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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Laura Triantos Andersen <br /> Age: 13; entering 8a' Grade <br /> Hualalai Academy <br /> 75-5773 Luna Pl. <br /> Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 <br /> <br /> Testimony - July 18, 2006 Meeting <br /> Resolution Requesting the Hawai'i County Council to Look <br /> Into Banning Smoking at Kahalu'u Beach Park <br /> <br /> <br /> I think that there needs to be a smoking ban at Kahalu'u Beach Park because <br /> protecting the environment is important to me. This ban is needed to protect the <br /> environment and the people who frequent the beach. Cigarettes are toxic to marine life <br /> and people. There are at least 60 known human carcinogens in cigarettes. That means that <br /> cigarettes are poisonous to people and marine life. <br /> <br /> I researched the effects of chemicals in cigarette butts on crustaceans for my <br /> science project this year. My science project was titled "Ghost Crabs and Cigarette <br /> Butts" and I did tests at Kahalu'u Beach Park and the Old Airport Beach Park. I did tests <br /> to find out if there was a relationship between the number of cigarette butts and the <br /> number of ghost crabs at the beaches. There was a significant negative correlation, <br /> meaning there are less ghost crabs where there are more cigarette butts. My experiment <br /> showed that not putting your cigarette butts in an ashtray is hurting the beaches' <br /> ecosystem. <br /> This ban is important to me because I have gone to Kahalu'u since I was a baby, <br /> and it's always awful to dig in the sand and, instead of finding crabs or shells, all you find <br /> is another cigarette butt. When I go out snorkeling, I'll be looking at the fish when a <br /> cigarette butt floats past me. It is just gross to have to sit next to someone on the beach <br /> who is puffing away and stuffs their cigarette into the sand. This happened while I was <br /> doing my science project! <br /> <br /> Cigarette butts are one of the most common items found in beach clean-ups, <br /> accounting for at least 20-40% of what's found. Cigarette filters are made of cellulose <br /> acetate which can take up to 15 years to degrade. Our beaches should not be used as <br /> ashtrays, because in addition to being disgusting, it is harmful to marine life as well as <br /> people. Please pass the ban on smoking at Kahalu'u Beach Park. <br /> <br /> Thank you! <br />