Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Musings: 'Nuff Already

One thing became clear at last night's public meeting of the Joint Fact Finding Group: there is no unity among its members.

Nor was their unity among the 150 persons in attendance, at least half of whom were anti-antis.

The NBC “Dateline” crew was also there, chasing the “poisoning our keiki” bogeyman that had been pitched to them by anti-GMO activist Marghee Maupin. In running down that ghost, they've missed a truly compelling and tragic story: the ice epidemic that actually is ravaging “paradise.”

As the JFFG members spoke, it became apparent that the group did not function collaboratively, or harmoniously. But we won't see the solid proof of that until publication of the final document, which will contain a personal statement from each member. It's only too bad we weren't able to review the rationale behind their dissent and disagreement during the public comment period, rather than being led to believe that a majority endorse the words written by Accord 3.0 consultant Keith Mattson.

There was a lot of talk about what's being done in Europe and California, with Louisa Wooton holding up the Golden State as the golden example. I guess she doesn't realize that even there, where they apply some 200 million pounds of pesticides annually — more than anywhere else in the nation — restricted use pesticide data is published just once a year. Nobody is requiring real time, site-specific disclosure like the antis want and the JFFG report recommends.

Ironically, there was also a lot of talk about local rule. But it took Sarah Styan of DuPont-Pioneer to point out that only one panel member — Roy Yamakawa — was actually born and raised on Kauai, and he dropped out in disgust.

And who can blame him? Everybody's agenda was showing last night — including the facilitator's — making it obvious that a supposedly impartial fact-finding process was anything but.

Which is why we've got a report with a major disconnect between its findings — no evidence of any environmental or human harm due to agricultural pesticides in West Kauai — and its recommendations — extensive human and environmental testing, buffer zones, more detailed pesticide use disclosure.

Still, the Kauai Department of Water has already acted on one of those recommendations: testing the island's drinking water for chlorpyrifos. As you may recall, anti-GMO activist and Councilman Gary Hooser made a big fuss last fall, demanding that DOW test the water, even though DOW and the state Department of Health didn't think it was necessary. 

In March, DOW tested two sites on the westside — Kapilimao, which is located on the Mana plain where a lot of agricultural activity occurs, and Waimea Well B, the primary water source for the Waimea community. It also tested Kilohana Wells A&B, both located in an agricultural area near Lihue, and the Waiahi Water Treatment Plant at the Kapaia reservoir, which is the county's only surface water source and thus the most susceptible to contamination by drift.

And what did the testing find? No detectable levels of chlorpyrifos. Nada. Zip.

But DOW went even further. It asked the lab to review samples collected in November 2015 to determine whether there were indications of some 525 pesticides, including chlorpyrifos, in the four water sources that serve Waimea and Kekaha residents.

The results? Once again, “no detectable levels of any of the 525 pesticides/herbicides, including chlorpyrifos.”

This information was sent to Hooser on March 29. But though he's been relentless in sounding the alarm about the island's “contamination,” he has yet to spread the good news that the water is really clean.

Which is why the JFFG recommendations are essentially useless, in terms of diffusing the conflict. Even when evidence is presented that everything's OK, the antis refuse to accept it.

Gary and his “fistee” followers have repeatedly claimed that westsiders are being harmed by chlorpyrifos. But it's not in the water and it's not in the air. So how are they possibly being exposed?

In this case, it cost DOW $800 and six employee hours to conduct the tests. The other testing recommendations are conservatively estimated to cost taxpayers some $3 million annually.

How much more and time and energy should be expended to ease fears that have been wildly fanned by the anti-GMO groups, to appease people who will never be satisfied, even (or especially) when the news is good?

'Nuff already.

We've been letting a small, but loud, group of people hold sway.  Now it's time, in this election year, to hold people accountable for what they've done and said.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dr. Evslin did acknowledge the DOW report last night. He could not contain his glee that the DOW had acted on the JFF's recommendation. However, he made barely a mention about the results of the testing. What about a "hurrah" that we can rest easy and be confident that our drinking water is safe, Dr. Evslin? Is any of it about the actual health of our people, or is it all about shoring up all the unsubstantiated claims you've made over the past 3 years?

