Open letter to Gov. Ige and Mayor Harry Kim
I implore you to take your time in considering all of the available options for peaceful resolution between our Native Hawaiian community peacefully practicing kapu aloha in protection of Maunakea and the TMT proponents on the mountain.
I ask you to consider that while science and industry is important and valuable it is never more important than human rights and the cultural practice of Native Hawaiians on Maunakea. Sacred is sacred, it is not a choice, it is a kuleana (responsibility). It is who we are.
I ask you to remember that many Native Hawaiian families voted for you because we believed you had integrity and that of some of the Hawaiian values you have often espoused over the years actually touched your hearts.
We know that the conflict on Maunakea is about power and money, not science, not the children of Hawaii or progress. Your are succumbing to external artificial pressures (like University of Hawaii, TMT proponents, big business etc.).
You will long be remembered for the way you handle this situation and how you treat Native Hawaiians on their own lands. Make peace, stop bullying the indigenous people trying to protect a sacred mountain — for all children in Hawaii.
Take care not to cause an unnecessary war where many old and young people could be hurt. There is no rush, you have time to find a better way, the aloha way. Money and power, no matter how it is disguised, is never more valuable than human life and safety.
Please remember too that Native Hawaiians and the people who aloha them vote and we remember. Please be the ethical men we once thought you were.
Lisa Akana
Keaau
Surprised how much not being recycled at dump
The first time I went to the dump was four weeks ago. My mom and I had taken our trash there to drop off. Like usual, we would separate our trash from recyclable items. But, when we arrived at the dump we were dumbfounded to find that certain types of recyclables weren’t being recycled. So I would like to address my concern for the sake of our planet Earth and the environment.
People have two choices when throwing away trash, to recycle or not to recycle. What you choose to do with that single piece of trash affects everyone and our future. It is only a matter of time before Earth becomes uninhabitable. Think about the ocean and the marine life. They would suffer as well. It’s a proven fact that “more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic are already in the oceans, and by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish, by weight, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,” according to a CNN article. No recycling means no future for us and the environment, including the ocean.
By recycling you’re conserving our resources, saving energy, and protecting the environment. If you recycle you’re also helping another issue, global warming, Recycling helps reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling reduces the need to process raw materials that cause air and water pollution. Also keeping greenhouse gases from polluting the air. If you removed 39 million cars and trucks off of highways for a year is basically what recycling did, according to the EPA. Throwing away a piece of trash may not look like much to you but it really benefited our atmosphere in the end.
Not recycling will soon become a bigger problem in the future if we don’t tackle it now. One person may not make a difference but if we spread the word to our neighbors and community, we can make the world a cleaner place.
Brooke Charlize
Pi’imoku Ramones
Honokaa