Industrializing Puna
Industrializing Puna
Someone wants desperately to Honolulu-ize lower Puna for fun and profit, and it’s definitely not for the sake of the residents.
In the worst case scenario, if more geothermal moves in, the power they provide will not lower our bills, but will power ammonium nitrate (think exploding Texas fertilizer plant), hydrogen (shades of the Hindenburg) and very possibly aluminum and or manganese processing. At that scale, metal smelting requires a tailing pond and in lava, it would cost way too much to do it properly, so that would be just like the unlined pond at H-GPA that has never been remediated, which is leaching into the water table and eventually the bay.
The Federal EPA handed regulation over to the State Department of Health, who in turn told industry to regulate themselves, so it would be business as usual.
I’ve spoken with many who support geothermal, but lived near metal smelting and that has them extremely concerned. While you are familiar with catch and release, there is something happening on the mainland and other parts of the world where those have leased land to the drilling/fracking industries (“enhanced geothermal” for us) and later regretted it. While it’s true those who lease get paid, if they live close to the operation, it’s like being stuck in a job you really can’t stand.
Read Acts 55 and 97 to see how industry can turn your district into a toxic waste dump.
Dave Kisor
Pahoa