08-30-2013, 12:29 PM
Rene, Please try to be more accurate in your statements: HELCO invited proposals from any developer for geothermal power from any location on the island. They did not specifically request "developers to build more plants in Puna" - in my reading of the RFP, they would prefer production from areas other than Puna - presumably because their demand is growing faster on the Kona side of the island. You also, by implication, repeat the claim that H2S settles out of the steam plume because it's heavier than air. That is not true: at steam temperatures - 100C and above - H2S is about 10% less dense than ambient air.
Leilani Estates is one of the nicest subdivisions in Puna. The roads are well maintained and many nice homes are built in that subdivision. It is, however, within the surface expression of the rift zone: that patch of ground WILL be covered by lava flows at some point in the future. No way to tell when: next week? next century? You may have a few hours notice that an eruption is about to happen on the lower rift - not much chance that you will have a lot more than that - but a significant chance that you could have less than that. Everyone living on the rift zone should recognize that they are living in a geologically active zone - likely with the highest aggregate geologic hazards in the US - and that their homes could disappear with very little warning...
Durant's comment: "Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice" is more true here than anywhere.
Leilani Estates is one of the nicest subdivisions in Puna. The roads are well maintained and many nice homes are built in that subdivision. It is, however, within the surface expression of the rift zone: that patch of ground WILL be covered by lava flows at some point in the future. No way to tell when: next week? next century? You may have a few hours notice that an eruption is about to happen on the lower rift - not much chance that you will have a lot more than that - but a significant chance that you could have less than that. Everyone living on the rift zone should recognize that they are living in a geologically active zone - likely with the highest aggregate geologic hazards in the US - and that their homes could disappear with very little warning...
Durant's comment: "Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice" is more true here than anywhere.