Kaua’i Council appoints 11th-hour Member

Frank-back-against-ocean300 — Frank and the angry seas of Kaua’i, Credit: KJHvM

Bill 2491 on the Island of Kaua’i has had its share of controversy, both scientific and political. The bill, concerning pesticide use and genetically engineered crop research, was substantially modified from its original version, passed by the County Council, and subsequently vetoed by the Mayor. On Thursday, the Council was to vote on whether to override the veto or accept it, and when some of the Council Members realized that they would not have enough votes to override the veto, they did something that they said they would not consider – they recessed the meeting, to appoint a new member to the council so that they could override the veto. The new council member would have less than 24 hours to decide on an issue that has been discussed for almost half a year. Jon Entine at Forbes has the full story.
Fix Is In On Anti-GMO Bill As Kaua’i Goes Rogue, Setting Hawaii County On Path To Legal Conflagration

Kaua’i County Bill 2491 passes 6-1, Vetoed by Mayor

kauaisunset — Kauai Sunset, credit: KJHvM

On Wednesday, October 16, the Kaua’i County Council approved Bill 2491, after much public discussion and council hearings. The final council hearing lasted 14 hours, and ended at 3:30 am local time. The bill, introduced by councilmembers Gary Hooser and Tim Bynum, establishes additional rules and regulations for the use of pesticides and genetically engineered crops on the Garden Island.
Initiallly, bill 2491 contained provisions that would set up a county-level approval and registration process for genetically engineered crops, and a moratorium on their expansion pending the completion of a mandated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The pesticide provisions would limit the use of “restricted use” pesticides, a carefully regulated class of pesticides that require trained applicators to use, and “experimental use” pesticides, which are inputs that are approved for use on certain crops but are being tested on others (and are not themselves experimental). Continue reading →

A Week On An Island Of Angst

Written by Steve Savage

“The Scream” by Edvard Munch from CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK

I’ve just returned from a week on Kauai. It is known as “The Garden Isle” of the Hawaiian chain, but recently that garden has been heavily sown with seeds of fear, suspicion, and conspiratorial narratives. On Wednesday, the 31^st, there was a marathon session of the County Council during which hundreds of people lined up to give testimony about Bill 2491 from 1 pm until midnight. Angst was a common theme. The activist speakers made hyperbolic assertions about heartless corporations perfectly willing to sicken the entire population of the island and destroy the environment. Many non-agricultural residents expressed their palpable fear for the safety of their families. Some of the employees of the seed or coffee companies tried to explain to their fellow islanders that they and their families also live there, and so they would never want to put either their families or neighbors at risk. These people have good reason to worry about the future of their jobs. Continue reading →