The public has until Friday to weigh in on the draft report for the proposed Ho'opili community on what's now 1,555 acres of active farm land in the heart of West O'ahu.
With up to 11,750 homes, Ho'opili would carve out a community the size of Mililani or Hawai'i Kai bordered by Waipahu to the east, 'Ewa to the south, Kapolei to the west and Makakilo and Kunia to the north.
Critics point to an already congested travel corridor that they believe will only get worse as other developers continue to fill in new homes in booming communities surrounding Ho'opili. They also decry the notion of displacing Aloun Farms and other farmers from what the state Department of Agriculture has defined as prime farming lands.
Leave your comments here and contact:
D.R. Horton-Schuler Division
828 Fort Street Mall, Ste 4
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 521-5661
www.drhortonhawaii.com
Monday, March 31, 2008
SB 2841 large stores take back HI-5
Could you make a call today to help us pass a critical recycling bill? The House Finance Committee has yet to hold a hearing on SB 2841, a measure that requires large stores to participate in taking back HI-5 bottles and cans.
Please ask Chair Marcus Oshiro and Vice Chair Marilyn Lee to hear the bill and pass it out of committee.
Chair Marcus Oshiro: 586-6200, repmoshiro@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Vice Chair Marilyn Lee: 586-9460, replee@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Please ask Chair Marcus Oshiro and Vice Chair Marilyn Lee to hear the bill and pass it out of committee.
Chair Marcus Oshiro: 586-6200, repmoshiro@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Vice Chair Marilyn Lee: 586-9460, replee@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Thursday, March 27, 2008
HB 2518 and SB 2198
Hello all.
HB 2518 and SB 2198 are both still alive and awaiting their final hearings in the Senate Ways & Means Committee (WAM) and the House Finance Committee (FIN), respectively. Both bills are in pretty good shape though they have a few minor differences. As is often the case, the Senate put its provisions into the House bill, and the House put its provisions into the Senate bill.
Please consider dropping a note or leaving a phone message for the WAM and FIN chairs encouraging them to hear these bills:
Senator Rosalyn Baker, Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means senbaker@capitol.hawaii.gov (808) 586-6070 - ask for a hearing on HB2518 Relating to Land Conservation
Represenative Marcus Oshiro, Chair, House Committee on Finance reposhiro@capitol.hawaii.gov (808) 586-6200 - ask for a hearing on SB2198 Relating to Land Conservation
The bills have until next Thursday (4/3) to get a hearing in WAM and FIN. If even one of the bills gets through this last committee hearing and passes back to its originating body, this will set up a joint House-Senate conference committee process to work out differences in the bills.
Here are links to review the bills' progress to date:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/getstatus.asp?query=HB2518&currpage=1&showstatus=on&showtext=on&showcommrpt=on&showtestimony=on
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/getstatus.asp?query=SB2198&currpage=1&showstatus=on&showtext=on&showcommrpt=on&showtestimony=on
The biggest challenge this legislation will face is the diminished State revenue projections. Any tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in State revenues. In this economic climate, the Legislature and the WAM and FIN committees are scrutinizing all expenditures and revenue reducing actions.
Of course, other states have experienced significant savings from this kind of legislation while achieving their land preservation goals, e.g., tax credits for conservation easements are exponentially less costly to the State than buying fee titles and managing land itself.
Here again is a Q&A that describes the relevant points of this legislation.
Thank you again for your help in this process,
Mark
Mark Fox
Director of External Affairs
The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i
923 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96817
ph (808) 537-4508
fax (808) 545-2019
mfox@tnc.org
HB 2518 and SB 2198 are both still alive and awaiting their final hearings in the Senate Ways & Means Committee (WAM) and the House Finance Committee (FIN), respectively. Both bills are in pretty good shape though they have a few minor differences. As is often the case, the Senate put its provisions into the House bill, and the House put its provisions into the Senate bill.
Please consider dropping a note or leaving a phone message for the WAM and FIN chairs encouraging them to hear these bills:
Senator Rosalyn Baker, Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means senbaker@capitol.hawaii.gov (808) 586-6070 - ask for a hearing on HB2518 Relating to Land Conservation
Represenative Marcus Oshiro, Chair, House Committee on Finance reposhiro@capitol.hawaii.gov (808) 586-6200 - ask for a hearing on SB2198 Relating to Land Conservation
The bills have until next Thursday (4/3) to get a hearing in WAM and FIN. If even one of the bills gets through this last committee hearing and passes back to its originating body, this will set up a joint House-Senate conference committee process to work out differences in the bills.
