Your Views for July 28

Not ethical

I was fascinated by the front page story about Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water. But let me get this straight.

Ryan Emmons is shipping water sourced from Hawaii County to California on a boat propelled by petroleum so it can be put into bottles made from petroleum, then distributed in vehicles powered by petroleum. Astonishingly, some of it even goes back on the boat to Hawaii.

Then, the company has the nerve to claim that one can “Drink Ethically” while consuming its product because of donations made to Pump Aid, as if this works something like a papal dispensation, forgiving the environmental sins committed.

Incidentally, Waiakea claims its bottle is 100 percent post recycled and that this makes one able to “drink sustainably.” This is very certainly not true. People should know that this only reduces its carbon footprint by approximately 40 percent when compared to virgin PET plastic (polyethylene terephthalate).

Bottled water is an environmental crime for those of us with an abundant supply of high-quality water. Ryan Emmons should look for some other way to separate people from their money, hopefully one that is truly ethical and sustainable.

Bob Lee

Hilo

Gassy politics

Having attended the mayoral candidate forum sponsored by Malama O Puna (Thursday, July 22) at the Pahoa Community Center, I couldn’t help but wonder what some of the candidates’ opinions about geothermal would be if they lived in the area where the health of the residents has been severely impacted.

There was the invariable Icelandic connection, but their geology is very different from ours, and while it doesn’t make the mainstream news, there are those in Iceland reported as becoming ill as a result of geothermal activity.

Until 1991, hydrogen sulfide was on the Hazardous Air Pollutants list in the Clean Air Act, but since industry doesn’t like the idea of being sued because of it, their lobbyists did what lobbyists do … and, wonder upon wonders, the Bush administration “discovered” it was on the Hazardous Air Pollutants list because of a “clerical error.” One of the most hazardous gases known was downgraded because of industry desires.

To make things even more fun, Hawaii has a one-hour weighted average, so if you were exposed to a dose of hydrogen sulfide that could kill you, but it only registered on the monitor for a few minutes, the rest of the hour would be added to that, and after significant time dilution, the report would show your exposure was equivalent to a fart, and you had to have died from something else.

Your tax dollars at work.

Dave Kisor

Pahoa