HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0176.009 2002-2004 April 16, 2003 Hawaii County Council
I AM FOR A CITIZENS' ADVISORY BOARD FOR
POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA ~.c.rwcr~
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Testimony by Dwight Kondo PO Box 2067 Pahoa, (96778) _ Cau~t~ covncu
I come to speak in favor of the creation of a citizen's advisory board
regarding the use and expansion of the Pohakuloa Training Area.
Late last year, Jim Albertini led a Saddle Road tour of PTA. The famous
funnelled winds between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa were with us that
day, as it often blows. I would estimate these gusts to be in access of 30
miles per hour.
The damage practiced by troops preparing for battle is as bad as the wars
they intend to fight. We know some of the practices here will harm or
poison our environment for decades if not longer. We also know that the
regular training missions will mean that Pohakuloa will be exposed to
constant battle conditions and impacts far longer and with more regularity
than any war zone in the world.
What you are seeing here is process of erosion called desertification. In
particular, our volcanic soil having been broken down through weather or
warfare conditions and through the destruction of the securing vegetation
is swept away. In the high funnelled winds of Pohakuloa, the dust or desert
area expands, destroying more vegetation leading to the exposure of more
topsoil and erosion.
Top soil erosion is considered to be one of the most serious forms of
evironmental degradation.
As you can see here, the clouds of dust reach hunreds of feet. There are
no vehicles at this time causing the dust to stir. We should always imagine
that with the winds at Pohakuloa, these giant dust devils are a constant
occurrance. Dust is also a pollutant and there have been times that I have
watched towering red clouds of dust sweep down the western slopes of the
saddle towards Waikoloa.
Comm. No. ' 1
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Ref. Dare
Although it is euphemistically referred to as Defense, the current and future
use of Pohakuloa is dedicated to the destruction of people and
environments. That, afterall is what war and the preparation for it are all
about. Unfortunately, as we can see these days in the so called interest of
national defense, there seems no bounds. Hawaii county recently learned
of the military's past experiments here in the Olaa forest with what would
currently be called weapons of mass destruction.
On Kahoolawe, the military failed to control the feral goat population which
led to the denuding and erosion of that islands topsoil. Having visited
Kahoolawe twice I can attest that the hard pan left behind is like ugly scab
that will take years and millions of dollars to rehablitate. There were also
many culturally sensitive sites that were either neglected, bombed or
trampled. In the 1960's the US Navy went as far as to detonated tons of tnt
to simulate a nuclear explosion that ended up blasting the cap rock
protecting Kahoolawe's scarce fresh water supply. We also know of the
toxic waste sites and the poisoned shoreline and marine life of Pearl
Harbor. We have come to learn that the environmental impact of the
military on the Hawaiian Islands has often been devastating, dangerous
and enduring. In nearly all circumstances in Hawaii, to render our lands to
the US military is to only hope to lose it forever. For even if all wars were to
stop tomorrow, the often toxic and poisonous residue of warfare will haunt
our future generations.
I believe whole heartedly that the defense of our environment and
resources must effectively include our community. If the county fails to
create the mechanisms to protect Pohakuloa and allows it to be left fully in
the hands of military, we will suffer the destruction of another valuable
island resource lost ostensibly in the cause to save it.