Here are links to review the bills' progress to date:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/getstatus.asp?query=HB2518&currpage=1&showstatus=on&showtext=on&showcommrpt=on&showtestimony=on
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/getstatus.asp?query=SB2198&currpage=1&showstatus=on&showtext=on&showcommrpt=on&showtestimony=on
The biggest challenge this legislation will face is the diminished State revenue projections. Any tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in State revenues. In this economic climate, the Legislature and the WAM and FIN committees are scrutinizing all expenditures and revenue reducing actions.
Of course, other states have experienced significant savings from this kind of legislation while achieving their land preservation goals, e.g., tax credits for conservation easements are exponentially less costly to the State than buying fee titles and managing land itself.
Here again is a Q&A that describes the relevant points of this legislation.
Thank you again for your help in this process,
Mark
Mark Fox
Director of External Affairs
The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i
923 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96817
ph (808) 537-4508
fax (808) 545-2019
mfox@tnc.org
The Clean Water Act of 1972 implemented broad federal protections for all our nation's waters. But misguided Supreme Court rulings in 2001 and 2006 opened the door for polluters to contaminate various waters that had previously been protected – putting the drinking water for millions at risk!
Now, Congress has an opportunity to restore the original protections of the Clean Water Act with the Clean Water Restoration Act.
Contact your Members of Congress TODAY to insist that they support the Clean Water Restoration Act.
This legislation may seem like a no-brainer, but House and Senate Members are under pressure from developers and corporate polluters to allow them to continue to contaminate our precious water supplies.
The following is talking points you can use when contacting legislators:
If enacted, the Clean Water Restoration Act would restore the scope of protections Congress intended when the Clean Water Act was written. It would:
1. Restore protections to drinking water at risk for contamination.
2. Streamline enforcement among Federal, state and local governments providing better protection of sensitive areas.
3. Help ensure water and wetlands used for recreation and animal habitats are kept free of contamination, disease and bacteria.
Representative Abercrombie is a co-sponsor of the bill. Thank him.
Our other Congressional Members can be reached at the following:
senator@akaka.senate.gov
senator@inouye.senate.gov
mazie.hirono@mail.house.gov
Bill Sager, ED, Hawaii Conservation Voters
bsager@hawaii.rr.com
375-1114
Now, Congress has an opportunity to restore the original protections of the Clean Water Act with the Clean Water Restoration Act.
Contact your Members of Congress TODAY to insist that they support the Clean Water Restoration Act.
This legislation may seem like a no-brainer, but House and Senate Members are under pressure from developers and corporate polluters to allow them to continue to contaminate our precious water supplies.
The following is talking points you can use when contacting legislators:
If enacted, the Clean Water Restoration Act would restore the scope of protections Congress intended when the Clean Water Act was written. It would:
1. Restore protections to drinking water at risk for contamination.
2. Streamline enforcement among Federal, state and local governments providing better protection of sensitive areas.
3. Help ensure water and wetlands used for recreation and animal habitats are kept free of contamination, disease and bacteria.
Representative Abercrombie is a co-sponsor of the bill. Thank him.
Our other Congressional Members can be reached at the following:
senator@akaka.senate.gov
senator@inouye.senate.gov
mazie.hirono@mail.house.gov
Bill Sager, ED, Hawaii Conservation Voters
bsager@hawaii.rr.com
375-1114
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Opposition to Adoption of “Steel on Steel” Rail Technology
Citizens Against Noise of Hawaii
P. O. Box 270705 Honolulu, HI 96827
Honolulu City Council Public Hearing
Bill 80, CD1 and FD1
March 19, 2008
Testimony in Strong Opposition to Adoption of “Steel on Steel” Rail Technology
Honorable Chair Marshall and City Council Members:
Citizens Against Noise of Hawaii "CAN" asks you to carefully weigh the noise impacts
that proposed rail technologies will have on our health, quality of life, jobs and
businesses.
A study conducted for the European Union in its assessment of the impact of rail vs.
other modes of transport states that "rail transport shows a good environmental
performance except for noise costs which dominate the results for all rail transport."
We believe that noise factors were not given sufficient priority or study by the Expert
Panel when they selected "steel on steel" vs. the competing technologies. According to
the EU Study*, noise can have a damaging effect on human health by contributing to
"myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, hypertension, and sleep disturbance."
We live on an Island and many of us will never be very far from a rail line if one is built.
The rail technology decision must weigh the cost to our health and well being as well as
to our jobs and businesses, many of which depend on tourism.
