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Letters for Monday, August 4, 2008
• The right to choose
• Slaughter to extinction
• More agroforestry needed
The right to choose
I was disgusted to read Casey Riemer’s comments in The Garden Island’s Sunday article entitled “Air tourism industry responds to demands.”
He said, “But we also have to provide the services that people enjoy. We’ve been doing it for 40 years and we’ll continue to do so in a respectful way. There’s no such thing as a totally quiet helicopter or motored airplane.”
Firstly, no one has to perform helicopter tour services. Where is this mandated? This is not a community service. If there were no helicopter tours, it would scarcely impact the island’s economy. Do you think people would give up coming to Kaua‘i because of that?
So, you have the right to choose who benefits and who pays the price for your business?
Tourists benefit, residents suffer. That’s shown in your statement that, in effect, you will continue to fly regardless of what the community wants.
Well, let me go park my car in front of your house and run my huge subwoofers at 150 decibels and see how you have quiet enjoyment of your property.
If there were only a few helicopters on this island or if tours were being done in, as you say, a respectful way, then there wouldn’t be this public outcry. But there are so many helicopters that the noise on popular routes is virtually incessant.
You say there’s no totally quiet helicopter? How is that our problem? That’s your problem that you insist on making it our problem.
Do you think anyone would care what you and your fellow operators were doing if you weren’t so intrusive on the quiet enjoyment of our otherwise peaceful homes and natural landscapes?
The reason this hasn’t been addressed effectively in the past is that the federal government has made the process of enforcement difficult if not impossible. So, you’ll create your organization and maybe things will get a little better for a few months, then it will be back to business as usual and nothing will be accomplished.
This has to stop now. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but it has to be done with regulation. Voluntary cooperation is fleeting.
Phil Keat
Makaweli
Slaughter to extinction
As a new resident of Kaua‘i I have been reticent to write a “letter to the editor,” preferring to allow those with a longer history here discuss the issues — certainly with more intelligence and eloquence than I ever could.
And there are a multitude affecting the island — the Superferry, rental properties, new construction, road and traffic improvements, care for the environment — even whether or not to allow dogs on the coastal bike and pedestrian path.
But this is not a letter about any of that. What prompted me to write was a photo on the front page of Wednesday’s sports section.
It shows a man standing next to a 973-pound Pacific blue marlin hanging by its tail. The copy goes on to say that the marlin is “the second largest fish ever caught in the 49-year history of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.”
What really troubled me, however, was the comment of Robert Dudley, who caught the fish: “It’s a magnificent fish. What else can you say?”
Well, for one you could add “dead” to the sentence. It’s a magnificent dead fish.
This beautiful, female marlin will no longer swim free in the ocean. It will not reproduce. There will be no future progeny. Its destiny is to hang high and dry on somebody’s wall.
My question is, why couldn’t the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament have shown a little foresight and required that anglers not kill their catches but, instead, release them once photographs and measurements had been taken?
Sadly, the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament — sponsored, in part, by the county and state of Hawai‘i — seems to be well-behind the conservation curve.
In other parts of the world (Australia, for instance) very few anglers kill blue marlin — those that are caught are released. Additionally, Australia has had a tagging program in place for years to find out more about these great fish and whether or not fishing is depleting them to such an extent that they might not ever make a comeback.
Common sense dictates that if we continue the wholesale slaughter of animals, like the blue marlin, they will go the way of the countless other creatures man has hunted — mostly for sport — to extinction.
Is this really the legacy we want to leave to future generations? When are we Homo sapiens, stewards of our planet, going to finally stand up for the animals that are in our care? Animals that have no voice and can’t advocate for themselves? Animals that simply want to exist?
Steven McMacken
Kilauea
More agroforestry needed
Your Sunday paper featured two interesting headlines — “Pineapple in Hawai‘i may soon end” and “Scientists fear climate change tipping points.”
The first article described how a Hawai‘i agricultural company will respond to changes in its global markets.
Since pineapple export from Hawaii no longer make economic sense, Maui Land and Pineapple Co. will lay off workers and slash pineapple production, a scenario similar to sugar’s earlier decline that displaced thousands of workers and abandoned large arable tracts in Hawai‘i.
