Ban Consumer Fireworks in Hawaii

Posted on | February 6, 2010 | No Comments

The Legislature in Hawaii is currently considering a bill, SB 2365, that proposes to ban consumer fireworks statewide. Below is the testimony that I have submitted for this bill.

I am outraged by the abundance of fireworks and the lack of enforcement of existing laws this past New Year’s Eve (and in the past on New Year’s and July 4th). I support a total ban on fireworks (except for limited use in cultural and religious ceremonies).

I sat in my home in Kailua on New Year’s Eve listening to the sounds of the neighborhood and feeling like I lived in a war zone. It began at sundown and lasted through the night (actually, it began weeks before New Year’s). The use of fireworks in Kailua, and the rest of the island, is simply out of control. Over the past few years, both on July 4th and New Year’s Eve, I’ve been dumbfounded as to how our state allows this to continue. Whatever benefit that a minority of people are deriving from setting off explosives cannot even begin to justify the negative consequences of these fireworks. It has gotten to the point where I hope for torrential rains to thwart the craziness.

At the end of my letter I have included a list of relevant statistics that were compiled by a friend of mine who is an industrial safety expert here on Oahu. I hope these hard facts he has provided will complement my own thoughts.

First and foremost, I believe it is the duty of elected officials to use their powers to protect the public welfare. Fireworks present a clear and present danger to everyone, not just those who use them. I’ve witnessed fires in the middle of the streets from people who leave the smoking remains of their ten second explosive pleasures; cars must swerve to avoid them or wait for them to finish burning. I’ve watched irresponsible parents sit on their lawns as they allow small children to stand by the street and play with fire. Twice, I’ve seen four foot flames rise from busy streets while explosions shot off in all directions as little kids stood next to them. I’ve listened to enormous explosions that cause houses to shake, my neighbors’ babies to cry, our dogs to bark, and car alarms to sound. I’ve had to close the windows to my house to prevent noxious smoke and ash from stinking up my home and hurting my eyes, but usually to no avail.

I ask you this: Will it take an unprecedented disaster before we act to ban fireworks? How many children must lose their fingers or their lives, how many homes must burn before we do something to stop this? I am not being melodramatic; these things happen every year and yet nothing changes. And when the economy gets better and people can afford more fireworks, it’s only going to get worse.

Second, the negative effects of fireworks hardly end when the festivities are over. Fireworks are composed of toxic chemical that pollute our air, contaminate our drinking water, leave trash all over our streets (there is still residue on my street over a month after New Year’s), leave residue in our watershed thus harming plants and animals, and contribute to marine debris that threatens the health, safety, and aesthetics of our beaches and coasts. This results in violations of the Clean Air Act and a number of other environmental laws. Please see the link below for more information. This is a very bad thing for our State, particularly when we claim to be stewards of the environment or position our state as eco-friendly. http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/toxicfireworks.htm

Third, there seems to be almost no enforcement of fireworks laws. I suspect this is a very difficult thing to do as someone must be caught in the act, which is why I am in support of a ban. People who were launching loud aerials evaded arrest all night long even though they were clearly coming from the same locations, over and over, hour after hour. I made several calls providing locations of these violations, but nothing changed. As a relevant aside, on New Year’s the Secret Service needed to intervene on a fireworks situation to ensure President Obama’s safety; this is an embarrassment to Honolulu, to Hawaii, to our police force, and to me as a citizen.

There are a number of incredible public fireworks displays that people all over the island can attend. There is no reason that people should be allowed to launch these stupid, selfish, dangerous fireworks in residential neighborhoods that put everyone else at risk and deprive us from the right to peaceful enjoyment of our holidays. Whatever traditions or religious beliefs that people claim to be celebrating do not justify the risk to public safety that results. I highly doubt that any religion or culture condones the use of explosives, particularly illegal ones, by people (including children) with no expertise in how to use them safely. I also suspect that very few of the people who are launching fireworks are doing so because of their cultural and/or religious beliefs.

I used to look forward to New Year’s and July 4th, but now I just worry about the health and safety of our families, our neighbors, our pets, our oceans, and our `aina. We need to give much more support to our hardworking policemen and firemen so they can prevent the proliferation of illegal fireworks and catch people who use legal ones irresponsibly. More importantly, we need to enact legislation that stops the use and sale of fireworks altogether.

Please, please, please, do something about this so that good, respectful, responsible citizens can enjoy themselves on holidays and not have their safety jeopardized by a loud, reckless minority. Please, take a stand against fireworks!!!

Some Scary Fireworks Statics:

Fireworks…

-Cause significant fires and related loss of life. Each year HFD responds from 20-100 fires over New Years Eve. A 2000 house fire in Palolo valley caused a fatality.