Anonymous said...

Who needs facts when you've got white-hot rage? /s

Anonymous said...

Joan - "they've missed a truly compelling and tragic story: the ice epidemic that actually is ravaging “paradise.”

I'm noticing a method to your madness. People try to stop pesticide use by big-ag and you tell them they should turn their efforts towards exterminators. Now you suggest Dateline look at the ice epidemic. It is not within your power to tell others what to be concerned about or what news stories to cover. What about a story about prescription opioid abuse which is a much a bigger problem than ice? It appears you are trying to get people to look at anything except big-ag.

Anonymous said...

Again frustrated by the obvious agendas. True colors with members declaring they do not trust the EPA, they reviewed data and drew their own conclusions, they talked about statistics and got it wrong, buried long term studies, the exact things they were seeking.

Joan Conrow said...

9:27 -- There is indeed a method to my writing, but the madness is among those who are trying to make ag out as evil.

To restate my position, since I know it better than you, I've said that if people are concerned about ag pesticides, they also should be looking at exterminators, since they are the largest users of RUP and they are using these substances in homes, schools, hospitals, resorts, etc.

I don't agree that prescription opioid abuse is a bigger problem than ice on Kauai, but both have been documented to cause far more home to people's health, and the community, than any pesticide.

Anonymous said...

9:27 said "It is not within your power (Joan) to tell others what to be concerned about or what news stories to cover."

WRONG! It is entirely within her power to say whatever she wants. What 9:27 are you trying to act like those idiotic college students who work to create "safe space" by prohibiting peoples' first amendment rights? Good show Castro! Move to Cuba, PLEASE!

Anonymous said...

I think Dateline might end up being a little disappointed with the lack of drama last night. I was surprised there weren't more anti's there actually. I think they may have benefitted from hearing some of the talking points, like the DOW's water testing results. But, ignorance is bliss.
I was really surprised to hear Sarah say that no one on the panel was born and raised on Kauai! Would have been really nice to have some local (as in the "silent majority") perspective. Really still hoping to hear from Mr. Yamakawa as to his own reasons for resigning. And yes, that proclamation from Luisa Wooten that she didn't trust the EPA was a gem!!

Anonymous said...

If this so called study was done to show the harm pesticides are having on the westside community, then where were all the westside people? I was there and I live on the westside. I didn't see too much westside people at all. I did see a lot of people from Hanalei, Kilauea, and Kapa'a. Must be this fact finding study was a waste of money cause it sure as hell didn't show me anything new that I didn't already know and that is there is nothing but hype and misleading statements thrown around. I did appreciate a comment that was made last night pertaining to contaminated soil that was lifted from the northshore of the island and then transported to the landfill located on the westside. Maybe that is why the west side is being targeted because it's being contaminated from the north side of the island and this initial statement came from a panelist last night who is an anti. Go figure that one out.

Anonymous said...

I heard Dateline is changing their story to "Kauai, home to the rare Cuckoo." These creatures do not hide and escape when seen. They attack the good people of Kauai with impunity and without cause and create havoc with their incessant and loud squawking.

The world must be laughing at us.

Anonymous said...

Louisa Wooten..in case you didn't know there were EPA people in the room last night gaining information from the JFF (which stands for JOINT FACT FINDING ). Don't think they appreciated your panelist comment! " EPA -I DO NOT TRUST ". At least it was a FACT of your opinion.

Anonymous said...

I hope Dateline has a Science editor. At the heart of Joint Fact Finding lies a negotiated consensus on the findings. From what Sarah Styan said, this was not the case for this particular process, and one would have to infer that a vote was taken on the findings. We’ll have to wait for the final report to illuminate that. So we have a collection of recommendations from a stacked committee against a background of no findings. I note the MD’s difficulty in dealing with a real problem on the west side- the prevalence of obesity and the panoply of conditions known to cascade from that- heart failure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, renal failure to mention a few. But the Docs propose “emerging literature” linking obesity to agricultural pesticide use. They failed to explain the alchemy by which pesticides affect metabolism to that extent. They should practice what Wilmore preached: “Do no harm”. Putting this package out on little more than Hooser, Bynum and their red shirts had for 2491, that is allegations that have turned out to be, most charitably “mis-statements” and, more likely in that case, outright prevarication, does do harm in itself. It redirects the focus from the most likely causes of health problems and leaves those actually suffering stranded in a stew of bullshit while those emboldened by this dis-service move on to attack smart meters, corporations, the military and whatever latest activist fads roust them from their intellectual torpor and facebook memes. For a 100 grand, we deserved better than Louisa WootON’s emblematic paranoia about EPA. Please note the spelling, the WootENs have a gem of a farm and do not fertilize with dogma.