According to the "Wheel/Rail Noise Control Manual" prepared by the Transportation
Research Board for the US Department of Transportation in 1997, the high-frequency
sound level of over 1,000 Hz from steel wheels on steel rails is not effectively abated by
sound barrier walls, berms, or sound absorbing materials like plants. This means that
once the decision is made to use "steel on steel" technology there will be no remedy.
Capital and operating cost efficiency and reliability are important, but the recommending
committee fell short by minimizing or ignoring socio-environmental factors and external
factors such as public health, jobs and tourism over the long term. Transportation
solution alternatives that offer, or combine, rubber tires or technologies other than “steel
on steel” offer a quieter option, but these now seem to be off the table.
Therefore in the public interest, and before any decision is made, we respectfully urge
the City Council to authorize a more thorough and meaningful study of the technology
alternatives by comparing noise mapping studies of the competing technologies in the
urban and suburban environments along the transportation corridor, from Kapolei to
Aloha Tower to Manoa. We also suggest that "tourist friendly" be one of your noise
review criteria.
This would help encourage ridership outside the commute hours, thus absorbing capital
and operating costs, and making attractions like Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Waters and the
Pearl City and Waikele malls easier to visit.
In summary, we strongly encourage you to withhold your ratification of any technology
recommendation until a more complete study of the health and socio-economic factors
are fully weighed. Today we are at a critical crossroad, and CAN believes that newer,
quieter alternatives are better for our neighborhoods, our homes and our people than
past century/millennium retrofits.
Any new transportation system must serve Oahu for many decades to come. Please
make a wise decision with the best long term solution, in the interest of the public’s
health and welfare and for the greater public good.
Executive Board
Citizens Against Noise of Hawaii
Cliff Montgomery, President
Mark Smith, Vice-President
Michelle S. Matson, Secretary
Steven L. Montgomery, PhD, Director
Kathleen Kelly, Director
Gary Holt, Director
Michael Mueller, Director
*European Commission (2003). External costs. Research results on socio-environmental
damages due to electricity and transport.(EUR 20198). p. 9 &15.
P. O. Box 270705 Honolulu, HI 96827
Honolulu City Council Public Hearing
Bill 80, CD1 and FD1
March 19, 2008
Testimony in Strong Opposition to Adoption of “Steel on Steel” Rail Technology
Honorable Chair Marshall and City Council Members:
Citizens Against Noise of Hawaii "CAN" asks you to carefully weigh the noise impacts
that proposed rail technologies will have on our health, quality of life, jobs and
businesses.
A study conducted for the European Union in its assessment of the impact of rail vs.
other modes of transport states that "rail transport shows a good environmental
performance except for noise costs which dominate the results for all rail transport."
We believe that noise factors were not given sufficient priority or study by the Expert
Panel when they selected "steel on steel" vs. the competing technologies. According to
the EU Study*, noise can have a damaging effect on human health by contributing to
"myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, hypertension, and sleep disturbance."
We live on an Island and many of us will never be very far from a rail line if one is built.
The rail technology decision must weigh the cost to our health and well being as well as
to our jobs and businesses, many of which depend on tourism.
According to the "Wheel/Rail Noise Control Manual" prepared by the Transportation
Research Board for the US Department of Transportation in 1997, the high-frequency
sound level of over 1,000 Hz from steel wheels on steel rails is not effectively abated by
sound barrier walls, berms, or sound absorbing materials like plants. This means that
once the decision is made to use "steel on steel" technology there will be no remedy.
Capital and operating cost efficiency and reliability are important, but the recommending
committee fell short by minimizing or ignoring socio-environmental factors and external
factors such as public health, jobs and tourism over the long term. Transportation
solution alternatives that offer, or combine, rubber tires or technologies other than “steel
on steel” offer a quieter option, but these now seem to be off the table.
Therefore in the public interest, and before any decision is made, we respectfully urge
the City Council to authorize a more thorough and meaningful study of the technology
alternatives by comparing noise mapping studies of the competing technologies in the
urban and suburban environments along the transportation corridor, from Kapolei to
Aloha Tower to Manoa. We also suggest that "tourist friendly" be one of your noise
review criteria.
This would help encourage ridership outside the commute hours, thus absorbing capital
and operating costs, and making attractions like Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Waters and the
Pearl City and Waikele malls easier to visit.
In summary, we strongly encourage you to withhold your ratification of any technology
recommendation until a more complete study of the health and socio-economic factors
are fully weighed. Today we are at a critical crossroad, and CAN believes that newer,
quieter alternatives are better for our neighborhoods, our homes and our people than
past century/millennium retrofits.
