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April 16, 2017, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Carroll's guests are Koohan Paik and April Weber, a member of the O'okala community on the Big Island. They talk about the many slugs that have invaded their community, and they are particularly concerned about the slugs because of the spike in rat lungworm disease in Hawaii. The community feels the infestation was caused by the
Big Island Dairy because the slugs started showing up in large
numbers after flooding a while back, and storm runoff since then. The dairy is upslope of the O'okala community. The runoff also reaches the ocean via several gulches in the area. What appears to be stains from cow manure and wastewater can be seen on the cliff walls, and a plume can be seen under the cliff where the gulches empty into the ocean. However, the dairy manager's response was to tell the community to stay out of the gulches.
The community is also downwind of the dairy and they often experience bad smells coming from the dairy, particularly in the evenings. The community is also concerned about the runoff's effect on the water quality of the ocean, and the dairy's impact on their drinking water. They are now asking the Hawaii Department of Health and the Hawaii Department
of Agriculture
for help resolving their many problems. Community members tell us, even though the state has acknowledged flooding from the dairy, state agencies have visited the area since then but did not actually "see" runoff, so nothing is being done.
The community also notes the owners of the dairy own a dairy in Idaho, where the land is flat and conditions are different. The dairy owners are operating the Big Island Dairy on land owned by the State of Hawaii, a totally different environment, and they are supported by the State of Hawaii. The state is very interested
in "sustainability", but at what cost to the communities of Hawaii?
The O'okla community is asking Scott Enright, Director of the Department of Agriculture, Virginia Pressler, Director of the Department of Health, and Governor David Ige to take responsibility for the situation. Hopefully, now they will start listening to the community's concerns with the Big Island Dairy and its negative impact on the people and environment. How far
will the snails and slugs spread, and how many people will get sick, before the government
takes notice? To support the community send email to Governor David Ige at gov@hawaii.gov
See Koohan Paik on facebook to view her short video about the dairy. She is also asking the public to boycott Hawaii Fresh brand milk produced by the Big Island Dairy.
Link here to the Big Island Video News story.
Carroll's video of part one of the March 14, 2017, O'okala community meeting with the Big Island Dairy is currently playing on Carroll's show, Bittersweet News, on Olelo,Channel 54, this month. The second part of the meeting will play in May. Both videos can be viewed on YouTube channel Cox7826627.
Visit www.friendsofmahaulepu.org for more information about the proposed dairy for Kauai.
Carroll attended a second community meeting in O'okala on March 28, 2017, regarding the dairy's impact on the community. (Listen
to the 3/28 meeting here). Videos of the meeting will be posted shortly.
Carroll has been discussing the Big Island Dairy for the past month. He has also discussed the proposed industrial dairy to be built on Kauai many times in the past. See our PODCAST LIST to find past shows.
 
Is
the Big Island Dairy the reason for the proliferation of slugs in O'okala?
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