Essay on "Economics & Environment, MIA Airport Expansion"

Essay 3 pages (1080 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

All major emerging economies are building new airports, such that older, dilapidated airports are a sign that a country or city cannot be taken seriously as a 21st century power. There is an element of egoism in this, but the reality is that if Miami wants to present itself as a 21st century economic power, it needs to back that up with a modern airport. They are two-thirds of the way there after the recent expansions, and the final expansion will solidify this position.

Cons

The major con is that more airport expansion is destructive to the environment. There is not room to expand MIA without overtaking surrounding lands, such as industrial lands or swamp. It could actually be argued that the alternative to allowing this expansion is to build a new airport in land reclaimed from the Everglades, so expanding MIA would actually be the lesser of two destructive options. Replacing a terminal that already exists is a relatively benign option, except for the climate impacts. Encouraging growth in air travel by reducing transaction costs thereof is not necessarily going to be good for the environment. As the annual submerging of Alton Road indicates, Miami-Dade County has some pretty compelling reasons to take climate change seriously, even if the folks in Tallahassee do not (McKie, 2014).

There are other cons as well with this plan. The investment in South Florida via the airport is going to cost billions. In addition to adding carbon, it will add to the region's tax burden. This expansion is basically just a replacement and upgrade of an existing facility. Thus, it does not have the same potential incremental benefits that a new facility might. Thus, there is less upside, which makes the downside of the cost and the environmental destruction that would be required to make any meaningful upgrades or expansion possible, all the more likely.

Lastly, building a massive new expansion for Miami seems almost silly. With sea levels rising, the whole works will be underwater by the end of the century, according to most estimates. In the short run, there is definitely a compelling economic case for further airport expansion, but in the long run, there might well be better things for the county to spend its money on.

Conclusion

All told, it does appear that MIA will replace its original terminal with a new one, though the project is not yet started and might not be completed until 2030 or later. There is an economic imperative, in that the county and city can build on their existing competitive advantages as a trade hub for the Americas. Such benefits would only accrue, however, if for some reason South Florida does not find itself entirely underwater in the next hundred years, something that seems more likely with each day. There is not much that can be done to protect the airport from sea level rise, so on balance a little more environmental responsibility make some sense here.

Reference

McKie, R. (2014). Miami, the great world city, is drowning while the powers that be look away. The Guardian. Retrieved May 16, 2015 from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/11/miami-drowning-climate-change-deniers-sea-levels-rising

Miami Airport (2015). About us. Miami International Airport. Retrieved May 16, 2015 from http://www.miami-airport.com/about_us.asp READ MORE

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