• At what cost • Trash problem At what cost Yes, John Burns is correct when he writes that “America needs oil” (Letters, June 22). George Bush was also correct when he in essence stated that we need more oil
• At what cost • Trash problem
At what cost
Yes, John Burns is correct when he writes that “America needs oil” (Letters, June 22).
George Bush was also correct when he in essence stated that we need more oil to maintain the American Lifestyle. But let’s look more closely at the lifestyle we are maintaining.
On a recent trip to my wife’s former hometown of Omaha, Neb., we were taken aback at the expanse of suburbia that now stretches for miles into what had been corn fields. Cookie cutter subdivisions are connected by 4-8 lane freeways. Each house has at least one SUV in the driveway and the local Hummer dealership was, well, humming.
We later visited my former hometown of Palo Alto, Calif., and made the similar observations: e.g., gridlocked commute traffic in all directions. It is not unusual for workers to commute 50-100 miles roundtrip daily from increasingly distant subdivisions and the Prius is vastly outnumbered by the SUV. This is just one aspect of the American Lifestyle we are maintaining, not only on the Mainland, but in our own special way, on Kaua‘i.
Can the oil consumption implications of this lifestyle be modified? I argue that it can, and in fact, I once saw it happen. I remember the “oil shortage” crisis of the early 1980s in California when lines at the pump stretched for blocks, odd-even driving days were instituted, and the locking gas cap came into vogue.
Almost overnight changes in transportation modes were evident: carpools with 2-4 people, an increase in use of public transportation, demand for fuel efficient cars, invention of the company “vanpool” and more bicycle riders (yours truly). People began to think twice about living long distances from their place of employment.
For better or worse, the “crisis” soon ended and most people went back to their old oil consuming habits. Except for me of course, who continued to cycle for the rest of my career. Admittedly I had ulterior motives: I liked the exercise and found a perverse pleasure in whizzing by the commuters who fumed as they sat in traffic. I was only saved from their wrath by the wide, dedicated bicycle lanes that exist in California (Kaua‘i, are you listening?).
Is the answer continued drilling for oil in increasingly difficult places (there is a reason BP was a mile down) or to despoil our wilderness areas (ANWR would only yield 1-3 percent of U.S. needs in 10 years)? If so, we can expect to suffer financial and ecological consequences of the type we are now experiencing in the Gulf.
Do we really need more oil so we can commute in SUVs, and produce more plastic water bottles and Styrofoam packing materials? Or can we take some of steps towards energy reduction that President Obama and others are promoting? Perhaps it is not too late to modify that great American Lifestyle. Do we need another 1980’s “crisis” or major oil spills to make us change our ways? Is the enemy really in China, Viet Nam or Venezuela as Mr. Burns contends, or do we just have to look in the mirror?
Finally, Mr. Burn’s contention that the ANWR drilling site is only the size of a postage stamp on a football field (which is false by the way) is hardly comforting. The size of the Deepwater Horizon bore hole is about the size of a water molecule in the Gulf of Mexico.
Robin Clark, Kalaheo
Trash problem
As a teacher I had some time to get out and pick up rubbish on Kuhio Highway for about six hours between Kealia Beach and Aliomanu Estates Road, which I am trying to help keep up regularly.
I am writing to ask everyone to help by please securing trash in the back of pickup trucks — especially the ice bags for coolers as this is overwhelmingly a lot of the rubbish. One idea (thanks to the lei stand in Anahola) is to shove the emptied ice bag right down into the cooler which would prevent it from flying out.
Plastic bags of all kinds are a majority of the problem — so easily caught in the wind. I found so many large black bags, I didn’t even need to bring any! It doesn’t have to take much time, if we could all individually reach out and adopt a little section.
There are many individuals and groups who have been picking up rubbish for years, but Kaua‘i is desperately in need of more help for this mindless, constant, and depressing problem. Parents please lead your children by example. How about for the next Charity Walk?
I am also gravely concerned about the wisdom of the upcoming legislation allowing the fee for trash pickup to be optional. With the percentage of people even bothering to recycle at about 25 percent, there is going to be a certain percentage of those who choose to opt out of paying for trash pickup who will either burn rubbish (adding to more air pollution), or it will end up adding to our problem on our rural roadsides.
Laurel Baldridge, Kapa‘a
