The Sierra Club is an international conservation group that regularly campaigns against urban sprawl and developments it believes will hurt the environment. For about two years, some people in the Triad have been saying FedEx could cause pollution and noise. The Sierra Club hopes adding its name to that argument will add more credibility to it. FedEx wants to place a shipping center at Piedmont Triad International Airport to serve its East Coast customers. Most Triad politicians and business organizations say FedEx will help the region's economy by providing jobs, both at the hub and at companies that will build near the airport to use the shipper's services.
Some residents feel the same.
Others, though, see FedEx as harmful. They argue the company's overnight flights will make it hard to sleep in homes near the airport. They side with the Sierra Club on concerns about pollution. The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority could decide later this year whether to invite FedEx, which chose the airport over five others in the Carolinas. The Sierra Club's eight-member executive committee voted to oppose FedEx after reviewing a draft environmental impact study of the project released last month by the Federal Aviation Administration.