“Thank God men cannot fly and waste the sky as well as the earth,” Henry David Thoreau is purported to have said.
Whether or not he actually spoke those exact words, the author of Walden and Civil Disobedience is surely rolling over in his grave over the proposed expansion of Hanscom Field, which would double the amount of private jets flying directly over Walden Pond.
On Wednesday, The National Trust for Historic Preservation designated Walden Pond, together with Minute Man National Historical Park and other nearby landmarks, as one of America’s most endangered historic places due to the plan to add an additional 500,000 square feet of hangar space for private luxury jets at Hanscom, which is directly adjacent to the park.
Private jets are the most carbon-intensive form of transportation on the planet — estimated to be about 10 times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger. The National Trust for Historic Preservation also cited the increased noise and vehicular traffic from the airport expansion in its reasons for including the area on the annual list of endangered historic places.
The list was unveiled Wednesday morning at The Old Manse in Concord in an event led by actor and activist Ashley Judd. Other sites on this year’s list of endangered places include Little Tokyo in Los Angeles and the Sitka Tlingit Clan Houses in Sitka, Alaska.
“Against the dire backdrop of our warming climate and the climate disasters that result, causing so much suffering for millions, it is utterly appalling to consider a massive development for luxury private jets in the midst of the landscape that inspired the founding of our democracy and the American environmental movement,” Judd said.
Minute Man National Historical Park contains many of the sites of the first battle of the American Revolution, including the Battle Road Trail between Lexington and Concord and The North Bridge. It’s also home to sites connected to the Underground Railroad and former homes of early American authors Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. The park hosts about a million annual visitors, with more expected in the lead up to the 250th anniversary of the revolution.
Walden Pond and the surrounding woods are considered the birthplace of the environmental movement. These days, you have to check Twitter to see if there’s parking available on a hot summer day. Though no longer the secluded forest where Thoreau lived a simple life, it is still a beloved place for locals to enjoy a peaceful walk or swim, as well as a symbolic historic landmark.
While at Great Meadows in Concord, I climbed the observation tower to overlook the ponds and at least 8 noisy planes flew overhead in the 40 minutes I was there, drowning out the birdsong and my own thoughts. I thought it was noisy on my deck at home when these jets fly overhead but at this spot in Bedford/Concord it is just unbearable. I feel sad for the homeowners and wildlife who have to endure this in their prior peaceful environment.
Thank you for an excellent article that includes more reasons to oppose the expansion of Hanscom. The deadline for comments is May 10.
https://www.stopprivatejetexpansion.org/take-action
Here is information about how loud noise–such as airplanes flying low–can “take years off your life,” from the New York Times Magazine.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/09/health/noise-exposure-health-impacts.html
Tax private jets in proportion to their environmental harm; tax them practically out of existence.
Bob Weggel, proud member of Patriotic Millionaires
A Draft Environmental Impact statement that is open to the public for for comment and review. The developers have made totally false claims about the benefits of the proposed Hanscom Field jet expansion. Perhaps you could let readers know how long the DEIS is open to comment, and how to access and comment on it. Thank you.
If this expansion at Hanscom takes place, it will negate the carbon savings of all the solar panels ever installed in Massachusetts. Most private jet flights are to vacation spots. The public comment period on the expansion at Hanscom Field has been extended to June 14. Get the facts and talking points to write an effective comment. Your voice matters – submit your comment to the state today! https://tinyurl.com/Hanscomcomment or https://tinyurl.com/VideoHanscom No time? Sign the petition to Governer Maura Healy: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/spje?source=spjehome
If these jets exert a cost to society or the plant in excess of the value they provide then we should curtail their use and tax them for the externalities they impose.
I for one am tired of the excessive noise we all suffer for a pampered few.