A real threat
A real threat
The theater of a small band of religious fanatics delaying the construction of an instrument of scientific discovery on Mauna Kea gets more absurd with every passing day. While these idol-worshipers certainly are entitled to their practices, and even have one of the peaks of the mountain reserved exclusively for their use, this is a nation (not that they would admit it) that melds people of thousands of different practices by maintaining separation of church and state.
Or, as Abraham Lincoln put it, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
My hope is those “protecting the mountain” will find a more real threat to their people, such as global warming.
To quote from Mazie Hirono’s letter about the subject of the current EPA proposed rules, “The rise of sea levels, ocean temperatures and ocean acidity directly threaten our state’s economy and families, prompting Hawaii to lead the way with state laws limiting greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean energy and energy efficiency.”
We all are voyagers on a very small spaceship Earth.
Rico Reed
Hakalau
No lava in Buffalo
Regarding “What’s your risk level?” (Tribune-Herald, Sept. 3): OK, now we apparently need a $1 million study for some “very smart statisticians” from as far away as Buffalo, N.Y., and North Carolina to tell me when I should get out of the way when one of our volcanoes erupts. What the heck ever happened to common sense?
We already have in place a Civil Defense director and his team who keep a very careful eye on these eruptions on a daily or even hourly basis. And when they tell me I should evacuate based on reality rather than statistics, I am going to get my okole moving instead of waiting for it to reach my front door!
Quite frankly, I’ve never heard of a volcano in either Buffalo or North Carolina.
Ron Baptista
Mountain View
Smells like communism
Mililani B. Trask encouraged your readers (Tribune-Herald, Sept. 5) to support the effort of the Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative, whereby the public would own and operate electrical production and transmission instead of HEI/HELCO.
This is a communist concept, and the history of its success is not good. Cuba, Russia, China and North Korea all have followed this model at times (sometimes called a cooperative, a collective, a commune, etc.) and your readers will know how well it worked; when applied to agriculture, these communal programs typically ended in failure and mass starvation.
Our current electrical system on Hawaii Island is not perfect, but let’s not ignore the lessons of history in our effort to improve it.
Skip Sims
Ninole