Have you bought any gas lately?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Over on the Ground Advantage thread:
https://punaweb.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=23243&page=3
#26
It’s noted the shipping costs to Hawaii are increasing.
Letter rates also went up on July 12.

Is this due to higher wages for USPS employees, or increased shipping costs because of gas and oil?

Those are higher prices we see and pay directly when we mail a letter, a package, or buy something that’s shipped here.  Everything, almost everything else we buy is shipped in but those increases are less transparent because they’re included in the shelf price at the grocery or hardware store, even at restaurants on the menu.

Our yard workers just raised their rate due to the price of gas to drive here and to run their weed wacker and chain saw all day. And because everything they buy costs them more.  A friend received an estimate from their general contractor to build a house, he would only lock in the price for one month, because of anticipated but unknown materials price increases.

It’s not going to get worse, worse has already arrived.

[Punatang]

Our yard workers just raised their rate due to the price of gas to drive here and to run their weed wacker and chain saw all day

It is 2026.  Please don't be the neighbors who hire workers to run their gas powered weed wacker and chain saw all day.  

Please encourage use of quiet electric lawn maintenance equipment and tools to reduce climate and noise pollution.  

So many things are getting better - it is amazing.  Try focusing on positive things which will increase your overall happiness and make the community a better place.

Here is some great news!  Hele-on bus is still free.  Even if you own an EV, taking the bus reduces traffic in general which will help the community and help leave a better climate for future generations when you're gone.

https://www.heleonbus.hawaiicounty.gov/fares

From website:

Hele-On is free for all passengers until December 31, 2028. 

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Please encourage use of quiet electric lawn maintenance equipment
…
Here is some great news!  Hele-on bus is still free.

And don’t forget, even in Puna we finally have that chicken in every pot, promised right before the Great Depression!




Please don't be the neighbors who hire workers to run their gas powered … 
Please encourage use of quiet electric

Please explain the proper libertarian manner in which to accomplish this without getting into an entrepreneur’s legally operating face and nose, and the fine line that may arise between “encourage” and the inevitable “don’t tell me how to…”
In simple terms, not simplistic.

[MyManao]

Please don't.. and.. focusing on positive..

Seem to be in conflict. And still, I am sure you mean well.

But I will ask.. my weedwhacker was bought in 2000, lawn mowers similarly, and my chainsaws before that. And, they all work well. What do you suggest I do?

[Durian Fiend]

Please don't.. and.. focusing on positive..

Seem to be in conflict. And still, I am sure you mean well.

But I will ask.. my weedwhacker was bought in 2000, lawn mowers similarly, and my chainsaws before that. And, they all work well. What do you suggest I do?

Sell them for cheap to someone who will use them much more often than you do, then buy battery powered replacements.  

[HiloJulie]

But I will ask.. my weedwhacker was bought in 2000, lawn mowers similarly, and my chainsaws before that. And, they all work well. What do you suggest I do?

Nothing. Just keep them, use them, and make posts on PunaWeb at how God-awful terrible everyone else is for not getting rid of those tools and buying their equivalent battery-operated replacements.

[kalianna]

Punatang, whenʻs the last time you actually tried to use our wonderful free buses? They often donʻt show up and they break down a lot. Talked to a lady yesterday who caught the 4:30 bus from Puna Kai to Hilo. It was actually on time! But the driver informed the passengers that they would be going to the base yard at the Business Park, not downtown. Next bus would be taking them-- in four hours. After passengers expressed their displeasure, they found another bus and this lady was pleased that they arrived downtown before dark.

[MyManao]

Sell them for cheap to someone who will use them much more often than you do, then buy battery powered replacements.  

That doesn't seem like a solution to a problem as much as the creation of one.

The stuff I have works, is in good order, and if I sell them for cheap I then have to spend more than I get for them to buy others. The math doesn't add up. After all, doing nothing is so much easier... and cheaper.

And, besides, I'm not a big fan of batteries. I have always had a relationship with them.. large banks of them for a solar house, all the batteries that are a part of the equipment HVO has deployed in the field, the UPS system my work station current is protected by. But all told I don't believe getting rid of an already existing well working and not all that often used piece of gas powered equipment so as to require the planet to cough up the materials needed to make a battery powered replacement makes any sense at all.

And, besides, even with a long history of a relationship with them.. I am not a fan of batteries. and don't believe the current craze is anymore than four track tape players were.. a passing fad. I am not a fan of EV either... again.. I ain't into batteries, especially on that level. And, of course, until we create the electricity with clean sources what's the difference? Create the CO2 out the tailpipe or the smokestack, and add the toxic crap that goes into making a battery too?

We could split hairs, and I am sure there's reasons to go one way or another, but as long as it works.. why try and fix it?

[Punatang]

The Puna Tangs use the bus all of the time.  It is remarkably reliable and efficient. The kids use it to go to their things in Hilo, several times a week.  The whole family has been known to take Hele-On together on stay-cation over to BI Disney.  I'm sure everyone has a cousin that knows a lady that had a bad experience at one point, and everything always has room for improvement, but Hele-On and their hard working, dedicated, thoughtful drivers deserve our kudos for the job they are doing for us.  Try it - you might like it.

For all of you climate deniers, maybe Ironyak will sell you a goat. 

Have a great weekend PW.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

So, imagine a sunny morning in Hilo. You step onto the Hele-On bus, a little turquoise shuttle, and as it pulls away from the station, you catch glimpses of lush rainforest. The bus winds along the Hamakua Coast, where waterfalls tumble down green cliffs, and you see the ocean sparkle far in the distance. You pass through small towns—Pāhoa, with its quirky shops, and then down to Volcano, where the mist hangs low. Every turn of the route feels like a new adventure, the island unfolding in front of you.

Hele-On bus trip as imagined by ChatGPT.  Probably utilizing what it finds scattered across the internet.  Sounds nice until you go down to Volcano from Pahoa.  Do you end up in Loihi? Then stay positive and hope there’s insulated scuba gear somewhere on the bus.