Bomb the crater
Bomb the crater
For about a quarter of a century, the lava oozing from Pu‘u ‘O‘o has flowed toward the south from the crater’s edge, with some brief excursions to the east and back again to the south. Now to our dismay, it is again flowing to the east toward populated developed areas. This, too, is only temporary, but there is every indication that it will continue in this direction for an extended period of time and will cause unthinkable destruction to homes, businesses and schools.
Thousands of residents who are not even directly affected will be cut off from supplies of water, electricity, groceries, cooking fuel and other devices of civilization, as well as medical and other health care.
Pu‘u ‘O‘o can be envisioned as a bowl full of liquid that is overflowing as its contents are being constantly replenished. As with any other bowl of liquid, the spill (or leak) will develop at the lowest open point of its structure, usually at the rim or a perforation below the rim. Again, it will eventually return to a south direction on its own. This is not a new concept. It is one that has repeated over and over for the past many thousands of years. But we dare not wait!
My proposal: Open up a new (or old) outlet that will permit it to again drain and flow over the vast barren fields of lava to the south. This new outlet must be at a lower level in the “bowl” than the outlet currently in use. This is a common practice applied to other containers of liquids, e.g. rivers, lakes, dams, reservoirs, irrigation systems, lily ponds, etc.
My plea to city hall: Please be merciful to your myriad voting friends, relatives and neighbors. If you can’t do it for them, think of the tax base that you stand to lose. Think of the tremendous cost of the fire department’s services as the homes burn. Think of the cost and inconvenience involved in temporary roads for lower Puna residents. All of this could be preventable by a few well-placed explosives at the rim of the crater.
If it only saved one home or one business, it would be a worthwhile humanitarian achievement. The dreams, the hopes, the anticipation, the plans, hard work, the love, the pride and the joy of caring for a lovely home — all to be wiped out without any apparent attempt of prevention, protection or even sympathy from our governing officials.
But we are not talking about one home, or one residence; we are discussing the loss of hopes and dreams and life-savings of thousands of our wonderful neighbors, our loved ones, our friends, our relatives.
Where is the outrage, the empathy, the sympathy, the caring, the charitable love? Where is the pity, the compassion? In grammar school I learned that the purpose of government was to protect its citizens. I would expect the Air Force, the Navy or the Marines would be delighted to have the opportunity to prove their capabilities and accuracy with state-of-the-art bombing, especially when given such a humanitarian and peaceful application of bombs.
This opportunity is much more promising than historic attempts to change the direction of the advancing, leading edge, because now we can restore the former southward direction of the flow at the source (the crater rim) — a far more effective and predictable endeavor.
Please, county and state officials, I am sure this concept must have been discussed and apparently discarded. Please, please reconsider. Many of your constituents could lose all. Hopefully, this can be prevented. Maybe with the help and expertise of the Army Corps of Engineers and/or FEMA?
C. Martin
Keaau