Anonymous said...

There are several superfund sites on the north shore. Let us not forget how AGENT ORANGE was first tested as a defoliant in princeville

Joan Conrow said...

12:09 -- Thanks for pointing out my misspelling of Louisa's last name, which has been corrected.

Anonymous said...

The JFF group could have made a very positive contribution to our community and Hawaii as a whole, but that potential will sadly go unfulfilled. Annoyed at their failure to uncover evidence to support their conviction that the seed companies are guilty, the majority focuses on non-existent, hypothetical evidence waiting to be discovered. If this were truly a fact-driven process, they would instead focus on the data that they do have and on the gaps they identified in data collection. That would be a constructive contribution that would build trust and help to make our shared home safer. Instead, we face the continued politicization of agricultural policy and the polarization of our community.
The majority clearly lack not only expertise – which would be ok – but also the humility to admit that they lack expertise. Thus, they end up making absurd and ignorant statements. They stated several times that they could not “disprove” adverse health effects. Well, duh! You can never “disprove” something with statistics. You can only prove or fail-to-prove. They also stated multiple times – both at the meeting and in the report – that the population size on the Westside was too small to detect adverse effects. There are two problems with that statement. First, this reveals their mindset: that the adverse effects are there, we just haven’t measured it. Second, it is wrong. The sample (population) size can be neither too small, nor too large. It is what it is. All you can say is that the dataset you have does not have the statistical power to detect the effect, in this case adverse health impacts. In the context of this report, it means that the negative health statistics measured are not strong enough to be significant given the sample size (and that is BEFORE you adjust for socio-economic factors).

Auwe

Anonymous said...

Don't use the "findings" to waste more time and money. We have real problems that need to be addressed.

Anonymous said...

Again I ask, how do these morons think the potable water would get contaminated? We draw our water from deep well, often the the third aquifer down. Hundreds of feet, with a least one solid rock layer between the surface and the drinking water. In some places the water is decades old. I will concede that there are areas on the island with shallow ag wells. However this use of this water, if contaminated, is merely cleansed again by application. All tests show chemical traces of even this low land swamp water is minimal, well below drinking levels acceptible is some other areas.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't Dateline the one caught in several reporting frauds including an exploding gas tank.

Anonymous said...

Joan, thank you for your report. Just finished reading the TGI article about this and I am disgusted with their bias, plus they couldn't even spell Sarah Styans' name correctly. Keep up the good work!!

Anonymous said...

Kinda funny, Jessica modifies your title and calls her article Enough?

Anonymous said...

You would think from the GI, that we only have one council member on Kauai

Anonymous said...

Today's Garden Island quoted Gary Hooser as saying, “I am hopeful now that our community can move forward in unity to implement the report’s recommendations."

You started this Gary. You riled everyone up. You used your position to create the division of this island. You brought unnecessary fear to the people. You were not pono. You did not practice aloha.

Too late braddah. No try act like you're the unifier now. I hope you're proud of what you did. You changed Kauai, in a very bad way.

Anonymous said...

No try act yourself Ross. Why don't we dumb down the police and the firefighter standards so your friends can get jobs? Was watching you talk to the police chief about making it easier for locals to pass the test and get the jobs. Don't you realize that you are insulting the same locals you purport to want to help? "purport" - look it up. Just cause the test for the drivers ed position you hold is easy does not mean we should lower standards for police. Hooser and Bynum launched 2491, the community supported it, the seed guys said the 2491 supporters were wrong and the state said they were wrong. Then the state and seed guys come up with this brilliant idea to do an impartial joint fact finding group, and lo and behold the group agrees with Hooser and Bynum. He is right, it is time to get over it for you guys and for you guys to stop dividing the community. Yes, we do need unity and not you and your bully friends trying to push everyone else around. Did you even attend the JFF meeting? The answer is of course no.