The second article outlined potentially disastrous impacts of global warming likely resulting from human activity; rises in temperature and sea level that will ultimately affect everyone everywhere.
But at least one solution could link these two separate issues; it’s possible to simultaneously put idle land to use and reduce our “carbon imprint” on the planet by simply planting trees.
Maui Pine now plans to follow a number of pioneering Hawai‘i landholders who have already done just that in recent decades.
Forestry projects create jobs and wealth. So rather than abandon its viable agricultural land, Maui Pine says it will plant hundreds of acres of high-value koa trees and diversify its crops.
The company will not only increase its chances of staying in business over the long term, but will also fix (trap) atmospheric carbon dioxide in its wood products. Using trees to remove carbon from air, even from a few hundred acres, helps in a small but finite way to stave off global warming. Planting trees on hundreds and thousands of landholdings multiplies this environmental benefit.
Besides eventually gaining value from harvesting its koa, Maui Pine may even be able to boost its bottom line by selling carbon credits to carbon emitters in an evolving global market that aims to reduce carbon pollution and reward carbon removal.
Investing in forests makes good economic sense in times of inflation because most costs are incurred at the beginning of forestry projects. So now might be an especially opportune time for more landholders to plant koa, mahogany and other valuable trees here in Hawai‘i.
Establishing more forestry and agroforestry projects can only help move us toward a more sustainable future.
John Edson
Kapa‘a
• Slaughter to extinction
• More agroforestry needed
The right to choose
I was disgusted to read Casey Riemer’s comments in The Garden Island’s Sunday article entitled “Air tourism industry responds to demands.”
He said, “But we also have to provide the services that people enjoy. We’ve been doing it for 40 years and we’ll continue to do so in a respectful way. There’s no such thing as a totally quiet helicopter or motored airplane.”
Firstly, no one has to perform helicopter tour services. Where is this mandated? This is not a community service. If there were no helicopter tours, it would scarcely impact the island’s economy. Do you think people would give up coming to Kaua‘i because of that?
So, you have the right to choose who benefits and who pays the price for your business?
Tourists benefit, residents suffer. That’s shown in your statement that, in effect, you will continue to fly regardless of what the community wants.
Well, let me go park my car in front of your house and run my huge subwoofers at 150 decibels and see how you have quiet enjoyment of your property.
If there were only a few helicopters on this island or if tours were being done in, as you say, a respectful way, then there wouldn’t be this public outcry. But there are so many helicopters that the noise on popular routes is virtually incessant.
You say there’s no totally quiet helicopter? How is that our problem? That’s your problem that you insist on making it our problem.
Do you think anyone would care what you and your fellow operators were doing if you weren’t so intrusive on the quiet enjoyment of our otherwise peaceful homes and natural landscapes?
The reason this hasn’t been addressed effectively in the past is that the federal government has made the process of enforcement difficult if not impossible. So, you’ll create your organization and maybe things will get a little better for a few months, then it will be back to business as usual and nothing will be accomplished.
This has to stop now. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but it has to be done with regulation. Voluntary cooperation is fleeting.
Phil Keat
Makaweli
Slaughter to extinction
As a new resident of Kaua‘i I have been reticent to write a “letter to the editor,” preferring to allow those with a longer history here discuss the issues — certainly with more intelligence and eloquence than I ever could.
And there are a multitude affecting the island — the Superferry, rental properties, new construction, road and traffic improvements, care for the environment — even whether or not to allow dogs on the coastal bike and pedestrian path.
But this is not a letter about any of that. What prompted me to write was a photo on the front page of Wednesday’s sports section.
It shows a man standing next to a 973-pound Pacific blue marlin hanging by its tail. The copy goes on to say that the marlin is “the second largest fish ever caught in the 49-year history of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.”
What really troubled me, however, was the comment of Robert Dudley, who caught the fish: “It’s a magnificent fish. What else can you say?”
Well, for one you could add “dead” to the sentence. It’s a magnificent dead fish.
This beautiful, female marlin will no longer swim free in the ocean. It will not reproduce. There will be no future progeny. Its destiny is to hang high and dry on somebody’s wall.
My question is, why couldn’t the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament have shown a little foresight and required that anglers not kill their catches but, instead, release them once photographs and measurements had been taken?
