09-17-2014, 04:25 AM
Why is the lava just going to split the town in two and not eat the whole thing? If it keeps putting lava out on the side of Pu'u O'o like it is, wouldn't it eventually look like the other side of Pu'u O'o? One would suppose the end result will look kinda like a fan of lava spread out until it reaches the ocean. That will probably take a few years since the last one did, too, but unless it stops or goes back to putting lava out the other side of Pu'u O'o, then it is almost inevitable.
Any businesses that start up in a lava flow zone are gonna have to be mobile, so that's tents and truck vendors. Perhaps Pahoa will become like Maku'u Market? Then the vendors stock isn't at risk of being covered by lava since it would be mobile. As the lava advances, then the market relocates. You'd have to have a team of folks finding the next location and getting it prepared, though.
So far, Carey, (IMHO) the prognosis you're visualizing seems more along the line of wishful thinking than even optimism since generally optimism has a bit broader basis in reality. The lava has been flowing in the Puna area for decades, so if these sorts of businesses were to be brought about by flowing lava, then they would already be in existence. As for businesses becoming viable due to seclusion, generally that's not the typical reaction. From what I've noticed in retail, any time you make it harder for the customer to get to what ever it is you are selling, the less of it will be sold. In this case, the harder it is to get somewhere, the less the general public will show up. You may get some few folks willing to be off in the middle of nowhere, but even then the "nowhere" has to be "somewhere" to go. And it's a Catch 22 situation, folks aren't going to set up a business until it is somewhere that folks want to be and it won't be that until folks set up businesses and places for folks to go. As for folks on vacation, generally they want comfort, entertainment, interesting experiences and rum drinks with little umbrellas in it and a tee shirt that says they went there.
If the lava would fountain up in the air like it did at the very beginning, then you'd have the loads of folks rushing to see it. Lava oozing around the ground has been happening for too long to get all that much excitement. Lava eating buildings would bring out a few folks, I'd expect, although a lot of folks would also stay away out of respect for the building owner's losses.
In the meantime, probably Keaau will grow larger as most of the population that can move and businesses shift to that area. Pahoa was becoming busy and viable as it's own town because the highway had been widened all the way to Pahoa. When the road was narrow and bumpy, Pahoa town wasn't much. As the road became wider and smoother, more folks moved in and larger businesses moved in. Taking away the access to Pahoa and lower Puna is not going to make anything thrive.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
Any businesses that start up in a lava flow zone are gonna have to be mobile, so that's tents and truck vendors. Perhaps Pahoa will become like Maku'u Market? Then the vendors stock isn't at risk of being covered by lava since it would be mobile. As the lava advances, then the market relocates. You'd have to have a team of folks finding the next location and getting it prepared, though.
So far, Carey, (IMHO) the prognosis you're visualizing seems more along the line of wishful thinking than even optimism since generally optimism has a bit broader basis in reality. The lava has been flowing in the Puna area for decades, so if these sorts of businesses were to be brought about by flowing lava, then they would already be in existence. As for businesses becoming viable due to seclusion, generally that's not the typical reaction. From what I've noticed in retail, any time you make it harder for the customer to get to what ever it is you are selling, the less of it will be sold. In this case, the harder it is to get somewhere, the less the general public will show up. You may get some few folks willing to be off in the middle of nowhere, but even then the "nowhere" has to be "somewhere" to go. And it's a Catch 22 situation, folks aren't going to set up a business until it is somewhere that folks want to be and it won't be that until folks set up businesses and places for folks to go. As for folks on vacation, generally they want comfort, entertainment, interesting experiences and rum drinks with little umbrellas in it and a tee shirt that says they went there.
If the lava would fountain up in the air like it did at the very beginning, then you'd have the loads of folks rushing to see it. Lava oozing around the ground has been happening for too long to get all that much excitement. Lava eating buildings would bring out a few folks, I'd expect, although a lot of folks would also stay away out of respect for the building owner's losses.
In the meantime, probably Keaau will grow larger as most of the population that can move and businesses shift to that area. Pahoa was becoming busy and viable as it's own town because the highway had been widened all the way to Pahoa. When the road was narrow and bumpy, Pahoa town wasn't much. As the road became wider and smoother, more folks moved in and larger businesses moved in. Taking away the access to Pahoa and lower Puna is not going to make anything thrive.
Kurt Wilson
Kurt Wilson