-Cause serious burns and injuries. The CPSC estimates that in 2008 about 7,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireworks. More than half the injuries were burns and most of the injuries involved the hands, eyes, and legs. People ranging in age from 15 to 19 years old had the highest per capita injury rate among all age groups.

-Cause significant health conditions. Studies have found a dramatic increase in emergency room visits due to asthma and other chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders (COPD) during firework activities.

-Cause environmental degradation. The many colors in fireworks are due to burning metals. Specifically, green colors are caused by burning Barium. Barium is a characteristic EPA and DOH hazardous waste and can accumulate in water and soil. Additionally, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide frequently build up in the air in significant concentrations.

-Cause increased risk to air, water and land travel and shipping. Illegal fireworks are improperly brought to Hawaii , increasing the risk to all those that travel and ship goods. The FAA has noted that the majority of illegal fireworks brought on planes are bound for Hawaii .

-Cause significant disturbances to the peace. Aerial fireworks produce noise levels around 150 decibels, disrupting neighborhoods, causing stress to both residents and pets.

Thank you for your time. I hope you will do the right thing and ban the use of amateur explosives in our state.

On Fishes, Both Swimming and Sliced

Posted on | November 26, 2009 | No Comments

Today’s topic is a reflection on a number of the books that I’ve been reading over the past few months (and some even further back) that I have yet to review and how they all tie together. I figured you can go to Amazon for a book review, but where else can you get a discussion of these books all together? As you can tell from the title, there’s an ocean theme to them. Unfortunately, anyone who loves the ocean cannot ignore the fact that the ocean, everything in it, and everything that relies on it, are in great peril.

As someone who loves eating fish and particularly sushi, I’m often torn between my palette and my conscience. So, when I read “The Story of Sushi” by Trevor Corson (”The Secret Life of Lobsters“), I drooled over the descriptions of the toro (the fattiest, tastiest, most expensive part of a tuna) while feeling incredibly guilty about the fact that it often comes from the bluefin tuna, one of the world’s most endangered fish. In Carl Safina’s (”Eye of the Albatross” and “Voyage of the Turtle“) masterpiece, “Song for the Blue Ocean“, he outlines the enormous challenges of protecting an animal that most people would rather see on their dinner plate (often for over $10 a bite) than in the ocean. While Corson does discuss the environmental concerns of eating some types of fish, it is not the focus of his book, which follows the progress of a class of students training to become sushi chefs. Corsons’s style of switching seemlessly between the present day story and the history / science of sushi makes it a fun read that has me excited about sitting at the sushi bar and ordering “omakase” (chef’s choice) to get the freshest fish available. But…

Read more…

“The Billionaire’s Vinegar”

Posted on | September 20, 2009 | No Comments

Take a guess at the price for the most expensive bottle of wine that has ever sold. I wonder if you’re even within a hundred grand. The price, paid at an auction on behalf of Malcom Forbes, was $156,000! It wasn’t just any bottle of wine though; this bottle, a 1787 Lafite Bordeaux, was claimed by its seller to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson. The key word in that sentence, and what becomes the main plot of the book, is “claimed”. After all, after 200 years, proving an item’s original owner isn’t a trivial task.
Read more…

“His Excellency, George Washington”

Posted on | August 23, 2009 | No Comments

I recently read, “His Excellency, George Washington” by Joseph J. Ellis (author of the bestseller “Founding Brothers”). Yet again, I’m amazed at how Ellis makes American history come alive through his writing style, which transitions seamlessly from factual story-telling to almost conversational language. Here, he cuts through the legends and folklore that surround our Nation’s founding father and leaves the reader completely in awe of a man whose achievements were nothing short of miraculous.

Read more…

Meta-review of the health care debate

Posted on | August 19, 2009 | 1 Comment

Let me begin this blog by assuring you that I will not be putting across my opinions on health care reform. Rather, I’d like to take a look at how this whole debate is unfolding in isolation of the actual issue being discussed. So, I write this not to elevate democrats over republicans or liberals over conservatives, but rather the rational over the irrational and the moral over the immoral.

It seems to me that the failure in this debate stems from the lack of common ground established by the different sides, and the complete and utter absurdity of the coverage by some of the mainstream news programs.

Read more…

Roz Savage, Ocean Rower

Posted on | August 2, 2009 | 2 Comments

For the past few months, I’ve been working with ocean rower and environmentalist Roz Savage for a project at Archinoetics (where I work) called the RozTracker (an interactive mapping tool that plots her crossing of the Pacific Ocean). Recently, Archinoetics took over managing Roz’s website as well, and so I was charged with fixing a number of shortcomings and bugs with the site (incompatibility with Internet Explorer, lack of blog integration, etc.).  After much consideration (and some banging my head against the wall) we decided it would be prudent to re-do the entire site so it would be exactly what Roz had wanted all along. Read more…

Surfrider Oahu Website

Posted on | July 26, 2009 | No Comments

I recently completed the new Surfrider Oahu website for the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. This was an amazing opportunity to work on a website for a cause that I am so passionate about: protecting the oceans and shorelines. The website was built Wordpress and integrates a number of third party tools, such as Google Calendar, Twitter, and various widgets that allow the site to be easily updated.

