Driving back from Lihue yesterday, I noticed the usual "ring around the island" that appears after heavy rains.
Wailua was totally chocolate, as was Kealia and apparently just about everywhere else. Still, as The Garden Island reports today, it wasn't brown enough to warrant an official brown water advisor from the state Department of Health.
Such advisories are rare because they're bad for business — the tourist business, that is.
Meanwhile, unsuspecting visitors are exposed to who knows what as they play in our ocean and streams.
The problem, of course, isn't limited to the period following rains. I noticed a photo of stand-up paddlers in Tuesday's edition of The Garden Island with the caption:
Stand-up paddle surfing students get help from Krishan Yatagama of Kaua‘i Beach Boys at the mouth of Kalapaki Stream, Monday, as people elsewhere in the state kept an eye on the approaching Tropical Storm Felicia.
Now who, if they knew the truth, would knowingly put their body into Kalapaki Stream?
As Dr. Carl Berg of Surfrider Foundation of Kauai notes in today's article on brown water:
Berg, however, said there are many beaches and rivers not monitored by the DOH and methods used to collect samples are not comprehensive enough, citing Kalapaki Beach as an example.
“Kalapaki is one of the worst polluted streams around,” he said, adding that samples are not taken in close proximity to the stream, potentially skewing data.
It seems that putting the tourists in remote vacation rentals close to the ocean and streams, while failing to warn them of the dangers or offer tips about evacuation and emergency procedures, isn't the only way we do our beloved visitors wrong.
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16 comments:
Wailua Bay is a darker brown today.
If the proposed bike path at Wailua was finished, Bernard and "the path people" would have Now consider the bikepath on the beach at Wailua,um, the 14 foot "removable" plastic boardwalk the county wants to jam through.
Would the county workers have had to "pull the bike path up" as their plans call for? What about the real duties the county workers actually need to do? Oh,do you then tell the workers now put it back, how many times a year, every storm? Every warning? Never? What a thoughtless idea. Please move the bike path off the beach.
Traveling out to Waimea yesterday we couldn’t help but notice the bare ground of the now apparently abandoned Gay and Robinson sugar cane fields with no planting of ground cover, making the ocean a half a dozen shades of brown darker than anywhere else.
Disgusting- you would think the DOH or EPA would require they plant ground cover or you would think “Mr. Environment” Keith Robinson would see to it- or you would think the EPA would fine them for not doing so and destroying the reef all the way from Kamakani to Kekaha.
"you would think the DOH or EPA would require they plant ground cover or you would think “Mr. Environment” Keith Robinson would see to it- or you would think the EPA would fine them for not doing so and destroying the reef all the way from Kamakani to Kekaha."
-- totally. its either under regulated or under enforced
dwps
Such advisories are rare because they're bad for business — the tourist business, that is.
Substantiation, please. Or some slight evidence, even.
Meanwhile, unsuspecting visitors are exposed to who knows what as they play in our ocean and streams.
Really? Your thesis is that visitors are too stupid to realize that chocolate brown water might be icky, or intelligent enough to decide for themselves whether to risk the minor risk of getting an itch? You're starting to sound like an old person.
You know who I see boarding and surfing in the chocolate brown water? Locals.
When the headline reads "Swimmer dies from sinus infection; runoff to blame" then maybe we'll see some (re-)action. Until then, who cares about topsoil erosion, water pollution and other mundane topics?
When the headline reads "Swimmer dies from sinus infection
Yes, all those tourists who die from sinus infections.
Brother.
" Traveling out to Waimea yesterday we couldn’t help but notice the bare ground of the now apparently abandoned Gay and Robinson sugar cane fields with no planting of ground cover..."
The west side fields are post harvest and await new olanting. Stay on your side of the island and don't darken the west side.
The west side fields are post harvest and await new planting.
Typical of environmentalists to shoot off their mouths without knowing what they're talking about.
Isn't the water around Kaumakani and Waimea brown regardless of the weather? I don't recall seeing blue water by the Waimea rivermouth or the pier.
"Substantiation, please. Or some slight evidence, even."
Here is some "slight evidence" for you. The day Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai (at around 1 pm) they were flying tourist into Kauai up until 10 am that morning. Kalipaki Bay was surging at 10 am (waves coming over the seawall already).
Care to explain why they were flying tourist to an island about to be slammed by a hurricane?
Care to explain why they were flying tourist to an island about to be slammed by a hurricane?
It's your nannified warped world view that has you confused. You see a world in which "they" do things like "fly tourists into islands about to be slammed by a hurricane" when, in your opinion, "they" should be paying for free health care for all instead.
In r-e-a-l-i-t-y the is no all powerful "they." Instead, people choose to fly here. There was no news blackout hiding the fact of a hurricane. There is no Kommissar to tell people they may not choose for themselves whether to put themselves in the path of a hurricane.
Grow up. Your parents cannot feed, burp, and clean the crap out of your shorts forever.
"It's your nannified warped world view that has you confused. You see a world in which "they" do things like "fly tourists into islands about to be slammed by a hurricane" when, in your opinion, "they" should be paying for free health care for all instead."
If one need determine who is "confused" one need look no further than your quote above. I never offered an opinion on free health care yet you claim I did. Also your nanny state sure jumped into action by having armed police preventing people from leaving New Orleans after Katrina or has your selective memory forgot about that? Closer to home "they" (ie the government) did control air access to Kauai AFTER the hurricane had passed. My guess is because BUSINESS WAS CLOSED on Kauai therefore it was hard to make a buck by flying tourist over here.
Finally if you do not know this because of your limited life experience government officials routinely forcefully evacuate and prevent people from entering disaster areas. Hard to grow up when your Nanny has her foot on your neck. Perhaps we should all be cutting our own paths instead of the nanny state forcing us to pay for and use the state and interstate highway systems. Perhaps we should close libraries and public schools in favor of bookstores and private schools. Perhaps we should let everyone take care of their own human waste instead of having to pay water and sewer taxes. Perhaps we should nix the fire and police departments as well and rely on vigilantes and volunteer fireman.
All this nannfication has got to stop preventing people from growing up and assumING some PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! YEAH THAT'S THE TICKET!
I never offered an opinion on free health care yet you claim I did.
You didn't have to. It's inherent in your nannified world view. Go ahead, deny it.
I never offered an opinion on free health care yet you claim I did.
You didn't have to. It's inherent in your nannified world view. Go ahead, deny it.
Rather silly to deny something I did not say but if you insist I deny it. Still beating your wife?
Ha ha ha ha, oh that's funny, Anon's got you pegged, Joan...
Anon Aug.14,2009 8:20 PM said:
It's your nannified warped world view that has you confused. You see a world in which "they" do things like "fly tourists into islands about to be slammed by a hurricane" when, in your opinion, "they" should be paying for free health care for all instead.
In r-e-a-l-i-t-y the is no all powerful "they." Instead, people choose to fly here. There was no news blackout hiding the fact of a hurricane. There is no Kommissar to tell people they may not choose for themselves whether to put themselves in the path of a hurricane.
Grow up. Your parents cannot feed, burp, and clean the crap out of your shorts forever.
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