We can’t ignore climate change

I was appalled by a letter from Ronald Hughes, who said that the extreme weather patterns the world is being inundated with is good for the Earth and that "manmade climate change is nonsense" ("Extreme weather is natural necessity," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 8).

He cites floods, heat waves, wildfires, etc. to justify his conclusions, but pointedly ignores the gorillas in the room. No mention is made of the ever- increasing hole in our protective ozone layer.Not a hint about the unprecedented rate of the ice cap melt or the rise of the sea levels and the warming of the oceans that feeds these storms.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York recently stated that the previously named "100-year storms" now appear every two years and are so destructive that governments must plan for them.

Hopefully rational scientists and governments will ignore the naysayers and find ways to help the world weather climate change.

Kenneth Valentine
Kaneohe

It won’t be cheap to operate rail

In response to Ryan Matsuda ("Oil cost will make mass transit popular," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 11), I concur that the cost of oil will continue to go up based on the growing world demand on a shrinking supply. The rising cost of oil will get more people looking to mass transit in the future.

I also agree that rail is not cheap. It is expensive to build and will be increasingly expensive to run. Although it will run on electricity, let’s not overlook the fact that the firm power the grid relies on is generated by the utility’s oil-burning plants.

The electric bill for rail, and our homes, will continue to rise along with the cost of oil.

Hawaii is one of few places in the world that has the ability to shift to a renewable energy source for firm power. But it will take people power to make the shift.

Dan Nakasone
Wahiawa

Tax Department acted too hastily

Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the state Tax Department have decided to change how the solar tax credit is interpreted.

I’m not debating whether it is or is not a good idea. My worry is that this change will have a dramatic impact on photovoltaic installations that have already been contractually agreed to. This could affect some buyers to the tune of $20,000 over what they expected up to this point. Most will see a loss of a minimum of $5,000.

Many of our taxpayers have purchased systems based on existing assumptions. I believe it would have been wise to give a little bit more lead time for this to take effect.

Many local photovoltaic companies are booked through January, and this new interpretation takes effect Jan. 1, 2013. Didn’t the state take into consideration the hundreds of families that have already paid and signed contracts to be installed in January and February?

Mark Ida
Alternate Energy Inc., Salt Lake

Political ads not accountable

Now that the barrage of political commercials has subsided, laws should be changed to limit what is allowed for advertisement messages sponsored by independent interest groups.

There is the right to freedom of speech; however, the key difference is that these groups are not held to the same level of public accountability as candidates are.

Political commercials walk a fine line of truth in their attempts to shape public opinion and garner votes.While candidates must be accountable for their statements, the majority of public will forget the likes of Pacific Resource Partnership, Defend Ben, Save Our Honolulu, Funds for Freedom or whoever else had the resources to put their ads in the media.

These groups add to the cost and confusion of campaigning because they impose issues for candidates who have to choose whether to respond.

The potential power to influence significant voting blocs based on non-accountable falsities is disproportionate to what our society should consider acceptable.

Donald Chock
Kaimuki

No excuse for ballots bungle

I worked the polling station at the Mililani High School cafeteria. There is absolutely no excuse for running out of paper ballots.

All the precinct printed ballots should be at the polling station. Each ballot has a serial number, is inventoried and is accountable. There are no security issues with having the ballots at the stations.

We realized we were going to be short at noon. Calls went out for more ballots at that time. We ran out at 4:30 (just in time for the evening rush), and new ballots arrived at 6:05. This created a long line for our one electronic machine. The crowd was, for the most part, civil but upset. This also caused the volunteer poll workers to try and explain why this was happening. No excuse for this. Heads should roll.

Bill Porter
Mililani

Windmills are beautiful

Unlike recent letter writers who view the North Shore windmills as ugly, I find them beautiful.

Beautiful because they capture one of Hawaii’s natural elements and transform it into energy.

Beautiful because those graceful, state-of-the-art turbines are helping move us toward energy security and independence.

Most of all, beautiful because First Wind is generating electricity without burning fossil fuels that spew climate-altering toxins into the air.

What’s not beautiful about that?

Kim Osborn Mullen
Kailua

Boys water polo really exciting

The lack of coverage for this pastboys ILH water polo season was very disappointing.You don’t have to be an athlete, a coach or parent to feel the excitement and passion that was displayed at all of the games this season.

Most, if not all, the games went into the final minute with the game on the line.Many games served us with numerous overtime periods before an outcome was decided.

This may not be the most popular sports among your readers. However, as a tribute to the athletes who perform in one of the most grueling sports, a little bit of coverage wouldn’t hurt.

As a parent and supporter for the last six years, this is probably the worst year in regards to water polo coverage.Hopefully, next season will bring a change and, perhaps with your support, a growth in a great sport.

Jason Takara
Palolo Valley

Kudos to those removing signs

Thank you to the campaign workers and volunteers who removed all the signs and banners right after the general election. Nice to see our Leeward Coast given back to us.

Charlotte Keala
Waianae