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Update on press coverage of the Land Board hearings on the Mauna Kea Management Plan:

The Advertiser reprinted Jason Armstrong’s article from yesterday’s HTH today, but omitted Barry Taniguchi’s quote “endorsing” the UH Management Plan:

“We don’t have anything now, and anything is better than nothing, I think,” he said.

Hmmm.

From today’s HTH, on UH’s proposed management plan for Mauna Kea:  http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2009/03/19/local_news/local02.txt

“We don’t have anything now, and anything is better than nothing, I think,” he said.

Could UH’s Barry Taniguchi have given a weaker endorsement of the UH Mauna Kea “management” plan he himself has been lobbying in favoring of?

Forgive us if we continue to believe that Mauna Kea deserves better than a “anything is better than nothing” plan for its future.

The Land Board will hold a two day hearing on April 8 and 9 in Hilo to consider UH’s latest management plan for the summit. The plan is UH’s attempt to circumvent, er… comply with requirements from two losses in court and two state audits which found that the telescope developers violated the state and federal laws meant to protect Mauna Kea. You can ask the Land Board and other decision-makers to reject this false UH plan, and give this sacred summit the future it deserves: a plan which protects and conserves the summit, provides for independent oversight, fair representation for communities, and fair compensation to the people of Hawaii.

The UH plan fails to put any enforceable or numeric limits on telescope development and instead limits public access, dictates religious ceremony, and makes it easier for UH and telescope developers to pocket public money made from the lease of Mauna Kea’s public trust lands. A`ole.

But, it seems, “better than nothing.” Right.

We’d like to nominate the bill proposing the repeal most programs and protections for beaches and coastlines in Hawaii (SB 1318 SD 1) as officially one of the WORST ideas of 2009.

From Elizabeth Reilly of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board:

SB 1318 SD1 relating to planning and economic development titled “Coastal Zone Management; State Planning; Repeal” does just that “Repeals the chapters relating to coastal zone management and state planning, and transfers the authority and functions of the office of planning to DBEDT” despite DBEDT’s public opposition to this proposed action.

Decision-making was deferred on this bill yesterday by the Committee on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources.

Excerpt from Letter to the U.S. Army from Michael Reimer in regards to Depleted Uranium (DU) studies at Schofield Barracks, on Oahu, and Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), on Hawaii:

Colonel Howard Killian, Deputy Director
U.S. Army Installation Management Command
Pacific Region
132 Yamanaga Street
Fort Shafter, Hawaii 96858-5520

Dear Colonel Killian:

I have had an opportunity to review the reports released from DU studies at Schofield Barracks and Pohakuloa Training Area. I also spoke with Dr. Lorrin Pang, some members of the Community Advisory Group, and met contractor Dr. Jeff Morrow.

I agree with your statement that you mentioned in a previous communication we had, and that is to let the science speak.

In that light, I am particularly concerned that what is proposed by the U.S. Army for future studies at PTA will fall far short of providing the best information possible at this time, or for that matter, provide any information that can be used to develop a real rather than a speculative risk assessment.

DU is an issue of evolving study results and knowledge. There are some points that are immutable fact. We know that DU is present at Schofield and Pohakuloa. As I recall, the Army does not dispute the point of potential health risk. Therefore, we must take the best information we obtain today and use it to address the concerns about the level of health risks from potential exposure to DU.

The citizens of the Big Island are concerned. This is a natural, often fearful, reaction anytime the word radiation is mentioned in our society. Yet, we live in a world with ubiquitous and unavoidable natural radiation, from cosmic rays to the foodstuffs that provide our sustenance. According to the position of the U.S. EPA, any and all ionizing radiation has the potential of causing cancer. Thus, there has to be a reasoned balance between unavoidable exposure and elective exposure.

The past use of DU on the Big Island places exposure to that type of radioactive material in the “unavoidable exposure” category. This brings forth the question then of how much additional risk does it pose to the people of the Big Island including the military personnel stationed and working at Pohakuloa.

I believe that with adequate study, this question can be answered with reasonable assurance. As I mentioned, I do not believe the currently planned study has the capacity to answer that question. The reason for my belief is that the study design is to measure total uranium and to show that it is below standards set by World Agencies for regulated exposures. This may present itself as a feel-good approach, but it is unfortunately misleading even with the rudimentary information we have today about the form and occurrence of uranium in the natural environment. In other words, the study as currently planned still leaves the door wide open on determining excess health risks, if any.

Michael Reimer, Ph.D., geologist, retired
Kona Hawaii, Hawaii

Mahalo to Shannon for the tip. shannonkona@gmail.com

3 down, 1 to go! Thanks to the public’s vigilant support and participation SB 502 is officially dead!!  Yay!

SB 502 was one of four bills proposing to transfer management of one of the Pacific’s most unique and sacred summits, Mauna Kea, over to its primary developer–the University of Hawaii.  The University has facilitated forty years of bulldozing for unlimited telescope development on the summit, which has destroyed ecologically unique habitat and desecrated sacred cultural sites.

Just one more bill remains: HB 1741.  With your help, we can stop it.  Express your opposition to this and the whole suite of bad Mauna Kea bills for which UH is lobbyingby submitting your online testimony.  Support Hawaii’s legislators in seeking accountable, transparent, fair and representative management of Mauna Kea’s sacred summit by submitting your testimony: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2699/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26592

Came to our attention via Island Breath Blog: A small town in Maine has voted to pass a Rights-Based ordnance, giving rights to their ecosystem and denying the right of “personhood” to corporations–an attempt to prevent multi-national bottled water corporation Nestle Waters from bottling more of the town’s groundwater.

Nestle is the world’s largest food and beverage company and has very deep pockets. However, we won’t back down, we are the stewards of this most precious resource water, and we want to protect it for future generations.

Activists in Maine are well aware that the Nestle Corporation is not just interested in expanding for the purpose of filling their Poland Springs bottles today, they are interested in the control of Maine’s abundant water resources for the future. They are expanding in many parts of this country from McCloud, California to Maine. Nestle is positioning themselves to capitalize on the emerging crisis of global water scarcity.

The right to water is a social justice issue and we believe that it should not be sold to those who can afford it, leaving the world’s poorest citizens thirsty. Citizens will do a much better job of protecting this resource than a for-profit corporation.

You can see the full statement from the Save our Water Steering committee and video of the vote at: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/40335