage fees if revenue is of utmost concern and
to structure costs such that they don't create further inequity for locally-owned small businesses. This
should not be an excuse.

Thank you,
Sarah Shifley