• Can we get the other side of the ethanol debate, please? • Simple common professionalism, please • Future leaders should be educated, not indoctrinated Can we get the other side of the ethanol debate, please? It really troubles me
• Can we get the other side of the ethanol debate, please?
• Simple common professionalism, please
• Future leaders should be educated, not indoctrinated
Can we get the other side of the ethanol debate, please?
It really troubles me that The Garden Island has, to date, only published letters against the construction of an ethanol facility on Kaua‘i. In recent days, we have seen the guest viewpoint piece of July 20 and another letter of July 24, both indicating a strong bent against or outright disapproval of an ethanol plant on Kaua‘i, but absolutely no letters from the community in favor or presenting a different side (and I have written some, so it isn’t that they haven’t gotten any). Both letters seem to ignore the fact that there are currently no commercial alternatives to gasoline for the type of transportation that most of us do — driving our cars. The most recent letter states that ethanol is not sustainable and is “highly subsidized by taxpayers; whereas cleaner and truly sustainable technologies such as wind and solar receive few subsidies.” I challenge the author to show us a commercially available solar- or wind-powered vehicle. They don’t exist. Even fuel cell and hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are in active development, are decades away.
So what are we supposed to do to decrease our demand for gasoline right now? Kauai Bus is not the answer alone, and certainly not in its current state. Biking is not the answer alone, and there isn’t even safe infrastructure to make it widely popular.
Not even ethanol is the answer alone. There is no silver bullet, and waiting around for one is pure folly. The common sense approach would be to employ any and all reasonable techniques available to offset our dependence on oil.
The issue of sustainability includes not only concerns of the “cleanness” of the energy source, but also the renewable nature of the source, as well as more geopolitical issues like depending on unstable regions of the world for our energy needs. Compared to fossil fuels, which are renewable but only over geological timescales, there is no doubt that ethanol from plant matter is a more renewable source of energy. The United States does not have enough oil to produce the gasoline our insatiable appetites demand, thus we remain locked in ridiculous Middle Eastern campaigns to try to stabilize the region that provides our “oil fix.” This is not a sustainable practice, and any worldview that doesn’t take this into account is very shortsighted. Completely discounting technologies like ethanol does not allow us to make an impact today on the problems that face us, and is thus too extreme a position to be taken seriously in such an important debate.
Finally, painting this issue as one of the government not seeking to “protect the children” is simply maudlin. Asthma is not a problem here only at sugar cane harvest time. One thing that has been shown to be a risk factor for asthma is living in close quarters. Does this sound familiar to anything happening in Hawai‘i—perhaps the common practice of having several generations of people living under one roof? Also, there is a significant population that smokes here, and that doesn’t exactly help respiratory problems. Insinuations that sugar cane cultivation is a major component of the problem are of questionable merit.
Michael Mann
‘Ele‘ele
Simple common professionalism, please
Many times I hear and read about how employers have a hard time finding qualified employees and/or the employee shows up for an interview in a T-shirt and slippers.
I can see now after living on this island for nearly three years how you live what you learn. Well, nobody has mentioned how employers don’t return phone calls, respond to e-mails or write back to persons who have gone on one and two interviews.
Example: I have a college degree and years experience in the field I applied for. The talent manager told me “we don’t want to let someone with your education and background get away” and added to that, “we should be able to find a nice fit for you.”
I was so excited and followed up with my credentials, educational records only to wait three weeks, sent an e-mail and the HR person responded with, “I will make it a point to get back with you Monday.” Monday came and went and no phone call. I waited nearly two months and finally after sending another follow up letter, I abruptly received a letter stating they hired someone else (it was full of typographical errors by the way).
I have networked with many professionals on the island and see too many college graduates cocktail waitressing and too many under-qualified workers trying to fill jobs they are not qualified for simply because someone’s cousin is sisters with the Talent Manager or HR director. So this employment problem on the island is two-pronged. There is a lot of unprofessionalism in the HR departments on Kaua‘i. Frankly, it is just a common courtesy to send a “thank you, but no, thank you” letter, and being honest and up front. It is a small island and qualified candidates should not be expected to sit around and wait for employers to get around to them three to five months down the road. It is all about a simple common professionalism.
Melissa Phillips
Lihu‘e
Future leaders should be educated, not indoctrinated
Many so-called schools are used for indoctrination rather than education — madrassas preach jihadism, religious schools preach creationism, etc. In a nation where freedom of speech has been defended by our military over the years it is their right to do so — providing they do not do so under false pretenses.
Since all public school teachers must join a union, I have long considered the danger of our youngsters being indoctrinated with a union-based philosophy. But I told myself that teachers were educators and would provide an unbiased curriculum and let the students adopt their own personal belief systems.
And then, in a letter (Letters, July 22) Elen Verzosa writes “I have been teaching my students for many years now, about just how ruthless and un-community minded Wal-Mart is”. I have no idea where Elen Verzosa teaches, but if it is in our public school system, I call on the board of education to remove her from classroom duty and any contact with students immediately.
Free speech does not give anyone the right to indoctrinate our future leaders rather than educate them.
Stan Godes
Hanalei
