• Missile range not such a great place • Biotech crops are regulated and safe • Ignorance was bliss • Better beach conditions for vehicle safety Missile range not such a great place Rep. Colleen Hanabusa wrote an editorial on
• Missile range not such a great place • Biotech crops are regulated and safe • Ignorance was bliss • Better beach conditions for vehicle safety
Missile range not such a great place
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa wrote an editorial on the wonders and benefits of the west Kauai missile range in the Feb. 6 issue of The Garden Island. I would urge Ms Hanabusa to use her position to help us prepare for peace instead of war. She says the missile range is a great asset to the Westside. Yes, the Navy has ensured that all the land around its war machine facility is planted by the big pesticide companies. I am not so sure we should celebrate that great benefit. The Navy has locked up miles of public beach. Should we celebrate? Yes, the Navy has improved its environmental policies after countless lawsuits from conservation and environmental groups. The Navy (with the Army Corps of Engineers) has probably the worst environmental record of any organization in the U.S. Not only does the missile range prepare for war on humanity, but they currently wage war on marine mammals with their deadly sonar blasting. Yes, the missile range provides a lot of jobs for California aerospace (war) engineers to come out here and work for a while. Is that an “economic boon?” The more we prepare for war, the more likely we will have war. The missile range would make a great national park. Let’s prepare for peace.
Gordon LaBedz, Kekaha
Biotech crops are regulated and safe
A recent TGI letter (Babson, Feb. 5) included some frightening, but untrue, claims about GMOs.
We’d like to offer some information to help the public discussion.
Let me start by saying that biotech crops are more thoroughly tested than any other agricultural crop, and the scientific consensus is that they are just as safe as conventional crops. Scores of independent studies and extensive scientific reviews by third-party organizations and regulatory agencies in 59 countries affirm the safety of these crops. All of the biotech crops we grow here have been reviewed in advance by appropriate regulatory authorities and are fully approved for outdoor planting.
The seed industry has been in Hawaii since the 1960s — even before GMOs — and has flourished because our state has a good climate for year-round agriculture and a skilled workforce that’s highly competent at managing our small breeding plots.
Claims that our products or our work are dangerous to people’s health or the environment are untrue. After all, we ourselves live here, raise our families here and eat foods that come from our seeds.
In addition to knowing that our products are safe, we think the seed industry is a good fit for Hawaii, providing good jobs, putting fallow land back into productive use and generating more than $550 million in direct and indirect economic contributions to the state.
As part of our commitment to dialogue and transparency, we recently launched a new website where we offer more information about what we do in Hawaii.
Carol Reimann, Community and government affairs manager, Monsanto, Kihei
Ignorance was bliss
We moved our family to Waimea from Kalaheo nine years ago. Pregnant with our third child, I was not too excited about this. I loved camping and hiking on that side but was not to sure about living there. I loved the nondeveloped sugar cane fields and knew very little about GMO or the biotech companies. I quickly fell in love with the Westside. It is home now.
Through the years of living here people and friends would talk to me about what was happening with the seed companies. I, of course, was too busy to listen and thought that it was simply too big to tackle. Then after sugar cane shut down, the dust started blowing and settling on our home. The schools started being evacuated. Neighbors started talking more of cancer and sickness. My own family suffered from chronic nosebleeds and asthma. I am doing more research and finding that these symptoms are related to pesticide exposure. Then the movement began … countless meetings regarding atrazine, air sampling, etc. I still was a little leery about getting involved until my middle son said something that will forever be ingrained in my mind.
And after all the fighting for disclosure, my children still sit in a classroom next to fields that are being sprayed with no protection. Where we and teachers are ridiculed for trying to fight this. We have to be the ones to prove harm.
Ignorance was truly bliss but I cannot ignore this anymore.
Kristi Owen, Waimea
Better beach conditions for vehicle safety
Just got my van fixed after high centering at the beach parking lot. You know what I mean: Deep puddles and sharp drop-offs from the road are murder for everyone. We rent many rental cars out on the island. These folks want to see the beautiful beaches, so do we as residents. But driving through the chuck holes, finding a space without a water pond outside your car doors and navigating huge curbs off the highway backs up traffic, gives a negative connotation to having fun at the beach and messes up the undercarriage of many cars.
Since tourism is one of our main sources of financial well-being, why can’t the parking areas be safe and easy to negotiate? Is it the state or county who should put some muscle into this? I’m just bringing it up again; the holes are deeper and larger than remembered. It’s going to take a bit of gravel to say welcome to the beautiful beaches of Kauai.
Dianne VenturaHill, Hanalei
