Since it has been a while since I’ve worked in RTP, I’m provided with an almost-new look at things. One thing I noticed was the cloud of smog that seems to hang over RTP. While I was driving down I-40 recently, I watched as an ancient McDonnell Douglas DC-9 took off from the airport, spewing a black streak behind it as it went.
That got me wondering. There have been many recent winters where drivers were forced to buy watered-down blends of gasoline to combat poor air quality, yet in two minutes one DC-9 can create more air pollution than dozens of cars.
While it’s true airplanes have become far more environmentally-friendly than they were when the DC-9 made its debut, there are still those who say the EPA should regulate airliner emissions. I think it’s worth looking into.