Sadly, the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament — sponsored, in part, by the county and state of Hawai‘i — seems to be well-behind the conservation curve.
In other parts of the world (Australia, for instance) very few anglers kill blue marlin — those that are caught are released. Additionally, Australia has had a tagging program in place for years to find out more about these great fish and whether or not fishing is depleting them to such an extent that they might not ever make a comeback.
Common sense dictates that if we continue the wholesale slaughter of animals, like the blue marlin, they will go the way of the countless other creatures man has hunted — mostly for sport — to extinction.
Is this really the legacy we want to leave to future generations? When are we Homo sapiens, stewards of our planet, going to finally stand up for the animals that are in our care? Animals that have no voice and can’t advocate for themselves? Animals that simply want to exist?
Steven McMacken
Kilauea
More agroforestry needed
Your Sunday paper featured two interesting headlines — “Pineapple in Hawai‘i may soon end” and “Scientists fear climate change tipping points.”
The first article described how a Hawai‘i agricultural company will respond to changes in its global markets.
Since pineapple export from Hawaii no longer make economic sense, Maui Land and Pineapple Co. will lay off workers and slash pineapple production, a scenario similar to sugar’s earlier decline that displaced thousands of workers and abandoned large arable tracts in Hawai‘i.
The second article outlined potentially disastrous impacts of global warming likely resulting from human activity; rises in temperature and sea level that will ultimately affect everyone everywhere.
But at least one solution could link these two separate issues; it’s possible to simultaneously put idle land to use and reduce our “carbon imprint” on the planet by simply planting trees.
Maui Pine now plans to follow a number of pioneering Hawai‘i landholders who have already done just that in recent decades.
Forestry projects create jobs and wealth. So rather than abandon its viable agricultural land, Maui Pine says it will plant hundreds of acres of high-value koa trees and diversify its crops.
The company will not only increase its chances of staying in business over the long term, but will also fix (trap) atmospheric carbon dioxide in its wood products. Using trees to remove carbon from air, even from a few hundred acres, helps in a small but finite way to stave off global warming. Planting trees on hundreds and thousands of landholdings multiplies this environmental benefit.
Besides eventually gaining value from harvesting its koa, Maui Pine may even be able to boost its bottom line by selling carbon credits to carbon emitters in an evolving global market that aims to reduce carbon pollution and reward carbon removal.
Investing in forests makes good economic sense in times of inflation because most costs are incurred at the beginning of forestry projects. So now might be an especially opportune time for more landholders to plant koa, mahogany and other valuable trees here in Hawai‘i.
Establishing more forestry and agroforestry projects can only help move us toward a more sustainable future.
John Edson
Kapa‘a
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of kauaiworld.com.
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 9:19 AM:
" Hello again TGI,
Please do not expect anyone to buy your theory of promotion or advertising and success program Waimea High School. We the former students there at one time in our lives actually do not care of local propaganda and success story with you or anyone there and their cars to show for as a success story.
Basically, I wrote to Waimea High School, and I suspect as always that this town is a ghost town. No offense but there is nothing to do there, just unemployed educators and former students.
I am not with their idea of success story, and I am not placing religion or anything like that on anyone, because as you know, this is still a free country and you can do anything you want. The whole idea of success just doesn't work well in a farm club setting and wanting to make it out or make it happen after you graduate in high school there to say the least.
Basically, some people I may know here, think some of you people still stuck there are still losers because you haven't made it happen for yourself or others, if you get my point staying home doing nothing.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
Please do not expect anyone to buy your theory of promotion or advertising and success program Waimea High School. We the former students there at one time in our lives actually do not care of local propaganda and success story with you or anyone there and their cars to show for as a success story.
Basically, I wrote to Waimea High School, and I suspect as always that this town is a ghost town. No offense but there is nothing to do there, just unemployed educators and former students.
I am not with their idea of success story, and I am not placing religion or anything like that on anyone, because as you know, this is still a free country and you can do anything you want. The whole idea of success just doesn't work well in a farm club setting and wanting to make it out or make it happen after you graduate in high school there to say the least.
