• Koloa ducks are part of Kauai • Time for transparency from commenters • Companies control testing of GM crops • Kuhio Highway should be top priority
Koloa ducks are part of Kauai
The Koloa ducks are being taken from Koloa somewhere. These ducks can only be seen here on Kauai. They say that the ducks are going extinct and being taken to Honolulu Zoo into captivity. These ducks are a rare breed and may attract bird watchers from around the world. These bird watchers come and stay in our hotels and spend their hard-working dollars here on Kauai.
So, why are we allowing them to be taken from their (Koloa Ducks) natural habitat? Leave them here at home.
Howard Tolbe, Eleele
Time for transparency from commenters
The time has come for WE THE PEOPLE to unite and to fight the fights worth fighting instead of ripping each other to shreds in a public forum without even having the guts to post your name. I admit that I’ve been mean a time or two and have even had my comments censored, which was a good thing, actually. I no longer wish to remain anonymous because it will hold me to a higher standard of conduct and compassion toward all members of my human family.
I humbly suggest and encourage The Garden Island newspaper editor to consider that people use their real name when posting comments. If we want to make this world a better place in which to live, we must hold ourselves to a higher level of honesty and integrity. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and then have the guts to use your real name. Many of you already do and I thank you for your transparency. Now I will do the same.
Lois Benson, Kilauea
Companies control testing of GM crops
I would like to thank Pete Antonson for keeping score on the debate about the safety of GMO farming. This was quite a body of research done in Italy on the 1,783 peer reviewed studies done between 2002 and 2012. I must confess, I do not have the time to read every one of them, cross-check their qualifications, nor verify whether any of them have received any critical reviews or rebuttals. My humble opinion on the matter sort of follows what the editors of Scientific American magazine stated in July of 2009.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify that genetically modified crops perform as advertised. That is because agritech companies have given themselves veto power over the work of independent researchers. To purchase genetically modified seeds, a customer must sign an agreement that limits what can be done with them. But agritech companies such as Monsanto, Pioneer and Syngenta go further. For a decade their user agreements have explicitly forbidden the use of the seeds for any independent research. Under the threat of litigation, scientists cannot test a seed to explore the different conditions under which it thrives or fails. They cannot compare seeds from one company against those from another company. And perhaps most important, they cannot examine whether the genetically modified crops lead to unintended environmental side effects.”
I am not sure where we can enter a score for “conflict of interest,” but it does seem that the people selling something shouldn’t also be the ones responsible for proving its safety. While these marvelous Italian scientists may be absolutely unbiased in their work, it appears that the studies that they evaluated may not have been so.
Louisa Wooton, Kilauea
Kuhio Highway should be top priority
Is it just me, or does anyone else wish the state would have used better paint to mark the obviously damaged portions of Kuhio Highway in Lihue?
They spent time and tax dollars last month to spray around the damaged areas, only to have the markings disappear quickly. Then they had to bring back the crew and equipment to do it again. The other issue that has me scratching my head is why they were even repaving Ahukini Road in the first place! Compared to the highway in downtown Lihue, that section of roadway was pristine! I’m glad they are switching the work to where it is needed most, but why did it take “more and more phone calls and emails” to our senator to make that happen? I guess the decision makers never drove from the airport all the way to Kuhio Highway and turned left or right!
Michael Stauber, Koloa
