• Too many worries about dairy farm • More information needed on GMOs • Be thankful you reached home safely
Too many worries about dairy farm
It is my understanding that Jim of Hawaii Dairy Farms has no backup plans in case the rain runoff from his dairy were to affect the quality of water in our ocean. He stated, “It just won’t happen.”
He also stated that they are using the “old drainage” system that was in place.
When asked further where that system would take the rain runoff, he stated to the ocean. This rain runoff comes fast and furious here on our little island and takes with it anything not properly tied down. I have seen it float cars to the ocean. It seems to me that having no backup plan is beyond foolish. As an official of expert knowledge, I would charge you with making sure there is a backup plan, remediation plans in place and an environmental impact statement required, as well as percolation tests on the fields, which we are assured will fail due to our true rainfall.
It is important to note that the health department, yourself, Grove Farms and Hawaii Dairy Farms will each and severally be held accountable for the damage that will come from having manure and urine running into our ocean, invasive larva of wasps imported to fight the biting flies also killing off our bee larvae, lowering our food supply, dropping tourism due to fouled air and biting flies and finally, but not least, loss of jobs in our tourism industry.
Please do your due diligence now before you need to pay the costs of trying to reproduce paradise again. Hear the voice of the people, require an environmental impact statement and necessary remedial actions to make this project viable through herd reduction, change of runoff directional flows or relocation.
Take a page out of the Big Island’s book … 200 dairy cows on 1,400 acres, not 1,800 dairy cows on effectively 440 acres.
Also note Judge Leslie Kobayashi did not release Gay Robinson (similarly so will Grove Farms not be) from the liabilities of their tenants.
Please research, the number of dairy cows per acre in New Zealand is 1.2 cows, not over three cows, and that New Zealand is now having to deal with an environmental disaster of its own making because of the dairy farms proximity to the ocean.
Kauai will have three times the mess to attempt to clean up. Please, please do your research first! Sending you courage.
Eileen Kechloian
Koloa
More information needed on GMOs
Don’t know much about GMOs, but hope to learn more.
At least 17 countries have banned GMO in part or whole. That is saying a lot.
My Question: Mayor Carvalho vetoed 2491 because it was “flawed.” I’ve been searching the Internet trying to find what he believes is flawed, other than a possible outlay of money, I can’t find anything.
I sympathize with the employees of these companies — they need their jobs.
Just curious, and no aspersions to our illustrious and energetic mayor, but I wonder how many people who work there are related to Mr. Carvalho.
Guarding the integrity of the island’s health is guarding its residents’ health.
The island is too small to take chances.
We need to know more.
Donna Alalem
Kapaa
Be thankful you reached home safely
After reading the headlines in Sunday’s Garden Island about people’s anger about being caught in traffic accidents, and specifically the one that claimed the life of Sam Mitze, I felt that I had to respond.
The article said that people swore at the first responders and complained about things like missing their dinner, favorite television shows and even airline flights. You see, a little over 22 months ago I might have felt annoyed, but that was before I lost my son in a fatal traffic accident. In the five hours that my wife and I were stuck in traffic, we never thought to complain because what for many people was a inconvenience, was for others a life-changing event for the family of those involved.
In our busy life, every once in a while it’s a good thing to do a reality check and inventory the things in our lives and, more importantly, the people who we are blessed to have in our lives. I think that every once in a while it’s good for us to be really thankful and also show compassion to those who have just lost one of the most precious people in their life.
To those who were truly put in a very hard situation, I apologize, but all of us sitting in traffic that night made it home safe and sound to sleep in our own beds, even if we were inconvenienced.
Robert Perdue
Kilauea
