Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Musings: Where Fluff Meets Puff

It was hard not to laugh at the timing of The Garden Island's super-gushy articles today about PMRF commander Capt. Bruce Hay and kooky Terry Lilley getting his own reality show.

The nexus between the two, aside from the plethora of fluff and puff? To quote TGI:

Lilley admits that the work he has been doing is controversial. One of his recent hypotheses is that the [coral reef] disease is caused by the Navy’s use of sonar and electronic microwaves along the North Shore.

OK, Terry, whatever you say....

It couldn't possibly be the Princeville pesticides, well-fertilized shoreline landscaping and all those ancient cesspools now stretched beyond capacity serving the sleeps-14 vacation rentals in Hanalei and Haena.

Besides, you wouldn't want to make Pierce Brosnan — whose practice of planting the public beach in front of his TVR and fertilizing it with chicken shit was documented on this blog — uncomfortable when he makes a guest appearance on the show.

The program, featuring Lilley and thus aptly named “Reef Madness,” promises:

The audience will become fully immersed into the eccentric life of biologist, reef talker, fish whisperer and ocean savior Terry Lilley.

Add a dash of political conflict and chaos with the military, local mayor, congressional reps and even the governor of Hawaii who can’t get out of Terry’s vortex.

Gag. What exactly has Terry saved? And has he ever spoken in a whisper? He's usually yelling at the top of his lungs to draw attention to himself.

But vortex — defined as whirling mass, black hole — is an appropriate word choice for anything associated with Lilley, a full-fledged flake and publicity hound. What's surprising is that Sylvia Earle, or anyone with any credibility, would touch this project with a 10-foot pole.

Terry is quoted as saying:

My hope is that the people I have conflicted with come forward and be part of the project.

Be careful what you wish for, Terry. You've burned a lot of people, and have a lot of a skeletons in your closet that could be outed.

As for Capt. Hay, it's really great to hear he's giddy about whales and turtles and seabirds. I feel that way myself.  

Still, I'm having a little trouble reconciling his role flying missions on an Iraqi Freedom Flight and his statement: "I did something that mattered."

Looking at the hell hole that is Iraq in the aftermath of the American invasion, it's hard to imagine just what that might be.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

The squeaky wheel certainly does get the grease.
At a recent presentation at Princeville Library sponsored by NOAA and given by real scientists studying the coral, TL stormed out because he was not given time for one of his monologues. The scientists said yes, there is some coral disease, it happens in all reefs and it was not getting worse. They used real scientific methods, not videos and hyperbole.

Anonymous said...

This is a disease.
However the herbicide/pesticed/runoff issue is very real as evidenced by Anini. Obviously some areas are more susceptible than others. The only safe method is a setback where no chemicals are allowed. Say a hundred feet. There is far less evidence that cesspools have a great effect on reefs. Lawn fertilizer is likely a much worse culprit.

Dawson said...

The program, featuring Lilley and thus aptly named “Reef Madness,” promises:

The audience will become fully immersed into the eccentric life of biologist, reef talker, fish whisperer and ocean savior Terry Lilley.

Add a dash of political conflict and chaos with the military, local mayor, congressional reps and even the governor of Hawaii who can’t get out of Terry’s vortex.


Stay tuned for future episodes, including:

"Sylvia Earle -- World-Renowned Oceanographer or Victim of Military Mind Control Experiments?"

"Coral: Teeny-Tiny Ancient Astronauts?"

"Menehunes -- Military-Induced Hallucinations or Volcanic Gas?"

"The Secret Life of Starfish: A Sucker Born Every Minute"

Anonymous said...

"Looking at the hell hole that is Iraq in the aftermath of the American invasion, it's hard to imagine just what that might be."


I wouldn't cite Capt. Hay for his feeling that he's done something that mattered at PMRF by citing a war that our politicians got us into (not Capt. Hay) without understanding that the culture and history of the Muslim's in the middle-east involved no desire for American-style democracy. We just assumed they wanted to live like us. How quaint! I mean, like give up their ownership of women, execution of gays, cruel and unjust punishments, etc.? Shoots! Why give that fun up in exchange for voting????

Anonymous said...

