by David Kimo Frankel
As popular as it is to bash government and bureaucrats, we need them. We need government to control the actions of those irresponsible corporations and developers who put their own short-term interests ahead of society's and the environment. Government regulation is necessary to protect our waters from pollution, to assure access to our beaches and trails, and to ensure growth does not burden our infrastructure and natural resources.
Unfortunately, government does not always do a good job of implementing the laws that protect our environment. That is why the Sierra Club has recently increased our monitoring of state and county agencies. We have been reminding officials of the importance of protecting the environment. Here's an abbreviated list of our recent actions:
* We objected to plans to bury underground cables near endangered dark rumped petrel nesting sites on Haleakala. We succeeded in getting the project's conditions changed to protect endangered species.
* We opposed a plan to plant alien species in Lanai's native forest.
* We called on the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) to amend its boating rules to ensure that the Boating Division considers environmental impacts in its permitting decisions.
* The Kauai group successfully convinced the Sheraton to move a proposed walkway mauka in order to preserve a beach.
* The O'ahu Group opposed revisions to the City's land use ordinance and development proposals in Ewa.
* We asked the Public Utilities Commission to require that interisland shippers carry solid waste intended for recycling for free in order to encourage the recycling industry in Hawai'i.