Below is a description of Surfrider. I hope you’ll check out the site and become a member!

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. The Oahu Chapter’s mission is to improve water quality, maintain beach and ocean access, and assure responsible development on the island of Oahu.

Read more…

Stuart Holmes Coleman, Author

Posted on | July 26, 2009 | No Comments

It’s not too often that you get to meet the author of one of your favorite books and have the opportunity to discuss it with him.  I had that opportunity this year when I met Stuart Holmes Coleman, author of “Eddie Would Go”, an amazing biography of Eddie Aikau, Hawaii’s legendary waterman. I’ve worked with Stuart over the past several months on the development of the Surfrider Oahu website, since he is the coordinator for the Hawaii chapters of Surfrider. I also worked with Stuart to build his own personal website, which highlights his books, magazine articles, and blogs. I hope you’ll check out Stuart’s website.

Sea Turtle Testimony

Posted on | July 25, 2009 | 2 Comments

There is currently a proposal by the National Marine Fisheries Service to allow unlimited longlining by Hawaii swordfish boats. In the proposal is an increase in the allowed “interactions” (typically that is a euphemism for death, or at least serious injury). As you might guess, I strongly oppose this proposed measure.

Below is the testimony I submitted. Submit your testimony before August 3, 2009.

I am strongly opposed to the proposed measure, which will allow for increased turtle deaths and injuries. Longline fishing is one of the most destructive forms of fishing in the world and any increase in Hawaiian waters is sure to have immeasurable catastrophic impact on a number of species, not just sea turtles. We should be moving to REDUCE longlining in and around Hawaii by supporting alternative fishing methods. Time and again, this industry has proven that it cannot be trusted to follow responsible practices that promote sustainability of our ocean’s animals (even including the ones that they financially benefit from).

Sea turtles face extremely difficult challenges for survival in every aspect of their lives. The turtles that die by strangling and drowning in longlines, up until that point, are the animal world’s equivalent of lottery winners. They overcame tremendous challenges to survive their natural threats and predators, let alone the polluted waters where they live and the marine-debris-covered beaches where they nest. For them to die so unnecessarily in a longline is an easily avoidable tragedy.

Turtles have long lives and don’t start reproducing for many years. We are only just beginning to understand them, their reproduction, the illnesses they succumb to, and their migratory paths. Just because there have been a few years of success for populations does not mean that the trend will continue if we allow increased “interactions”. We must continue to be vigilant in protecting them because they do not live and die on a short time frame like the whims of the politics of their protection.

I recognize the importance of fishing for our economy and I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t acknowledge that I eat a lot of fish. However, I am careful to only eat fish from sustainable industries that do not harm the environment. We should be encouraging everyone to do the same, not pushing the limit of what we can get away with before too many turtles die.

American Clean Energy and Security Act

Posted on | June 27, 2009 | No Comments

To those who question the potential effectiveness of the Waxman-Markey bill (also known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act), I have two questions: 1) Do you believe that humans have caused the climate to change? and, 2) Do you think we have the capacity to fix it? I just want to make sure you’re starting with the same assumptions as the rest of us, because if not then your comments are, well, largely irrelevant to all of us who are trying to ensure the future health of the planet.

If you said “yes” to the two questions above, then I assume you WANT us to take action to reduce our impact on the climate. And if that’s the case, then what would YOU like to see done if you don’t think this bill is the answer (I’m not an expert on it)? It’s one thing to critique, it’s another to offer alternatives. Right now, I’d rather we air on the side of action than that of the status quo; seems like eight years of ignoring the problem hasn’t done much good.

Some question whether this bill will actually reduce the cost of energy. To that I say, yours is a trivial concern compared to the issue of whether we will even HAVE energy in the future when all the oil reserves dry up (whether you think that’s in 50 years, 100 years, or longer; at some point, it will be gone). Without a serious commitment to becoming fully dependent on renewable energy sources, we are doing nothing but putting a few more years on that big countdown timer to total planetary chaos.

I don’t think I’m being melodramatic and I hate to sound apocalyptic, but I am frustrated and tired of arguing the merits of environmental legislation with people who don’t think there’s an environmental problem in the first place. There’s something wrong when people, like Al Gore, who are trying to protect the environment are accused of political posturing or something other than sincere concern, while those who say that human-caused climate change is a myth are not vilified for only thinking of their own (deep) pockets.