HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-23 Michelle Melendez Testimony From: Michelle Melendez
To: WPCtestimonv; LPCtestimonv
Subject: IMPORTANT Testimony on General Plan 2045(Mahalo for your kokua)
Date: Saturday, November 23,2024 8:51:15 AM
Aloha Commissioners,
If this is a plan locals have supported and they're being contacted with each new draft, as Mr.
Kern stated yesterday, why hasn't one person shown up?
Mr. Kern wasn't sworn in and asked to raise his right hand to swear to tell the truth. I think he
should be.
Concerns about the plan:
• "Reduced Miles Traveled" should be changed to "Travel Alternatives". It's against the
Constitution to deprive people of their right to travel. That language must be removed
from the plan or you, and all those who created this plan are in violation of your oath of
office. (No disrespect intended. That is simply the truth.)
• Electric Vehicles (EV): They want to put charging stations around Big Island for EV
which will have more impact on the already impacted grid. How this is being considered
disturbs me greatly. There are already power-shortages on the island. This would hinder
it even more.
Plus, as I've stated in my previous email, EV's are dangerous. Here is a quote from a
firefighter. "The problem with EIVs is that the lithium-ion batteries can actually propagate a
fire. In fact, they can actually encourage afire. If a fire has already started and you have
lithium-ion batteries, they can ignite a lot more vigorously compared to any other cars, "said
Captain Rahul Khanna, the Global Head of Marine Consulting at Allianz; he has 26 years'
experience in the shipping and maritime industry and 14 years in various ranks on merchant
ships. . Source: "Is It Safe To Ship Thousands Of Electric Cars On Big Ships?"by Mark
Vaughn, May 10, 2022.h!Ws://www.autoweek.com/news/industry-news/a39951439/is-it-safe-
to-ship-thousands-of-electric-cars-on-big-ships/
How will we remove these dangerous cars once they are retired?
What about the cost to dispose of EV batteries once they are no longer in use?
These batteries cannot simply be thrown away. They are toxic to the environment and
people. Hawaii is an island. So will you ship these batteries off island or store them and their
toxic waste on the island? They should not be allowed
here.
What happens if the grid goes down? How will people charge their EV?
• Off Grid Living: This plan wants to work with the DOH around water catchment. The
last thing locals want are more regulations and fines for off grid living. Not one person
has died from unhealthy water catchment. This should be removed from the plan. Locals
know how to take care of themselves. That is not the government's job. Please help stop
government overreach.
• Carbon: There is a section on the plan about reducing carbon. This should be removed.
It is government overreach and will increase regulations and reduce freedom for people
under a false premise. The General Plan manager stated that they did research with the
Federal Government, not actual weather experts and scientists. Gregg Braden is a
geologist, five-time New York Times best-selling author, scientist, international
educator, and renowned as a pioneer in the emerging paradigm based in science, social
policy, and human potential, had this to say about the dangers of carbon on the planet:
"The idea that carbon dioxide is a poison is a false narrative to begin with. We are
carbon-based beings. By demonizing carbon dioxide and carbon life, we're actually
demonizing ourselves. Source: "Gregg Braden - Why "THE POWERS THAT BE" are
So Desperate to Reduce Carbon Dioxide on OUR Planet?"by Gregg Braden Official,
January 11, 2023. hapS7/Zyoutu.be/7vJ-Oefos8A?si=BviOKcdznXx6tgSO
Braden also stated in the same interview: `7f you could look at the ice cores in Antarctica and
Greenland,you would see that the temperature of the Earth increases or decreases
around 800 years before the change in carbon dioxide. That means carbon dioxide does not
drive the change; it is the response to the temperature change. "We're being led to believe
that carbon levels of CO2 have never been higher; that the Earth is going to be destroyed if
they are higher; and that CO2 is the driving temperature, both of which are not true."
• Climate Change: This entire section should be removed. It is absolute government
overreach again on a false premise. An article at Britannica.com written by Thor Arthur
Hansen, Professor of Invertebrate Paleontology, Paleoecology, and Evolution at
Western Washington University, U.S., and Carl Fred Koch, Professor of Geological
Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. It was fact-checked by The
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica and last updated on Feb 7, 2024. The article said
that sea level was higher primarily because the water in the ocean basins was displaced
by the enlargement of mid-oceanic ridges . It was not due to carbon! It was due to the
Earth's mantle. Source: "Cretaceous Period,"by Carl Fre Koch, Thor Arthur
Hansen, ems://www.britannica.com/science/Cretaceous-Period
If you need more experts proving what they are saying in the plan is false, let me know. It is
important to have experts give their opinion and not those invested in renewable energy.
• Rezoning: The plan will not directly rezone areas but it opens the door to rezoning in
many many areas. This will change people's way of life and have a huge impact on the
future of our keiki. What local would want that?
This plan should be stopped immediately. It is not the plan that 4K locals worked on.
No local would want...
• Their property value to be reduced
• To turn much of the coastland to conservation and have that impact people's property
value and right to enjoy the land
• To have more regulations,policies and fines
• To have "incentives" ie. tax increases, to force people to do what the government wants
There are no sections in the plan for:
• Supporting people to grow more food.
• The needed CDP for Hilo
• More roads to evacuate from South Kona, Waikoloa, and Puna
• No mention of the fracking that is going on here
• Supporting and enhancing the systems that are already here
This plan does not support this island. It is a massive government overreach.
Mahalo for your time. My passion is not meant to be disrespectful. I know you are volunteers
and I more than appreciate what you're doing. Standing up and saying this is a no go, won't be
easy. For the future of this island and the keiki, I hope you're brave enough to do it.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Michelle Melendez-Freedom Activist
Fitness and Wellness Expert Since 1996
Author Of The Best Selling and 4x Award Winning Book,
End Dieting Hell:How to find peace in your body and release the weight
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