Letters to the Editor
POLLUTION
ANIMAL AGRICULTURE HARMS ENVIRONMENT
A recent report by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, "Livestock's Long Shadow — Environmental Issues and Options," warns of the dire environmental consequences of the world's growing meat and dairy production.
According to the report, animal agriculture uses 30 percent of Earth's land surface for pasture and feed crop production. It is the driving force in deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction, with 70 percent of the irreplaceable Amazon rainforest turned into pasture. Eventually, pastures are degraded into desert through overgrazing, compaction and erosion.
Animal agriculture contributes more pollution to our waterways than all other human activities combined. Principal sources are animal wastes, as well as soil particles, minerals, organic debris, fertilizers, and pesticides from feed cropland. Most of the world's water supplies are used for irrigating animal feed crops.
Animal agriculture is also a key source of manmade greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Sixty-five percent of nitrous oxide, the most damaging of these, is emitted by animal waste, according to the FAO report, and 37 percent of methane comes from cattle's digestive process. Operation of farm machinery and transport trucks account for 9 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.
We don't have to wait for Earth Day to help save our planet. We can start with the next trip to the grocery store.
Holden BenedictHonolulu
DRUG TESTING
TEACHERS PUT UP WITH A LOT FOR SAKE OF KIDS
Re: The letter-writer who asked: "Can we now drug-test school teachers?" (Dec. 7):
That didn't take long! Guilty until proven otherwise!
My roomie's been a teacher in Hawai'i for 14 years. I've heard him deal with ungrateful and over-demanding parents. I've watched him shell out his own money for not only supplies but essential materials. I've dropped him off at mandatory seminars that tell him how to conform to No Child Left Behind. Then I walk in on him at 3 a.m. trying to twist lesson plans into something that would Not Leave ESL Kids Behind. I give him singles in exchange for fives and tens for kids who don't have bus or lunch money.
And my conclusion is this: If anyone should be allowed to smoke some weed to unwind, it is teachers. He says his payback is when the kids come back to visit years later and they're successful. I say he's a sucker. We should count ourselves lucky to have such stupidly altruistic folks. I don't know whether to admire his pluck or rag him at every turn. Deep down, I suppose my shame compels me to be thankful that he does his job and does it fantastically.
Raoul GutenpfennigenMililani
TEACHERS, STUDENTS SHOULD ALL BE TESTED
Recreational use of drugs by teachers (public and private) is inexcusable. I believe that we all agree with that statement. But we have only two recent instances of reported drug use by public school teachers; one apparently confirmed and the most recent still only an allegation. Yet there are "screams" for drug testing of teachers.
Many readers are unaware of the number of students who use recreational drugs and the number of students who deal and sell drugs, sometimes on campus. They are not aware because of the privacy protection afforded juveniles by the authorities and the courts. This use and dealing is known to many, but I note that in this case the "screams" are to not test (even randomly) the children.
Do we want to combat drug use? Some solutions:
It all seems fair. How about it? Are we serious or not?
B. JudsonKapolei
EMPLOYMENT
WORKERS NEED TO BE PAID SUSTAINABLE WAGE
I agree with Daniel C. Smith (Letters, Dec.4) when he proposes that minimum-wage workers would consider moving to the Big Island for jobs paying $13 to $18 per hour.
While living in the Washington, D.C., area, I was a manual laborer for a flower nursery that serviced every Home Depot store in three states. The owner paid us well over minimum wage, and his employees returned each season. He did not have to resort to illegal or guest workers. In fact, one of my co-workers was retired from the Atomic Energy Commission, another from Gannett newspapers.
Citizens need to be paid wages that will sustain them in the area they live. That will never happen if low wages can be paid to foreign workers, thus undermining our own citizens.
Marie HouselKane'ohe
REMEMBERING
DEC. 7 AND SEPT. 11 — WE HONOR THE HEROES
Five years ago, I was a coincidental observer to a profound moment. Back in 2001, the state gave 1,200 airline tickets to the rescue workers of 9/11.
Honolulu International Airport that day was survivor-central. Along with the New York families were scores of Pearl Harbor survivors departing from their 60th anniversary celebration.
The departure gate for the San Diego Pearl Harbor contingent was around the corner from the departure gate where the New York families were being honored.
I invited two Pearl Harbor veterans over to the departure gate to see the New York families, and it was there that I watched two 80-year-old veterans approach a family seated in the waiting room. Standing so very tall, in full regalia they smiled down on a young brother and sister holding their dad's fire helmet. I can only wonder what these veterans said to the kids, but I'm convinced this could have been the other picture of the century, second only to the flag raising we've all seen.
Robb HuffCoronado, Calif.
CRISIS
JAPANESE TOURISTS SAW LITTLE ALOHA IN BLACKOUT
I would like to offer some thoughts in response to The Advertiser article, "Quakes Rattled Tourism Market?" (Nov. 30), which indicated an 11.4 percent decline in Japanese visitors in October.
I work for a Japanese broadcasting network and was assigned to gather news about the welfare of Japanese tourists during the blackout Oct. 15.
Our crew interviewed approximately 30 tourists, who said they feared the possibility of a tsunami or violent aftershocks, but could not obtain any information.
One lady was brushed off by a hotel front desk clerk, who told her she's from "earthquake country" so she should know what to do. They lined up in front of the ABC Store for one hour to buy a bottle of water and a sandwich. Many sat in their dark rooms for more than 10 hours with no information or reassurance from their hotel. These interviews, some of which were broadcast nationally in Japan, portrayed Hawai'i as incompetent or uncaring toward Japanese visitors.
The level of communication and care provided Japanese tourists during the blackout probably varied greatly. But the commonality of the experience of the people we interviewed emphasized the need to develop an effective plan to keep non-English-speaking visitors informed and reassured in times of crisis. That way, when the next crisis occurs, we can distinguish ourselves by showing our true beauty — the spirit of caring that makes our aloha real.
Elizabeth KeithManoa
TRANSIT
WHY IS PER-MILE COST OF RAIL SO HIGH HERE?
The "Engineering New Record" magazine reported last month that Los Angeles has begun construction on a new 8.5-mile light rail system from Los Angeles to Culver City with 10 stations. An added difficulty for the contractor is the cleanup of arsenic-laden soil along 6.5 miles of the route where a bikeway is planned.
It is a project designed to be built at a cost of $646 million. If it is built on time and under budget the contractor will share 20 percent of the savings.
The cost per mile appears to be $76 million. Compare that to our 28-mile project expected to cost $4.8 billion, which computes to $172 million per mile. How come, City Council, how come?
Norman MacRitchieHonoluluu
