ENERGY

HIGHER COSTS TIED TO PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY

The Advertiser's Aug. 7 editorial regarding a recent audit of city energy management failed to acknowledge that increased electricity consumption is due to the addition of important new facilities that protect public health and safety.

As the city's response attached to the audit made clear, facilities activated during the audit period included a major sewage disinfection unit that utilizes ultraviolet light at the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant; the new Honolulu Fire Department headquarters; the new East Honolulu Police Station; new emergency ambulance facilities in Kalihi and Kapolei; the new Kapolei Corporation Yard; and 45 new sets of traffic signals and school warning flashers.

The Sand Island upgrades alone accounted for a 6 percent increase in city electricity consumption beginning in fiscal 2006.

But because the city has successfully implemented energy-saving measures throughout its operations, the overall increase in consumption for the five years covered by the audit was just 5.7 percent.

That's a remarkable achievement, due largely to the 21st Century Ahupua'a Energy and Sustainability Plan and the Mayor's Energy and Sustainability Task Force.

It is far more effective for key managers and engineers from large front-line agencies to work together to save money and electricity than for an individual "czar" who does not fully understand operational needs to dictate standards.

The audit correctly recognized that the cost of electricity has increased for everyone, and that the city is not immune to higher energy bills. We will continue to work diligently to conserve electricity whenever possible, without scrimping on public health and safety responsibilities.

JV SPORTS

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS OFFER VALUABLE LESSONS

I agree with Keith Amemiya on his stance regarding an increase in Hawai'i's public high school athletic budget rather than a cut.

Having been a high school athlete myself, I learned valuable lessons. The teamwork, sportsmanship and commitment are values that I carry with me. I wouldn't have had the opportunity to understand the importance of working together, overcoming obstacles, focusing carefully at the challenge at hand or the dedication required to achieve my goals without being on a team.

My high school social life was essentially centered around practices and game schedules for volleyball, basketball and canoe paddling. For all three children in my family, sports were not just after-school activities but yearlong commitments. For us, sports provided structure and friendships — something all students need.

The proposed budget cut targets the JV programs. This has a larger impact than is apparent. All athletes strive to be among those selected to play at the varsity level. It takes dedication, practice and experience to get here. With the elimination of junior varsity, how will young athletes gain the values and the experience to progress to the higher level?

RAIL

GIVE CITY'S TRANSIT SYSTEM A FAIR CHANCE

When I was growing up, everyone I knew thought that the H-3 project was an expensive "white elephant." Nobody thought there would be any use for a highway that ran between KMCAS and Pearl Harbor, and everyone said that they would never use it.

Surprisingly, when the H-3 opened, it took just enough cars off of Likelike to convert a half-hour stop-and-go trip over the hill into a pleasant drive again.

Not only that, businesses in Waikele, Waipi'o, Mililani, and Kane'ohe experienced a renaissance of activity, due to the new, fast, easy commute that bypassed all of the hassles of driving through town, and linked the East and Westside communities. Traffic on Kamehameha Highway going to and from the North Shore eased as well, because there was now an alternate route.

The lesson to be learned from this is that you never truly know what's going to happen until the feet hit the pavement. Communities that are not directly served by rail will experience benefits they never even dreamed of. Less cars on the road is always a good thing — give rail a chance!

ZOO

WILD ANIMALS SHOULD NOT BE INCARCERATED

Improvements at the Honolulu Zoo cannot assuage our moral guilt for incarceration of wild animals.

Why are other species locked up in concrete cells behind walls and bars for us to ogle? So that we can learn from them, and protect them for the destruction we have caused to their natural environments?

A real improvement at the zoo would be when the animals are allowed to live out their natural lives in the places they were intended to live. Let their captors spend their lives locked behind the doors of the Honolulu Zoo so that we can watch and learn from them how a truly cruel and savage species behaves.

CONGRESS

LAWMAKERS FAILED TO PASS BILLS ON KEY ISSUES

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she believes the reason why the American people don't like the Congress is because we haven't ended the war.

I offer some other reason why the people don't like the Congress: