Letters — Your voice — for December 21
Regarding fracking, aquifers and earthquakes
I read Ms. Brenda Ford’s opinion in the Dec. 6 paper.
I am endlessly amazed and perplexed by misinformation, often caused by “Well, you know, he/she told me that … .” In light of that, an aquifer cannot be “cracked.”
Aquifers are not vast hollows or voids in the ground containing water. Aquifers are zones or areas where fresh water may be found. Our pae ‘aina (archipelago) has been constructed of countless lava flows piled one upon the other. Amongst those flows are lava tubes, layers of ‘a‘a clinker and dense ‘a‘a cores, and pahoehoe, usually thinnish flows with lots of vesicles (puka) and cracks in the rock.
The underwater parts of islands are like sponges, and are permeated with salt water. When it rains, fresh water filters down through the ground, and because it’s less dense than salt water, the fresh water sits on top of the salt water inside the island.
Google “Ghyben-Herzberg lens.” There are countless natural cracks and pores in the underground, just as there are on the surface. Fresh or brackish water springs are found along shores throughout Hawaii. Countless millions of gallons of fresh water enter the sea daily from springs. That happens, and has always happened, naturally, and has absolutely nothing to do with “broken” or “cracked” aquifers.
Saying that fracking will create cracks underground is true, but there are already many cracks there. Fracking may create small earthquakes, yes. But our big earthquakes, and shoreline subsidence, are caused by the bulk of the island settling onto thin oceanic crust.
We are sinking. Fracking has absolutely no effect on eruptive activity. None.
Continental geology and volcanic island geology are completely different. One should not interpret fracking issues in Pennsylvania or other places and apply them to Hawaii. We’re too different.
Please stop spreading nonsense.
Bobby Camara
Keaau
Lingering questions about reusable containers plan
Another recent article, “Takeaway, not throwaway” (Dec. 1), again left me puzzled. Boy, what world do this plan’s proponents inhabit?
Let’s look at some ways this will make life worse for our island. (Once we get started, others will materialize that I am not yet anticipating.)
How many wash stations will there be? One in Hilo? One in Kona? And up Hamakua? And rural Kohala? And south? That’s a lot of construction. Will these be open seven days a week? Or will county rules apply?
Consumers will probably want to wash the containers themselves while storing them for return. Therefore, they will be washed once, driven to the collection site, gathered by truck, driven to the wash station, washed again and sterilized, packaged in, I assume, plastic, and then driven back to the restaurants. This is energy-efficient?
How often will container deliveries be made? How many containers will be permitted per establishment? What happens if they run out? How long will a new restaurant have to wait to get enrolled in the program? (Remember building permits?) How much will restaurants have to pay for this service? (We all know who will ultimately pay.)
These durable, nonconductive, stainless containers will be very expensive. What is their life-expectancy? Will they be made in China?
I’m glad Caroline Azelski plans to eat out more often with her untroubled conscience. I just wonder how much pollution, traffic congestion, noise, energy consumption and wasted time she will have to ignore so she can enjoy her dinner in peace.
Charles Clark
Hilo
