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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@ STARADVERTISER.COM
People arrive at Waimea Valley Park in Pupukea on April 18. The historic park will undergo upgrades to attract more kamaaina and shift the location’s focus to its cultural significance.
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The Star-Advertiser got it backwards recently in publishing two articles on Earth Day about regenerative tourism and our economy (“Regenerative tourism draws groups to isles,” “Waimea Valley plans renovation project,” Star-Advertiser, April 7). The former article was a front-page feature about convention attendees picking up trash at the beach; the latter was about restoring the culture and history of one of the special places in our islands.
Asking people who fly thousands of miles to and from Hawaii (and who generate about two tons of greenhouse gas emissions doing so) to pick up some of the trash that such unsustainable economic activity generates amounts to little more than virtue signaling and easing of one’s conscience. Projects like Waimea Valley are what tourism and economic activity in Hawaii should focus on if we are to create a truly sustainable future. I think the people of Hawaii know the difference.
Travis Idol
Downtown Honolulu
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