Speaking of missionaries
Dear sirs, the letter from Ken Smith contained a glaring error: The missionaries arrived here in 1820, not 1918!
The history is well known to the local people and anyone who has lived here for a while. Next year Mokuaikaua Church will celebrate the 200-year anniversary of the arrival of Christianity to these islands.
Ron Raridon
Kailua-Kona
Not recycling is not an option
After reading the newspaper this week I am feeling very disheartened. The news regarding the cancellation of the recycling program on Hawaii Island is discouraging at best. I realize that recycling is a difficult business but to have such limited recycling on an island is beyond disgraceful.
I understand that there are problems with shipping away our recycling but I cannot accept that there is nothing available for us. When states like Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island have successful programs why can’t we? Perhaps this is a business opportunity for someone. Why can’t Hawaii lead the way and show it is responsible to the future generations and the island?
We are not living in a time that we can afford to sit back and continue on the path of waste that we have grown accustom to. We are facing serious problems with our planet and our wasteful ways have contributed to the situation. We have higher temperatures than we have ever experienced here on the islands, contributing to a record rise in ocean temperatures that threaten to bleach our corals that were just showing promising growth after the previous bleaching.
Some current research suggests that since 1960 we have tripled the amount of trash we make globally and that 275 metric tons of that trash annually ends up in our water ways and our oceans. If we do not change the way we package our consumer goods and responsibly recycle packaging, we are looking at a very bleak future for our children, grandchildren, and our planet.
It seems that legislation for any eco-friendly program is weak and holds loopholes that allow disgraceful practices to continue. Our plastic bag ban sounds like such a great idea except that every person that goes to buy produce puts it into a plastic bag, the kind that really look like a jelly fish in the water. If that wasn’t bad enough almost every other fruit or vegetable is in a plastic bag. This is not counting all the other unnecessary plastic packaging that occurs in other departments in any grocery store.
On top of this we have disposable takeout plastic sushi, musubi, or deli counter boxes and Styrofoam or plastic boxes for takeout leftovers. We live in a place where people vacation, they eat out and create more trash on top of the trash we make. If we are not going to recycle we must have tighter legislation on packaging that is provided for consumers.
The cancellation of the recycling program that included paper, tin cans, and plastic is unacceptable and I would like to know what lawmakers are going to do about it. Are there future plans for a new program? Are you looking for other sources to take recycling? Is there any legislation that will be passed that will discontinue the use of plastics here in our state, or on our island?
I cannot accept that this is the new norm for Hawaii Island.
Lorrie Taylor
Waikoloa