HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0489.251 2018-2020 r -
From: Megan Powers
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Testimony in support of:HERBICIDE-FREE HAWAII COUNTY PARKS AND ROADS.Im5upportrof Rebecca ShuteF4), ^l r
Villegas'Bill 101 Lid b (.1'6; I
Date: Monday,October 14,2019 12:31:58 PM
Aloha Hawaii County Council Committee of Agricultural, Water,Energy and Environmental
Management,
I am writing from Maui,Hawaii to offer my full and enthusiastic support of this bill,and ask you to do the same.
I speak from first hand experience.
We have to find non-toxic alternatives to maintaining our roadways,parks and waterways.
As a 50 yr.resident of East Maui,having grown up in the watershed,birthed my babies on the land,I have watched,
with a broken heart,
the environmental degradation that flowed down the mountain as a result of EMI(East Maui Irrigation)and Maui
County spraying
Roundup along the irrigation ditches and roadways. Not only was the stream life and amphibian life nearly
eliminated... (which once helped to manage the mosquitos)
but the killing of the soil microorganisms in an attempt to manage the weeds created"barren earth"onto which only
"pioneer plants"could survive.
Thereby selecting for and enhancing the growth of invasive species and weeds...the"pioneer plants."
This"convenient,low cost approach of using Round-Up and other herbicides to manage roadways and other
byways"creates worse
and more expensive problems to solve in the long run.
By forcing the issue and passing this law,innovation will produce real and non-toxic solutions. We have to start
somewhere.
Also,as a cancer survivor,my most important therapy is to get aerobic exercise for 30 minutes 4-5 times per week.
This has been proven to prevent relapses by 50%. I usually do this by going for runs along the roads or greenways.
However,when I am aerobically breathing Round-up into my lungs and blood,it seems all my efforts are wasted...
in fact,counter-productive.
THERE ARE REAL,PROVEN SOLUTIONS:
I have witnessed a system where goats are used,along with a couple goat herders and temporary electric fence or
radio fences,
as a non-toxic way to maintain roadways,even with very steep slopes.
This is already a proven method. Why not put the funding into this?
Train and employ local goat herders to be the road/park and byway crew.
Thank you for reading my letter and supporting viable,non-toxic solutions to the problems that we face.
Mahalo,
Megan Powers
Huelo,Maui,Hawaii
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Ref. To:V Atiet440
Ref. Date OCT 1 5 2019