12-25-2007, 11:21 AM
When Bear and I lived in Atlanta, there would frequently be smog alerts in the summer. Often the visible smog would be more noticeable in the winter, but no alerts would be issued. We happened to meet one of the State of Georgia environmental officials whose job it was to monitor air pollutants, and we asked about this. He told us that the pollutants you CAN'T see are really far more toxic than what can be seen. No visible smoke does not equal no dangerous stuff in the air.
My other big concern about the waste-to-energy project proposed for the Big Island is the cost and the debt. I don't trust the County to build or operate it for what they are saying it will cost right now. Just about all their projects end up costing way more than they start out telling us, and this one won't be any different.
We should ratchet up the incentives for recycling and waste reduction. What can't be recycled or reduced should be barged to Kawaihae and trucked at night from there to the West Hawaii landfill, which we have been told has several decades of capacity left. This would likely be policically unpopular in West Hawaii, but would probably be the least costly way to deal with our trash.
Cheers,
Jerry
My other big concern about the waste-to-energy project proposed for the Big Island is the cost and the debt. I don't trust the County to build or operate it for what they are saying it will cost right now. Just about all their projects end up costing way more than they start out telling us, and this one won't be any different.
We should ratchet up the incentives for recycling and waste reduction. What can't be recycled or reduced should be barged to Kawaihae and trucked at night from there to the West Hawaii landfill, which we have been told has several decades of capacity left. This would likely be policically unpopular in West Hawaii, but would probably be the least costly way to deal with our trash.
Cheers,
Jerry