Lets take care of our whole island
Lets take care of our whole island
Hawaii Island is littered with millions of cigarette butts. These are toxic, non-biodegradable pieces of waste that can hurt the land that we love. Take a look along the roadsides, beach parking lots and places where people gather. You will also find other garbage like diapers and fast food containers.
With all the news concerning Mauna Kea, the desecration of our whole island is in constant peril from the trash that is tossed everywhere.
Cigarette butts are the No. 1 littered found on beaches and waterways worldwide. On Earth Day, more than a billion people in 180 countries around the world committed to promoting environmental action.
Littered cigarette butts are more than just an eye sore. Cigarette butts contain toxic chemicals that can leach into the ocean and land, are poisonous to wildlife and could contaminate water sources.
Let’s take care of our aina by not polluting the beautiful island we are so blessed to live on.
T. Dawson
Kailua-Kona
Open the window to the universe
After living in Hawaii on and off since going to high school back in 1958, I have seen many wonderful projects like the widening of the highway to the airport and the interisland ferry either stopped or needlessly delayed at great taxpayer expense.
I respect the right of people to think of Mauna Kea as a sacred mountain and to protest legally. However, we have freedom of religion and freedom from religion and it’s not fair for a few hundred people to force their religion on the rest of us. It’s a very big mountain with more than enough room for all of us to use.
It’s an honor that Mauna Kea has been chosen for the world’s most powerful window to the universe. It seems people with nothing better to do are now delaying that, too. These same people choose to force their religion on us and the rest of the world as the telescope is a joint venture with the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and governments of Japan, India and China. Can you imagine how many years it took to design and negotiate building the Thirty Meter Telescope?
It’s interesting that protesters (protectors of the old ways) use technology when it benefits them by using modern vehicles and roads to drive up to Mauna Kea to protest and text for support, but oppose technology that could benefit the world. This is not the aloha spirit I have grown to love.
Paul Prosise
Kailua-Kona