Anonymous said...

I believe Agent Orange was tested in Wailua Homesteads, not Princeville. Pls correct me if I am wrong.

Joan Conrow said...

7:48 -- Like so many of the antis, you're seriously fact-challenged. First, "the community" did not support 2491. A small, loud group did. The election returns of 2014, where the pro-2491 candidates were soundly trounced, was a very good indication that this movement did not enjoy broad popular support.

Second, don't kid yourself that the fact-finding group was impartial. As I've repeatedly pointed out, a majority were active 2491 supporters, so it's no surprise they came up with 2491 type recommendations.

As for bullies, I'm quite sure we all recall the ugly mob scene that pushed the vote for 2491 in the wee hours of the night, the nasty attacks on social media, the outrageous treatment of seed company workers, many of them former plantation employees. Own and acknowledge the damage you've done through your ignorance, defeat Hooser, and then perhaps we can move forward.

Anonymous said...

7:48 am - actually the joint fact finding group was proposed by Nadine and JoAnn and was included in 2491, which of course Hooser and Bynum voted for. They said it should have been the first step BEFORE 2491. They were right.

Anonymous said...

8:52 am -- yes, the JFF should have been the first step BEFORE any 2491-type bill, but it should have been FACT-finding, conducted by experts.

Not this outrageously biased, cleverly pieced together propaganda document.

If the final document looks anything like the draft, and includes anecdotes, opinion, and innuendo, but purposely omits facts and major studies including those concluding pesticides can and are being used safely, Peter Adler should never again be thought of as neutral and he and his colleagues should never again be paid from our tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

2491 was the most ridiculous piece of legislation in the history of Kauai and the whole State for that matter. The county attorney Mauna Kea Trask wrote a detailed opinion that advised the council of the illegality of the bill. Hooser, aka God, got four idiots to follow him. What a babooze(s)!

Anonymous said...

7:48. Lucky us locals have Ross, if he trying to make sure that locals have first crack at the highest paying jobs in the County, e.g. Fire and Police, good. The locals been paying taxes all our lives and we going hire people from outside for these high paying jobs? Auwe, where our kids going work? Keep fighting the good fight Ross, the locals watching and appreciate your gusto.

Anonymous said...

9:48 am - I am 100% with you on all counts.

Sincerely, 8:52 am

Joan Conrow said...

@April 5, 2016 at 1:14 PM

Roy Yamakawa would like to speak with you. If you're interested, leave a comment, which I won't post publicly, with contact info, or email me at eastsidegrrrl@yahoo.com.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Nadine and Joann for the Joint Fact Finding Report. While the County has no expertise and jurisdiction in the area of Pesticides and Agriculture, you did it to pander to a bunch of hippies and Hooser. Now we have a JFF that look's like a Hooser novel. To those who say we need good women in government, don't follow these two, they lack backbone and common sense.

Anonymous said...

Don't put JoAnn and Nadine in the same bucket, Nadine is smart, and effective, JoAnn is plagued by trying to please everyone and goes from one side to the other on issues trying to please everyone and actually pleasing none.

Anonymous said...

Nadine approved and helped select all members of JFF

Anonymous said...

Is this true? Did Nadine help select and approve the JFF members? If so, it explains a lot of "duh" moments I have had over this, and wondered why and how Peter Adler settled on this bunch. Wow, what a revelation! Nuff said. 3:34 PM, please elucidate.

Anonymous said...

Nadine is this, Nadine is that; smart, effective, honest, fair. The true Nadine emerges as the Mayor's hatchet lady. Behind the scene operator clever, shrewd, working only tp protect BC's ass. For the public, nothing. A true banana.

Joan Conrow said...

3:34 and 6:21
No, it's not true. Adler picked them himself.

Anonymous said...

Nice try 3:34 pm. Just not true. Although if Nadine had made the selections I think we'd have a much better outcome right now. Hmm, let me guess - you're a friend of Fern's? Sorry but this debacle lands solely at the feet of Adler.