People of Kauai need to take a stand
We have been coming to the island for years, more than once a year.
It saddens us to no end to see the gradual deterioration of the environment, the disrespectful, careless way a large (and growing) number of tourists show regarding the Island, the increasing stress on the island resources, and the overcrowded spaces and roads.
But most of all, we are stunned by the way the people of Kauai let all this happen.
We are outraged to see tourism-related industries make bags of money, and return so little to the island and islanders, not even caring about what their patrons do, as long as they pay.
This trip has left a bitter taste, seeing people harassing seals and sea turtles and impeding them to beach to rest, trampling on coral, leaving trash everywhere, and behaving like the owners of the island.
People of Kauai: if the big hotels and the investors from outside the Island are not willing to help, it seems that it is in your hands to do something to educate, prevent, inform, end when necessary enforce respect, care, and love for the environment.
In one word: awareness.
When governments and money-makers wash their hands as long as money keeps coming at the expense of the land they inhabit, the people of the island, their present and the future, to me it looks like a sad case of prostitution.
Claudio Luchina, Rancho Palos Verdes, California
