Shame on us
It is not surprising the United States just withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council (Tribune-Herald, June 20).
With the Trump administration’s policy of taking migrant children away from their parents and holding the young children in concentration/detention facilities, the United States is demonstrably committing crimes against humanity.
William J. Mautz
Hilo
Debt solution?
With Hawaii County already millions of dollars in debt, and counting, and property taxes lost, businesses folding up and tourists canceling their vacations because of adverse media reporting, etc., what can we do to get ourselves out of this endless hole?
Well, it’s time for everyone out there to start brainstorming. One idea I thought about is to open up lava viewing to the public, safety permitting, of course, and charge a nominal fee to offset the operational cost, etc.
Dozens of people are already sneaking in to see this natural phenomena anyway, and many more do want to see it but hesitate because it’s illegal.
Once lava viewing is open to the public and mainland news outlets start spreading the news, thousands will flock to Hawaii to see this once-in-a-lifetime eruption in real time.
Businesses will flourish, and even part of the viewing fee can be used to help people who lost their homes, farms, businesses, etc.
Who will man the lava viewing? Probably the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and they can hire more people to maintain order and collect the fees, or even the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park rangers can probably be a part of this amazing opportunity. Twenty dollars per car is not unreasonable. Would I pay $20 to see the eruption? I definitely would — not only because it’s exciting, but if that money went toward helping Hawaii County and its people, I would not hesitate for a second.
Darrel Baring
Keaau
Clean the filters
If you haven’t changed or cleaned out any reusable air filters, now would be a very good time, especially since it doesn’t look like the lava is going to let up for a while.
For the washable filters, hit them with a garden hose and wear work gloves, because you need to keep the fragments out of your skin.
If you use pressure air, wear a mask. Larger particles in the 500- to the 125-micron range fall out closer to the source, but it’s the 63 micron and smaller range you should be aware of, since they go farther and are easily inhaled.
Those who must work outdoors should have a mask with them. This is mostly for the Puna district, but will affect whatever direction the wind is blowing.
Dave Kisor
Pahoa