War Games
Training camp on the Big Island (June 5, 2018)
It always amazed me, when most of our wars are currently in desert areas, why use Hawaii at all? (“Military’s Live-Fire Training Ignites Resistance From Some Big Island Neighbors”) There are great expanses of desert areas with no one around for miles on the mainland. Why use an island with fragile ecosystems? Does the military employ anyone with common sense?
— B.A.McClintock, Honolulu
History lesson needed (June 5, 2018)
The just-say-no island of Hawaii. Doesn’t anyone at Civil Beat or on the Big Island know any Hawaiian history? Look back 250 years to the time of Kamehameha the Great where he honed his warrior skills via training on the Big Island. His special training included skills in warfare, oral history, navigation and other skills to become a district chief. At the time of Captain Cook, young warrior Kamehameha was described as a tall, strong and physically fearless man who “moved in an aura of violence.”
So please, to all those citing discretion, take an Hawaiian history class.
— Lydia Hemmings, Kailua
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Volcanic Ash
Going with the flow (June 4, 2018)
A good person to know is anyone with a pickup truck. (“Lava Has Now Destroyed 117 Big Island Homes”) What do people on Oahu do when when they can’t cover the monthly rent? I’ll take my chances with Mauna Loa rather than contemplating life on the sidewalk.
— Richard Swann, Ocean View
Water Issues
Protecting our drinking water (June 6, 2018)
Public concerns over the military’s extensive fuel storage facility within Red Hill is surely not an anti-military position. (“
My Tour Of The Red Hill Facility That Threatens Oahu’s Water“) Hawaii has well served as a forward base for military operations in the Asia Pacific, and continues to do so. No one can question the proud service of Hawaii and its residents to ensure that peace and stability reign throughout the region.
However, the protection of the primary source of clean water on Oahu is in question.
The location of the fuel storage facility appears to pose an immediate danger to Oahu’s Halawa aquifer, which is said to be the primary source of fresh clean water for our communities and businesses from Moanalua to Hawaii Kai. The storage facility was constructed in the 1940s, far before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created and stringent environmental laws were enacted to thoroughly assess impacts on life sustaining environmental resources; e.g., water, land, and air. It is unknown if the construction of such a facility at its current Red Hill site would successfully pass the required federal environmental impact reviews today. Does this mean that the current site is exempt since it was constructed before the passage of today’s applicable laws?
The storage facility location was determined during World War II and is purported to be situated a mere 100 feet (or less than half a football field ) above this irreplaceable source of clean water. Consider that errors in engineering and construction, as well as accidents and natural disasters, do happen and could pollute this aquifer over time.
The question is not if the quality of water is safe enough to drink today and over the next 20 or so years, as has apparently been so determined by the state Health Department and federal authorities. Rather, is this irreplaceable aquifer adequately protected from damage caused by fuel leaks, as required by law?
Charles Ota, Aiea
The post Letters: War Games On The Big Island appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.
