The immediate effects of vog are being felt mostly by Big Island farmers and the agricultural industry, but representatives of Hawai'i County and its tourism industry warned this morning that the long-term effects could be devastating.

"Right now we need more scientific statistics to base our findings on instead of anecdotal information," said Rex Johnson, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. "You can see right now how it affects farmers, but long term, if the Big Island gets a reputation for air pollution, it will hurt us."

Johnson, along with Hawai'i County Realtors, the Hawai'i Island Chamber of Commerce and representatives of other organizations, gave their testimony today at the state Capitol during a House of Representatives special committee meeting studying vog effects. All representatives were from the Big Island.

It was the third meeting for the committee, the first two dealing with health and public safety and on agriculture.

Another meeting will be held in the near future, but the date hasn't been set yet.

Today's meeting was to deal with the effect vog is having on Hawai'i's economy, including property assessments and real estate sales, tourism and business in general.

"Unfortunately, we're not getting as much information at this meeting as we did in the first two," Rep. Robert Herkes, the committee's chair, said. "It's all anecdotal right now. We're still waiting for a natural disaster declaration from the president."

Though Kilauea has been erupting nonstop since 1983, vog emissions levels have risen since a new vent formed in March.

At the last committee meeting, farmers talked of having their crops destroyed by the vog, which can also produce acid rain that causes corrosion of metals. Asthma is also a concern, particularly with school starting, Herkes said.

Realtors told the committee this morning there is no way currently to measure the effects vog is having on home sales and property assessments in large part because of the struggling economy the entire state is dealing with.

"Mortgage rates, the price of gas, losing two airlines and two NCL ships, that all plays a part," said Kelly Wakayama, president of the Hawai'i Island Board of Realtors. "At this time it's hard to differentiate how much of an effect vog is having."

Johnson and John Monahan, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau, both said the latest eruption is drawing about 5,000 visitors a day to the viewing site, but both cautioned of the long-term effects.

"You can't put a positive spin on it just to get people here," Monahan said. "You have to tell the truth. The volcano is a wonderful attraction but there are issues with it, like vog."