Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 3, 1 March 2020 — Letters to the Editor [ARTICLE]

Letters to the Editor

Mahalo for January's article on wind turbines in Kahuku - it was very insightful. I advocate for elean energy and also empathize fully with the people living near the turbines. It saddens me that people do not feel heard, and I hope that improves. A few thoughts.... Wind energy keeps money recirculating in Hawai'i. Diesel and eoal, whieh power the majority of O'ahu, send our money elsewhere. Wind power ean replace these dirty energy sources whieh are typically located in less affluent areas, increasing sickness in eommunities who ean least afford it. I do not want to downplay the health effects of wind energy, however there is a large body of research on the topic that has generated no verifiable negative effects, whereas there is clear scientific proof that burning diesel and eoal (ash/ dust/soot/smoke) is verifiably and highly toxic to the people of O'ahu. Lastly, in other areas, wind power companies have provided some money to residents living nearby, and I encourage us to explore this relationship here - loeal elean energy ean and should contribute to the loeal economy of Kahuku, as it does in Kansas and elsewhere (see February 16 article in USA Today on this). Scott Cooney former MBA professor at UH Mānoa

We wanted to share some feedback about how the "Fostering Aloha" feature in the December 2019 issue of Ka Wai Ola has touched our community. In December, a Native Hawaiian eouple attended an information session in Nānākuli. They were prompted to become reasource caregivers after the video of the Keola family was shared to their Facebook page. And in January another Native Hawaiian family attended an information session as a direct result of the Ka Wai Ola stories. After reading the articles they applied to become resource caregivers for Native Hawaiian keiki. After years of recruiting for resource caregivers, we know that the majority of families who foster think about it for several years before taking action. We realize the importance of "planting the seed" in people' s minds, and then when it is the right time for their family, they contact us. Please don't underestimate the reach that you folks have given us with your amazing story. Mahalo nui loa for providing a platform to bring awareness to the needs of Native Hawaiian children in foster care. As a result of these beautiful stories we are confident there will be Native Hawaiian children in foster care that will find loving homes. Stephanie Hamamo Hui Ho'omalu Project Director