I felt a mix of rage and nausea when I came across your recent news story with the headline, “Durango airport in need of new hanger space for private planes.”

Your article pointed to the increase wealth in Durango, driving the need for more private airplane hangers. While the nobility jet in to eat, drink and be merry, we low-income residents of Durango pinch our pennies and struggle to find affordable housing and childcare.

How can a newspaper write about private jets without mentioning the ever-widening wealth gap in our city and our country, or the very real ways Durango will change as a result of this?

In the same vein, it seems The Durango Herald did not feel it was relevant to mention that, according to a 2021 report from the European Federation for Transport and Environment, private jets are five to 14 times more polluting per passenger than commercial flights.

Will the users of these private hangers be required to compensate the rest of us for the CO2 emissions that will increase wildfires and drought on our land?

Kate Osterloh

Durango