As I sit in my well lit dry room, I respect the many Military men and women who have served our country.
We may not agree as individuals on what wars get fought, but if not for the military, freedom would not be mine.....or yours.
Of course, then you get the likes of the close to being Commies or pertneer Pinkos Hooser/Bynum/Chock who actively work to restrict our property rights.
Hey Mr Farmer, you can only grow what we says you can grow, or we will legislate you out of biz, tax you out of biz. We want your land.

Anonymous said...

Maybe time to ban chemical sun screens in Hanalei and Po`ipu. There are reef/ocean friendly varieties.

Anonymous said...

Joan,
I am surprised that you did not comment on the juxtaposition of the article on Lilley and the one on the proposed new cesspool rules. In the one, Lilley accuses the Navy of killing the coral in Hanalei with “electronic microwaves” (as opposed to organic microwaves?) being emitted on the other side of the island. In the other, we learn that there are about 14,000 cesspools on this island releasing an estimated 23,700 pounds of nitrogen and 6,000 pounds of phosphorous into the ground each day and that this could “…stimulate undesirable algae growth, and impact our coral reefs”.

It is sad that TGI continues to give Chris D’Angelo space to publish his fluff pieces and pay him for his lazy “reporting”, but it is not surprising. He was upstaged during the whole 2491 process by outside newspapers, including the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. As far as I can tell, the “environmental reporter” for TGI has never visited any seed company unlike say, the New York Times, which flew someone over from the east coast. Did Chris not get travel approval for the drive from Lihue to the westside? It was the opportunity of a lifetime and he blew it, regurgitating press releases instead of investigating and reporting. At least TGI gave Tom LaVenture’s more serious article on the cesspools higher billing.

Anonymous said...

Cesspool's are one of the greatest threats to the health of the reef. With the county completely blowing the pristine coastal conditions by allowing commercial development to happen without upgrading the waste water requirements. That the houses that had cesspools for the 2 occupants before and now have 14 people or 12 or 20 or whateverthefucknumberofpeople using that same cesspool. Coral reef degradation, you bet,there in all its oozing shittiness for all to experience. The cesspool laws need to be changed now.

Anonymous said...

Terry Lilley is a bought and paid little bitch. Looking back to the "reef disaster" at Pila'a involving James Pflueger illegally moving dirt which caused a mudslide onto that beautiful reef, Lilley claimed it was no big deal, because Pflueger paid him as a "consultant"! The largest civil
lawsuit in history of the United States people! How many millions? 5.6 mil$ However, Dipshit Lilley claims that toxic mud that was filled on the Morita Laney land ... Killed the Hanalei bowl? Personally I think Hanalei would be a much better wave if the bowl disintegrated...the Point into flatrock, then usually a closeout!

Anonymous said...

The obvious! Why can't people understand that decay = fertilizer = growth! Duh! Jesus fucking christ! Terry Lilley is a piece of shit opportunistic douchebag! Wake up people!

Anonymous said...

Many of you need a really check. Lilley has been a one man army in defense of the reefs. He recognizes many factors causing the decline of the reefs. If you think it's minor than think again. Better yet stick your head under the surface and see the decline for yourself. He brought attention to the cyanobacteria disease first. NOAA and USGS and UNIVERSITY of HAWAII all came to Terry to help and validate what HE found. Yes he's controversial because he has a tendency to be narcissistic as well as his occasional to rant. But the fact is and remains that Terry Lilley is dedicated to SAVING THE REEFs and the creatures that dwell there. It's up to the systems we have in place along with Government agencies to step up here and cut through the BS and start funding for research and testing because KAUAI's REEFS are DYING. Wake up! So name calling gets us nowhere. Challenge what you hear if need be but be prepared with data...We all know about global warming, Rising Seas Ocean acidification, Cesspools, Roundup etc...SONAR and MICROWAVE have now been proved in the field and the lab to cause damage on a cellular level. Stick your head in a microwave and see what happens...Pulsed microwave is NO DIFFERENT. And yes the military uses SEAWATER to conduct electrical signals including microwave near the surface! Kauai happens to have 30 million watts of it beaming off of Makana Ridge...So open your eyes people. Terry Lilley may not be someone you like or respect but he's out there watching for YOUR BENEFIT. What are you doing to save the reefs!