Any new transportation system must serve Oahu for many decades to come. Please
make a wise decision with the best long term solution, in the interest of the public’s
health and welfare and for the greater public good.
Executive Board
Citizens Against Noise of Hawaii
Cliff Montgomery, President
Mark Smith, Vice-President
Michelle S. Matson, Secretary
Steven L. Montgomery, PhD, Director
Kathleen Kelly, Director
Gary Holt, Director
Michael Mueller, Director
*European Commission (2003). External costs. Research results on socio-environmental
damages due to electricity and transport.(EUR 20198). p. 9 &15.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Information sources re Hawaii Trees and Weeds
"Common Forest Trees of Hawaii: Native and Introduced" by Elbert
Little and Roger Skolmen has been the bible of Hawaii foresters since
it was published by the USDA Forest Service in 1989. We have now
posted all the individual tree chapters on our website:
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/Data/Common_Trees_Hawaii.asp
These cover 152 common trees in Hawaii, from tree ferns to koa to
eucalyptus. The full book, reformatted for easier reading, is
available at cost from CTAHR; order blanks are available on the web at
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/PIO/ForSalePubsDetail.asp?id=2
We have also posted all 146 species profiles from CTAHR's "Weeds of
Hawaii's Pastures and Natural Areas" by Philip Motooka and others (2003):
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/Data/Weeds_Hawaii.asp
Each profile contains information on identification, distribution,
environmental impact, and chemical management of the most common
weeds in Hawaii. The printed book also features a visual key to aid
in identification and is for sale from CTAHR; order blanks are on the
web at URL
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/PIO/ForSalePubsDetail.asp?id=5
For safe and effective methods of using herbicides in pastures,
forests, and natural areas, see the free CTAHR publication
"Herbicidal Weed Control Methods for Pastures and Natural Areas in
Hawaii", URL http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/WC-8.pdf
Thanks to Jody Smith, who created the index pages to make these books
available.
We have updated our web page on koa wilt:
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/Data/Pests_Diseases/koa_wilt.asp
New research from Nick Dudley and Aileen Yeh at HARC and cooperators
Bob James and Richard Sniezko of the US Forest Service has shown that
the situation is more complicated than we had at first thought, and
that several species of Fusarium are pathogenic on koa seedlings, not
only Fusarium oxysporum. Their report, "Pathogenicity of four
Fusarium species on Acacia koa seedlings", is available on the above website.
Sincerely,
J. B. Friday
________________________________________
J. B. Friday, PhD
Extension Forester
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Little and Roger Skolmen has been the bible of Hawaii foresters since
it was published by the USDA Forest Service in 1989. We have now
posted all the individual tree chapters on our website:
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/Data/Common_Trees_Hawaii.asp
These cover 152 common trees in Hawaii, from tree ferns to koa to
eucalyptus. The full book, reformatted for easier reading, is
available at cost from CTAHR; order blanks are available on the web at
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/PIO/ForSalePubsDetail.asp?id=2
We have also posted all 146 species profiles from CTAHR's "Weeds of
Hawaii's Pastures and Natural Areas" by Philip Motooka and others (2003):
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/Data/Weeds_Hawaii.asp
Each profile contains information on identification, distribution,
environmental impact, and chemical management of the most common
weeds in Hawaii. The printed book also features a visual key to aid
in identification and is for sale from CTAHR; order blanks are on the
web at URL
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/PIO/ForSalePubsDetail.asp?id=5
For safe and effective methods of using herbicides in pastures,
forests, and natural areas, see the free CTAHR publication
"Herbicidal Weed Control Methods for Pastures and Natural Areas in
Hawaii", URL http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/WC-8.pdf
Thanks to Jody Smith, who created the index pages to make these books
available.
We have updated our web page on koa wilt:
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/Data/Pests_Diseases/koa_wilt.asp
New research from Nick Dudley and Aileen Yeh at HARC and cooperators
Bob James and Richard Sniezko of the US Forest Service has shown that
the situation is more complicated than we had at first thought, and
that several species of Fusarium are pathogenic on koa seedlings, not
only Fusarium oxysporum. Their report, "Pathogenicity of four
Fusarium species on Acacia koa seedlings", is available on the above website.
Sincerely,
J. B. Friday
________________________________________
J. B. Friday, PhD
Extension Forester
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
University of Hawaii at Manoa
2007 Conservation Conference Videos
If you would like to see many of the presentaitons of the 2007 Conservation Conference, including the Ecosystem Services talks, just go to http://hawaiiconservation.org/2007HCCVideos.asp
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