Stop the Development Mentality

[howard4113]

On topic is good. I would be very interested in which groups are concerned about the development at Ulua and the impact on the reef - and just what the concerns are. I would be happy to volunteer to help document changes to the reef ecology, and I know many other Ulua divers that would be willing to help as well. Do you have any contact info?

Also - anyone that thinks that development is slowing on Maui is confused. There are many projects which have just started and many on schedule to begin soon.

BTW - I wish more people could stay focused and on topic -- and keep their political opinions to themselves.

M

 

[Cacia]

Reefcheck, a group I have been involved with can do a reef survey and document the pre-construction baseline. We did one on the North shore pre "Velsy-land development"

You should check them out---much of the data goes to the UN and is utilized in making various political judgements. Sorry...it is tough to keep politics out of environmental issues.

Data is power.

Anyway--the exchange of ideas is what it is all about, we are all friends here.

I fear somewhat that JPMC gets a bit romanticized...I am hoping we can follow up on this gill net business as charlie suggests. Lio kai can tell us what has worked over there---Hawaii has a very active and effective group of ocean/ diver advocates from what I can tell. The bouy program, for one thing. They are pretty organized over there, it seems.

We should organize and implement small, measurable realistic steps and divide the load so that someone is representing the cause more often at these meetings.

 

[Charlie99]

On topic is good. I would be very interested in which groups are concerned about the development at Ulua and the impact on the reef - and just what the concerns are. <emphasis added>

Me too.

Before it got buried by the flood of political posts, I had asked why Halemano says

"Starwood Hotels will begin demolition of the Renaissance Resort Jan 17th. Located next to Ulua Reef, this project will do irreparable harm to one of our most popular marine recreation sites".

That's a pretty strong statement, and I'd like to know more about the specific concerns.

The way I see it, there are a couple different areas of concern about impact on the reef. One is silt onto the reef from runoff during demolition and construction. The other is the impact of sewage, which leads to increased algae and other problems.

Siltation can be pretty easily handled by barriers and so forth, with the threat of big enough fines that the contractors spend what is necessary to have zero runoff.

 

[Wildcard]

On topic is good. I would be very interested in which groups are concerned about the development at Ulua and the impact on the reef - and just what the concerns are. I would be happy to volunteer to help document changes to the reef ecology, and I know many other Ulua divers that would be willing to help as well. Do you have any contact info?

Also - anyone that thinks that development is slowing on Maui is confused. There are many projects which have just started and many on schedule to begin soon.

BTW - I wish more people could stay focused and on topic -- and keep their political opinions to themselves.

M

When the original post ends with a political slam, Id say that IS staying on topic. So far here we have seen nothing more than a "the sky is falling" statement with no backing of facts and a political statement by someone who WANTS to hate Bush for any fabricated reason there is. To gain support for an idea, you don't start by pissingoff half the people.

 

[Cacia]

I have to agree....I LIKE Steve, I even agree with his cause here, but ...he mentioned the Bush business.

What? The people that don't agree can't say anything back? We can all be friends and discuss the issues. BUT, Howard, get your facts straight before you start getting pompous and making slams about politics...and my boat.

Now, settle down kids, before some Mod gets us, and we cannot mention our president's name even in the context of environmental politics.

Sorry, Howard but it does get political if you want to talk environmental issues in Hawaii...unless you all just want to play around and pontificate. As far as "heritage" comment, it has been openly acknowledged that this is an Hawaiian heritage issue (gill nets) in the media. Part of the solution that has been suggested has been to utilize Kamehameha school system as part of an educational outreach to try and educate the keiki as they come up. Now, if we can't discuss that...then you neeed to have your own private little threads and write your own PC rules and have people opt in. Environmental issues are political---I think most of us can deal with that and we don't have to treat it like some abherant sex act and "keep it to ourselves". I contend THAT is a big part of the problem...our local environmental issues are not polite cocktail conversation and so no one does anything for fear of offending someone. Meanwhile...the damage to the reefs continue, and endangered pups are found in gill nets. Blame Bush if you like, but don't expect some of us to sit by gagged by your idea of political correctness.

We are going to have to meet some of this stuff head-on, as a community and keep our eye on the ball.

We all want the same thing around here, far as I can tell.

 

[mrjimboalaska]

Catherine,
I dig how you can do the ZEN thing and keep us all mellow! Oh, but show the FIRE when the need arises! kudos......

 

[KrisB]

Hey guys... before we get too far on his back, do keep in mind that halemano's employer runs the scuba concession at the Renaissance.

He is taking a *big* chance here by going against the owners of the resort -- and I think needs our encouragement that his concern for the environment outweighs his concern for his personal employment.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I chose to start this with sensational wording, "will do irreparable harm" because all the new construction and especially a major costal tear down and rebuild are continuing the irreparable harm to the reefs. One of the first steps for the Renaissance will be removal of the landscaping, on a steep slope right next to the ocean and Ulua Reef. The project starts with 2 1/2 months of rainey season left. That indicates the level of concern both Starwood and the Maui planning and permitting departments feel toward the ocean and Ulua Reef.

IMHO, golf courses, resort grounds, pineapple and sugar cane fields all make significant negative contributions to the run-off, but so does the majority of normal everyday island society. Badly planned developement can cause large spikes in the damage. We have had a very wet week here in Wailea, and most of the dive sites are more murky than they would be without all the open ground due to our massive build out.

5 or 10 years ago there was mostly sand around the south Maui reefs. A medium size swell would cause a couple days of bad vis, but it would settle down pretty quickly. Now there is a lot of silt and it takes many days of really calm conditions for it to really get nice. We have also had many annoying algae blooms which have a similar effect on the dive sites, except it's like diving after a thousand really big dogs had a bath.

With regard to the political bend of this thread...

Bush made a Monument of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, even stranger things could happen.

You'd have to have a pretty thin skin to call that a political slam. Why not see it as "If Bush did that, we also might be able to make a difference!" Or maybe "If Bush did that, Jean-Michel might actually support a moratorium (on Maui)." That's what I meant by "...even stranger things could happen."

I'm only a fan of a few things Clinton did, I'm only a fan of a few things any President (or Governer) has ever done. The current system is deplorable. The extremes seem to be fighting for control while the majority of the people probably should consider themselves moderates.

This is a lot like the Hawaiian situation, if we don't work together nothing will be accomplished.

 

[Wildcard]

OK, Nice come back but could you pick someone besides a bunch of frenchmen in speedos to contact?

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I'm a sucker for PBS, never actually been to any of J-M's web sites. I thought broaching the idea through the TV show feedback would be interesting. The image he is promoting with PBS (J-M C Ocean Adventures) is a perfect fit for this project. Check the Get Involved page at PBS.