PUBLIC HAS POWER TO BRING CHANGE

With regards to the public now clamoring for an end to the teachers' furloughs, is this the same public that fully supported the 21-day teachers' strike some years ago?

The students lost then, and they are losing now. Hawaii has always had a "plantation" attitude about education and will continue unless most of our legislatures are removed from office. They created this DOE monster and continue it year after year, giving it just enough to survive, not a penny more to excel.

We need change and it starts with the public, but don't look for that to happen any time soon.

Joseph alexander | Waipahu

GLOBAL WARMING

DROP THE IDEALOGY, STICK TO SCIENCE

The other week in an Advertiser op-ed column, Bob McDermott unfortunately chose political ideology over science in his discourse on global warming. His ideology is exemplified in his railing against "the left," Obama, and "the media." And, of course, no political rant is complete without the now fashionable identification of "the left" with Nazism, as in his assertion that "the left is pushing their agenda to make CO2 into some poison gas like Zyklon B," i.e., the Nazi death camp gas.

As if that was not bad enough, Mr. McDermott also completely misrepresented science. His assertion that the Earth has been in a cooling stage since 1998 is incorrect. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the World Meteorological Organization, the 10 warmest years have occurred since 1997.

He alleged that the "Medieval Climate Period" was 10 degrees warmer than today. According to the IPCC, it was actually cooler then.

He claimed that, "since the Earth is not warming, (global warming) has been revised to 'climate change.' " Wrong. The term climate change was adopted as far back as 1988 by the IPCC, as global warming was increasing.

Drop the ideology. Follow the science.

h. gerald staub | Honolulu

FURLOUGHS

SOLUTION LIES IN CHARTER SCHOOL LEAD

The state is wasting huge amounts of money on public education and getting awful results. Example: my oldest daughter, who attends a charter public school, recently tried switching to a regular public school. She lasted two days there. Horrified at how much worse things were there, she re-enrolled in her old charter school, chastened and wiser.

Yet her charter school, like all our charter schools, gets only a fraction of what the regular public schools get, and still continues to offer a full five-day school week while delivering better results. Why? Because charter schools have to compete for the business of their students. Students like my daughter can and will walk away — and take away the school's funding — if the school doesn't deliver a better education. Competition works.

The solution to the furlough days and the budget crisis? Make every single public school in the state a charter school, at the current low funding levels. Make every school compete for students. The results? Lower costs and better education.

Jim henshaw | Kailua

RAIL TRANSIT

SYSTEM WILL GREATLY BETTER LIFE FOR USERS

With the rail-transit project gearing up to start, the City and County of Honolulu has a great opportunity to provide residents of Oahu with one of the most reliable forms of transportation available. The efficiency with which rail transit operates is well documented in other cities throughout the world and it would be no different here.

As a suburban commuter traveling partway through the Kapolei-to-Honolulu corridor I'm part of a large population that must always deal with two potential issues — unexpected traffic delays and parking. Once fully operational, rail transit could virtually eliminate this worry by offering an option for just about anyone who travels along this stretch.

Rail transit will change life for a lot of us who commute along the route, and it will definitely improve the quality of life for those who take advantage of this form of transportation.

bryan mukai | Pearl City

CONSIDER HAWAII'S FUTURE WITHOUT RAIL

There is no place like home, especially when home is Hawaii. Many of us local kids share the dream of moving back to Hawaii to be with loved ones and raise our families. But the reality is sobering.

With the increase in population density, difficulty in finding jobs and affordable housing, high cost of living and traffic gridlock, living in Hawaii may not be practical or a choice for us. Our children will see Grandma and Grandpa once a year for the holidays, picnics at the beach with our entire ohana will be a rarity, and our families will suffer.

Hawaii is a special community where we are close and care for each other and we appreciate the importance of family. Rail, alone, cannot prevent the effect of the more "Hot, Flat and Crowded" world. However, rail can help in so many ways to address the difficulties facing our community and help position Hawaii for the future. This is why we support the rail project.

I respect the opinions of those who may disagree, but I urge them, at this historic time, to apply careful thought to this complex issue, and consider what the future price to our children and families will be without rail.

Jonathan khil | Honolulu