Lavish sustainability at 1% of the cost of outdated technology
We need $2 billion to tackle “wastewater issues” on the Big Island. Maintenance needed at our wastewater plants will cost about $1 billion, and we need another $1 billion for cesspool conversion. Since so many of us have cesspools, I have a better idea.
If we installed an Electrosan for every toilet in every (90,000) household on this island, we would spend about $1.35 million. With each flush, an Electrosan processes and kills any harmful bacteria or viruses that might contaminate groundwater or the ocean. That would eliminate the need for cesspool conversion — a savings of almost $1 billion. Septic is not the answer for our future — anyone from Puako can tell you that.
I still would not want to drink water that came out of an Electrosan, so let’s provide every household with an atmospheric water generator (AWG) that creates pure drinking water out of thin air. That creates 20 gallons to 200 gallons a day with a cost of $1.7 million. The added bonus is the cool air it provides.
They both require additional electricity, so let’s install $30,000 of solar panels on every residence.
Altogether, we need $30 million to make every household’s cesspool safe, provide clean drinking water, and 100% solar for each residence. That’s the exact amount that Puna was recently granted to reinstate just their old water system.
Imagine how much our island would save in maintenance of water pipes, sewage pipes and electrical lines or how much safer we would be after a natural disaster.
Huge spending on centralized infrastructure is not the answer. Future sustainability suggests we go off the grid without giving up our luxuries. The latest technology makes this possible.
Let’s invest $30 million in lavish sustainability and save ourselves $2 billion.
Heather Reynolds
Kailua-Kona
^
Ignore the ignorant rants
It is sad to see people claiming constitutional and religious freedom when neither is against the so-called “freedoms” when so many people are still getting sick and dying because of people not realizing the danger of COVID. The church, your choice, is for safe vaccinations and testing and the constitution is for the safety and health of all. Please ignore these ignorant rants and actually check the facts about a method that has saved millions of lives. Some 700,000 dead Americans should be proof enough that it is important to be vaccinated.
David Macdonald
Captain Cook
^
Letters policy
Letters to the editor should be 300 words or less and will be edited for style and grammar. Longer viewpoint guest columns may not exceed 800 words. Submit online at www.westhawaiitoday.com/?p=118321, via email to letters@westhawaiitoday.com or address them to:
Editor
West Hawaii Today
PO Box 789
Kailua-Kona, HI 96745