Basically, some people I may know here, think some of you people still stuck there are still losers because you haven't made it happen for yourself or others, if you get my point staying home doing nothing.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 1:45 PM:
" First of all, let this be known, that these comments here are worthless and useless considering the topic being discussed. We found this topic a useless waist of time and money. This is from any intellectual interested reader. And yes, I am not associated with any former classmates there on Kauai also, for this matter alone.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 1:50 PM:
" I have seen alot of losers being mentioned in association to Waimea High School sports at UH Manoa. Might I add they are the one's who are delerious and a debachery to any level minded reader. These names are wide and long. And they run from 1979-1990 graduates trying grace the pages of Kauai and represent that school, outrageous. I for one, right now am putting all of them down for ever contemplating fame and popularity. We actually do not understand your fame and glory at Waimea High School.
This is in regards to your articles on the Waimea High School athletics and any department there.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
This is in regards to your articles on the Waimea High School athletics and any department there.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 1:55 PM:
" Losers I have mentioned that graced those pages are as follows:
Ross Kagawa 1984' UH baseball 1987' classmate of Percival Butay(cousin)
Edmond Acoba 1981'
Liko Pereira 1989 and someother school baseball?
Kui Souza 1988 Sacramento state baseball
Craig Ibara 1983' HPC of honolulu baseball
Keith Pigao - student information desk for all information here for class reunion
Lyman Lacro 1986, UH Volleyball 1987
Barry Magoay 1985, UH Volleyball 1989
These are just some of the names trying to gain popular votes via their own high School Waimea High School
even now. Unreal!
Best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
Ross Kagawa 1984' UH baseball 1987' classmate of Percival Butay(cousin)
Edmond Acoba 1981'
Liko Pereira 1989 and someother school baseball?
Kui Souza 1988 Sacramento state baseball
Craig Ibara 1983' HPC of honolulu baseball
Keith Pigao - student information desk for all information here for class reunion
Lyman Lacro 1986, UH Volleyball 1987
Barry Magoay 1985, UH Volleyball 1989
These are just some of the names trying to gain popular votes via their own high School Waimea High School
even now. Unreal!
Best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 12, 2009 1:08 PM:
" Hello again TGI,
This is me, Dean Kelly Sabado. Thank you for letting me comment on your articles there on the island. I just want to thank everyone agreeing with myself on who actually I meant, calling them losers in that town. Ha! Ha! Ha! I am a personal graduate of that high school but will proudly say if they keep up the good work in academics and life, will not be too ashamed of being associated with Waimea High School as an alumni.
Sorry, but there are others who felt this way! Here on the island of Honolulu and even the mainland. These names may have one time in their lives even mine represent the epitome of failure and laughs, and not success.
best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
This is me, Dean Kelly Sabado. Thank you for letting me comment on your articles there on the island. I just want to thank everyone agreeing with myself on who actually I meant, calling them losers in that town. Ha! Ha! Ha! I am a personal graduate of that high school but will proudly say if they keep up the good work in academics and life, will not be too ashamed of being associated with Waimea High School as an alumni.
Sorry, but there are others who felt this way! Here on the island of Honolulu and even the mainland. These names may have one time in their lives even mine represent the epitome of failure and laughs, and not success.
best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
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HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 9:08 AM:
RE: 2/11/2009 and the above topic
Can we cut out the "EXPLETIVE" here. Everyone knows if you are or were affiliated with high school at one time in your life in Waimea, Kauai, you would know that you do not place one of the three stooges willing to work at Kentucky fried chicken and place him at the vice principal's seat at Waimea High School. We all know that BOE and DOE played no roll in this nonsense of students being athletes then becomming success in the respected choice of degree and field like a BA degree. An example, you cannot put someone like a Pereira or even an Aaron Francisco from Kahuku High School, now former Arizona Cardinals NFL, as a BA candidtate after a prolific showing in sports. It just does not work that way. We all know that they cannot be serious placing academics after a 10 year assistant coach with a rediculous man/educator and/or coach if I might add like Tommy Rita of the 1980's and then expect him, Patrick Pereira to educate people in 2000's after being associated with dumb athletes all their life and now turn to academics. Now they educate people? Ha! What are we looking at here is basically a rediculous and dumber community than most perceived DOE standard base learning. Otherwise throw this article out already, alright?
best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "