Letters for Friday, January 19, 2007

• Why should I pay for the rich and famous?

• Change diet, attitude for health

• ‘End-around-effect’ damaging

• Be kind neighbors

Why should I pay for the rich and famous?

I agree with Kendel Goo (“The Hawai‘i Conspiracy,” Letters, Jan. 18). I will not pay for the lifestyle of the few rich and famous owners of local businesses that have had it made for the last 20 to 30 years on Kaua‘i. I too want my children to live and work here and not have to work two jobs to survive here. Law 74 of the United States states, “It is illegal to form a monolithic organization forming exclusive distribution of products.” That’s why we are Americans — so we have rights and choices, not like in independent countries.

Kapa‘a

Change diet, attitude for health

Thank you, Marian Head, for your insightful letter to the editor (“Health care or sickness care?” Letters, Jan. 17). I’ve been into prevention for over 30 years. It’s astonishing that Medicaid/Medicare will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for heart surgery, but not 50 cents for prevention.

I’ll be 72 next birthday, take no prescription medication and haven’t seen a doctor in many years.

I believe there are two reasons for my health — diet and attitude. I don’t come from good genes. Mom died of diabetes and dad of a heart attack. I decided years ago to eliminate fast/junk food from my diet and eat only organic fruits and veggies and lots of fish. I love beef, but haven’t had any in decades.

Why?

Because of all the hormones and chemicals in their feed. I also discovered decades ago that judgments, anger and negativity contribute to health or the lack of. We are not victims.

When I hear someone say, “He or she suffered a heart attack,” I think, “No they didn’t — they created it with diet, anger, negativity and all their judgments. All those roosters come home to roost.”

I was recently asked why I’ve never been to the Senior Center. Well, no offense, but you people are depressing, with all your aches and pains and prescription drugs — problems that most of you created. You are not victims. A recent study from Diabetes Care states that chemicals in the environment are making us more obese and more diabetic. Their claim is that our environment is loaded with toxins that we ingest, inhale and take in through our skin every day. However, the main source of “persistent organic pollutants” in humans is through dietary fats, primarily animal in origin. Once in our body, these fat-soluble chemicals, which are highly resistant to degradation, get stored in our own fat. As we carry more fat, more toxins get stored and become available to create metabolic disruptions. Metabolic disruptions then create all sorts of havoc, such as insulin resistance, which leads to diabetes. It’s a vicious cycle of increasing fat, toxic overload and metabolic maladies. Granted, our genes may be contributors to the problem, but the role of toxins in promoting obesity is not good news for those struggling with their waistlines.

I am living proof. I’m not concerned about how long I live, I’m concerned about being healthy while I’m here.

If you want a healthy life, change diet and attitude.

Kapa‘a

‘End-around-effect’ damaging

Thanks for the article about the family who is losing their home because of their neighbor’s seawall (“Aliomanu erosion still an issue,” A1, Jan. 17). A lot of folks don’t realize that a seawall not only destroys the public beach in front of the wall, but that there is also a big erosion effect on the beach immediately adjacent to the seawall. Coastal engineers call this an “end-around-effect.” When the waves hit a seawall, the water that is deflected off the wall will erode the sand in front of the wall and send the sand offshore to smother the reef. The public beach is lost, the reefs are killed and the surf is altered. Buildings and roads should not be built too close to the beach. Maui County has rules on setting buildings back away from the ocean. It is time we did the same. Many states have lost their natural beaches because of foolish building practices. Once a road or building is threatened by the ocean, no one talks about moving it, they call it an “emergency” and build a beach-destroying seawall. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of “cure.”

Kekaha

Be kind neighbors

Our beautiful island home seems to be appealing to many people right now for more than just a visit to paradise, a simple vacation, a dream wedding on the beach, or a time to visit with family.

There are over a dozen major developments going on around the island and the impact is affecting all of us. For those of us who live close to them, perhaps the impact is even greater. I know it is for me. I live in an area where a major development is occurring right next to the property that I call home. To say the least, it’s annoying; to say the worst, it has infringed upon my business and livelihood, my well-being and my sanity at times.

I’m writing this letter to the developers. Some of which express desire to be a “good neighbor.” Perhaps some of them need a little help in understanding what that might mean to someone who calls this home and has great appreciation for all that the island and her people have to offer. If I were moving into a neighborhood, and I had loud, obnoxious, vibrating machines that I was going to be operating 11 hours a day, six days a week, I would make sure that I communicated with my new “neighbors” exactly what I was doing. If I was going to be blasting dynamite, I would give my “neighbors” a schedule so they could plan on and prepare for the blasting, so as not to send them into cardiac arrest or something.

If I were a developer going into a small, island community, knowing that I was going to be disruptive and disturbing, I would at the very least send a letter to each and every one of my new “neighbors” telling them exactly what I was going to be doing, with a proposed schedule and timeline, and an apology in advance for the inconveniences that would result from my activities. I would also put a contact number on that letter and invite people to call with any questions or concerns they might have. And, I would follow up with a second letter later on letting my “neighbors” know where I am relative to my timeline and what is still to come.

Communication is the key to being a “good neighbor.” Surely mailing letters to the immediate community is cheaper than a lawsuit and more comfortable than people constantly complaining to all the wrong people. If you are going to be on the island, it is important that you respect the island and the way of her people. Otherwise, you are simply being massively destructive.

Koloa