Smokers worse when they litter

I admit it: I am a smoker and that is bad.But never do I toss a cigarette butt out of my car.

I saw just that happen in three separate cars on the same day. The first had a bumper sticker that said, "Keep the Country Country." The second said, "Live Aloha," and the third was a brand-new Mercedes.

Why do they have to trash our aina?There are so many other options to this. Use an empty mint can or a portable ashtray. Don’t we have enough to worry about without the extra non-biodegradable trash being tossed out of our cars?

I drive a convertible on occasion and I have actually had a cigarette butt hit the headrest right next to my ear.What if that was my eye or worse, the passenger seat where my child would sit?

Smoking is a bad habit, but I think littering is worse. It hurts all of us, especially our beautiful aina.

Please snuff after you puff.

Sandy Gebhardt
Kaneohe

Preschool proposal leaves out ‘income’

I am still in a dilemma about whether to vote "yes" or "no" for public funds for private preschools, although Deborah Zysman wrote a more convincing article in favor of a "yes" vote than did Corey Rosenlee in favor of a "no" vote ("Public funding for private preschools?" Star-Advertiser, Insight, Oct. 5).

Rosenlee used scare tactics, whereas Zysman had some specifics I would like to believe.

For example, she stated, "There will be no discrimination based on race, religion, gender or ancestry — or income."

I’d like to believe the "or income" part of her statement. If it’s true, why isn’t it included in the wording of the proposed amendment? If it’s true, the proposed amendment will get my "yes" vote.

Who will we hear from in the Legislature? While they’re at it, complete explanations (pro and con) about all proposed amendments will help all voters make more informed decisions.

Merrill Cutting
Wilhelmina Rise

Don’t let GMO firms experiment on us

In the editorial, "Don’t overreact to farm fears," (Star-Advertiser, Our View, Aug. 2, 2013), it mentioned "the absence of hard evidence," which is the underlying problem with the pro-GMO and pesticide use argument.

We do not know the long-term effects of GMO and pesticide use, yet we allow the widespread exposure of the population.Why do the rights of big agriculture to experiment on Maui and Kauai supersede the health of the people on the island?

The big agricultural companies must prove definitively that there are no harmful side effects, or cease exposing us.

I would argue that we must err on the side of caution when the health of children is at stake.

Lucia You
Kailua

Hannemann didn’t help with bus stops

So our former mayor, Mufi Hannemann, is running for office again.

When he was mayor, he removed bus stops in Waikiki that made it a real hardship for senior citizens and tourists.

I spent many hours calling his office and writing letters asking him to please put the bus stops back, buthe refused. I was informed they were too dangerous.

I met with several politicians who told me the stops were no more dangerous than any others.

Millie Zeibig
Waikiki

Environmentalists don’t walk the talk

At the United Nations recently, climate change was all the matter.

As President Barack Obama insisted that carbon emissions be curbed, I found it contradictory that the U.S. did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, which 37 other nations, including Russia and China, signed to curb environmental pollution. This protocol was initiated by Japan in 1997 and was active by February 2005.

Everyone knows that reducing any form of carbon emissions, whether methane from livestock to coal factories to oil companies, means a huge cut in politically influenced profits.

We can always blame corporate greed to the continued demise of our environment. But perhaps we should assess the fact that the 400,000 climate-change protesters in New York City left tons of trash on the streets while trash bins were not entirely filled.

The irony runs too thick.

Han Song
Kaneohe

HECO squeezing PV system owners

It is way too much for HECO to charge solar customers $71 to be on the grid, and to lower the rate that it pays for the energy the utility receives to 17 cents. This is highway robbery up front.

Is there any way to stop HECO from squeezing energy consumers, considering that Hawaii has the nation’s most expensive energy cost? Too much profit off of people’s primary utility needs is like charging ransom money.

Photovoltaic owners spent tens of thousands of dollars not as an investment, but to avoid the endless rate increases charged by HECO. Where are the people responsible to work for the consumer? HECO is trying to recover the decrease in its profit from these unreasonable charges at the expense of PV owners.

PV owners would be paying as much as they are without the system, since HECO would be charging more for the grid and paying less for the energy received, while PV owners are still paying costs for the balance of their system.

Nazario Garces
Ewa Beach