http://great-hikes.com/blog/ferry-blocked-by-protestors/ Living and hiking on the island of Kauai Sun, 06 May 2012 18:32:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://great-hikes.com/blog/ferry-blocked-by-protestors/#comment-5692 Rodney Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:42:19 +0000 http://great-hikes.com/blog/?p=218#comment-5692 Are we going to let the Superferry turn a National Marine Sanctuary into a Superhighway? Are we going to let the Superferry turn a National Marine Sanctuary into a Superhighway?

]]> http://great-hikes.com/blog/ferry-blocked-by-protestors/#comment-5146 alex Tue, 04 Sep 2007 04:01:08 +0000 http://great-hikes.com/blog/?p=218#comment-5146 I agree that the state's tactics seem underhanded. Additionally, I support the Kauai people's efforts to force the state to conduct a proper EIS and I think some sort of economic impact report should be made too. But, from watching the video, it seems unlikely that a positive EIS and some sort of positive economic report would do much to change people's minds. Asking for an EIS is merely a stall tactic. What happens when the reports come back in favor of the SuperFerry? As an oceanographer who has worked around both Kauai and Oahu, I suspect the SuperFerry will not present a serious threat to whales except during months of high activity. But, from the video and your letters, it seems that the main point of contention with the ferry has more to do with societal costs and the EIS is being used as a straw-man. Because I am trying to assess the situation objectively, I am not entirely sure where I stand. One thing I would consider though, if I were a resident of Kauai, is that Oahu - for all its ills and problems - subsidizes many of the services that are taken for granted on Kauai. This is how our tax system is structured. Large urban areas subsidize rural regions through taxes and high economic output. It happens that Kauai is a beneficiary of this system. I do not suggest that Kauai deserves to shoulder any of Oahu's problems, but I think the decided ignorance of social responsibility in an effort to preserve the status quo, while Kauai residents benefit at the expense of Oahu's seems a bit callous for the self-proclaimed "peaceful" people I saw in the protest video. I agree that the state’s tactics seem underhanded. Additionally, I support the Kauai people’s efforts to force the state to conduct a proper EIS and I think some sort of economic impact report should be made too. But, from watching the video, it seems unlikely that a positive EIS and some sort of positive economic report would do much to change people’s minds. Asking for an EIS is merely a stall tactic. What happens when the reports come back in favor of the SuperFerry? As an oceanographer who has worked around both Kauai and Oahu, I suspect the SuperFerry will not present a serious threat to whales except during months of high activity. But, from the video and your letters, it seems that the main point of contention with the ferry has more to do with societal costs and the EIS is being used as a straw-man.
Because I am trying to assess the situation objectively, I am not entirely sure where I stand. One thing I would consider though, if I were a resident of Kauai, is that Oahu – for all its ills and problems – subsidizes many of the services that are taken for granted on Kauai. This is how our tax system is structured. Large urban areas subsidize rural regions through taxes and high economic output. It happens that Kauai is a beneficiary of this system. I do not suggest that Kauai deserves to shoulder any of Oahu’s problems, but I think the decided ignorance of social responsibility in an effort to preserve the status quo, while Kauai residents benefit at the expense of Oahu’s seems a bit callous for the self-proclaimed “peaceful” people I saw in the protest video.

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