Letters | 10-31-14

No debate for US senator?

Schatz refuses to debate his Republican opponent.

Why is the free press not calling out this appointed Democrat to account for not agreeing to even one debate? Is there no free press in Hawaii?

What is Schatz afraid of? Democracy?

Steve Applebaum

Kailua-Kona

Why the high prices at airport?

My wife and I had the recent pleasure of visiting the Big Island for the first time in our lives. We could fill an entire edition of West Hawaii Today with our gamut of accolades for the incredible trip we had.

Hawaii affords a welcome contrast to the commercialized, high- octane environment of Oahu. We arrived with some concern about prices but were generally surprised at what we considered to be modest premiums as compared to the mainland; notably, we found some franchise eateries that had true mainland prices. This experience came to an abrupt end upon departing from Kona International Airport where we were extorted $3.50 for a 12-ounce cup of coffee, a particularly vexing conundrum given the reputation of Kona. While we weren’t forced to buy coffee from the single vendor at the airport, this was the sole solution by which we could satisfy our java urge following our early morning foray into the “security zone” where liquids larger than 3 ounces were trashed.

I’m an enthusiastic supporter of free-market principles, but the food-service reality at Kona International Airport can only be described as a federally endorsed racket, complete with $4 packs of yogurt to accompany the $3.50 coffee, which incidentally is a mere 40 percent higher than Hilo’s $2.50 price.

Price controls are anathema to the American way of life, but it would seem that food service at Kona International Airport may be worthy of an exception.

Jeff Ferguson

Marietta, Ohio

Pest importation a threat to islands

Every so often, there will be newspaper articles about how a small group of enthusiastic, under-funded volunteers are fighting to save endangered bird species in our islands. That is commendable but extremely short-sighted.

With the increasingly warm temperatures predicted for the future, the mosquito habitats will be expanded to higher elevations, putting not only the Hawaiian crow in danger, but also every remnant of the original Hawaiian bird species. The striving to “save” single bird species is an exercise in self-delusion.

If that doesn’t twist your knickers, consider this: Mosquito-borne Chikungunya has resulted in El Salvador reporting 30,000 cases detected. Dengue fever and malaria are also mosquito-borne. In 2012, malaria alone has resulted in an estimated 627,000 malaria deaths.

Now, to my points.

It is beyond time for our state government to step up and control the cascade of new pests and diseases coming into our state. We have been gifted with: coffee berry borer, Erythrina gall wasp, hive beetle, varroa bee mites, coqui frog, golden apple snail, miconia, veiled chameleon, Jackson’s cameleon and a lot more I can’t remember. There are two more waiting in the wings for someone stupid enough to import them.

One is a banana fungus, TR4, that has devastated Central American countries. It is said to be “one of the world’s most destructive banana diseases, and threatens the income of millions of people.” It could actually happen; visit cnbc.com/id/101585189. Ooops!

The other may not have been waiting. It possibly has been found on three farms in Kona. The emaravirus is a disease of coffee and has ravaged coffee plantations around the world.

The importation of these pests and diseases are a direct result of the failure of our state and federal governments to fund and properly deploy resources and can only be considered as incompetence. Further, the reliance on voluntary declarations of airline passengers is derisory.

The second point is that this state needs to control the mosquitoes. It is a big job, and expensive. A possible method is the sterile insect technique where large numbers of sterile insects are released. If our islands become warmer and wetter, the problem will only grow larger.

Harvey McDaniel

Naalehu

Negative ads imply worthlessness

A politician who resorts to negative campaigning suggests he has nothing positive to say for himself, thus implying his own worthlessness. Based on the incessant, disgusting TV commercials and junk mailings, two of the candidates for Hawaii governor are slathered in mud, conceding their worthlessness.

Hopefully, election day will not be reduced to choosing the least of the evils.

Michael K. Sylmond

Kailua-Kona

Maui initiative contains no fines for regular farming

If Brian Lievens in his letter to West Hawaii Today on Oct. 17 had actually read the Maui bill titled, “A Bill Placing a Moratorium on Genetically Engineered Organisms,” he would have learned there is no fine of any kind for non-GMO farming.

Fear-mongering by Lievens , who claims to be centrist despite his litany of harangues against anti-GMO proponents, and his pro-GMO cohorts are blatantly fallacious because the bill actually says: “Section 5: Temporary Moratorium. 1. It is unlawful for any person or entity to knowingly propagate, cultivate, raise, grow or test Genetically Engineered Organisms within the County of Maui until such time that the terms of the ‘Moratorium Amendment or Repeal’ have been met.”

The bill would temporarily ban only the cultivation of GMO crops — not any other kind — until their impact on the human and environmental health of Maui can be assessed.

Lieven’s so-called “Maui Luddites,” a much-bandied cliche of late, are joined by Japan, France, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary and other countries that have banned GMOs. Lievens speaks of “hard science.” Leading scientists in these technologically advanced countries have conducted their own experiments, assessed data from numerous studies and independently reached the same conclusion that GMOs should not — for the protection of their people, land and water sources — be allowed in their nations..

Farmers in India planted Monsanto’s GM cotton. To date 250,000 farmers have committed suicide because of disastrous crop failures and their subsequent inability to repay the massive debt they accrued to buy the expensive seeds and pesticides Monsanto promised them would produce miracle crops.

Thank you to Fred Pollock for his insightful Oct. 19 letter, which reports the use of extremely toxic herbicides required for GM crops in Hawaii, the ban of them in Australia, the need to control open-air spraying of them here and the danger they pose to the health of our people.

Why, if Monsanto and other chemical companies are so proud of their products, have they thus far spent $10 million in Oregon and the same amount in Colorado — $4 million and $4.7 million, respectively, by Monsanto alone — to attempt a defeat of package labeling measures in those states?

“Monsanto is running scared,” said George Kimbrell who heads the Center for Food Safety’s Pacific Northwest office in Portland. “The company has gotten rich selling pesticides and seeds engineered to be resistant to their pesticides. Consumers are demanding their right to know what is in their food and that terrifies Monsanto. They’d pay anything in hush money to continue keeping consumers in the dark.”

Let’s call the pro-GMO television ads what they really are — an all-out attempt by GMO seed-chemical companies to keep doing what they’re doing no matter what kind of devastation they wreak on our beautiful islands and people as long as it remains profitable.

Maureen Fagan

Kailua-Kona

Enough of vicious campaign ads

I have lived in Hawaii since 1965. In those 49 years, I have been through 24 General and midterm elections. This is only the third time a campaign has been so negative, vicious, and full of spin, half-truths and outright lies. I am so grateful for my mute button.

Annette LaBonte

Waikoloa

Glad motorsports park plan continues

I briefly wanted to thank you for a thorough article about the Kona Motorsport Park.

We are thrilled that this project is still in the planning, as we thought it was dead. The whole plan seems to cover so many different competition venues.

There is so little to do in Kona, especially for the keiki, this development will offer much for the community and visitors to do. Good healthy family activity.

Whatever barriers might exist, I’m sure it can be worked out.

Mahalo again for solid reporting.

Karen Cobeen

Waimea

Long-term effects of GMOs unknown

The long-term effects of genetically modified organisms are not known and it most likely will take years before they will be evident. So many diseases have become rampant in the last few years, and the public should be able to know what they eat.

Some countries in Europe outright ban the use of GMO altogether. Are the scientists there less intelligent in their research, or are they more concerned about the well-being of their citizens?

And how about Prince Charles of Britain? He has huge landholding of farmland and his are more prosperous than any of the other farms in England.

Ursula R. Ekern

Kailua-Kona