164 thoughts on “Document Your Cane Smoke Complaints Here”

1. 
   
   This is what Maui looked like this morning, (picture is not blurry and unedited). I live in Makawao, and drove to work in Kihei. The thick smoke filled air covered everywhere, from Paia to Iao to Kihei…without discrimination. Just sayin.

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2. Aloha,
   I would like to register a formal complaint against HC&S and their open field cane burning practice.. Friday 9/7/2012 7:00 a.m. the smoke from an open field burn so was so bad it covered the whole central valley from Iao Valley to Haleakala in a thick toxic haze which blocked out the sky. The smoke was evident at my residence at Hana Highway and Ulumalu and got progressively worse as I traveled to Kula, taking my daughter to school at King Kekaulike High School. As we reached Makawao my eyes were watering and my nose was running. The Haze in the air in Kula at the high school was substantial and I had concerns of leaving my daughter at the school with her migraine condition. I spoke with her at 2: p.m. and we both were experiencing watery eyes, nasal congestion and burning throats. This open cane burn practice is not only polluting the environment, it’s obvious addition to green house gas emissions and global warming, but negatively affecting all who live within it’s broad path. I have 2 questions, is it right that HC&S pose a direct health threat to the people of Maui? Why is the government not doing long term studies on the health risks posed to the people of Maui by these practices, and to the environment for that matter. Thank you for registering my complaint

   Sincerely Befuddled
   TMB

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3. I wish to issue a formal complaint. On September 8, at 5:30 am at the Kahului Swap Meet, I experienced dizziness, nausea, sore throat and extreme shortness of breath due to the burn.

   SG

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4. I am writing to make a formal complaint about the sugar cane burning smoke and dust from plowed fields that has been inundating North Kihei for yet another burning season. The smoke is often thick at ground level and black ashes litter my lanais, walkways and car. It litters the beach park and sand across the street. The ashes fall in the swimming pool and require repeated cleaning of the pool and the filters after a burn. The smoke irritates my eyes and lungs and the ash is a greasy nuisance that is difficult to clean up and gets tracked into my condo, staining the carpet. The dust from the plowed fields is a constant concern, since it gets in through the smallest cracks. I’m also concerned about the constant loss of precious top soil. This clearly is not sustainable. I am diligent about closing my windows during a burn episode and when I can see the huge clouds of red dirt blowing across the island and out to sea. However, it remains extremely dusty even when they are not plowing and it is a constant irritant since it settles everywhere in my apartment. I recently traveled to Queensland, Australia. They have very progressive sugar cane harvesting practices that HC&S might consider. In Australia they harvest the cane without burning on a cycle of several years, and burn only once in 5 years. The soil then does not need to be disturbed resulting in conservation of top soil and moisture. Surely there must be a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way for HC&S to harvest sugar cane that reduces the negative impact on people and the environment. Thank you for your attention to this.

   SJ

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5. Yesterday, 9/7/2012 and today, 9/8/2012, during the morning hours after getting up (between 6 a.m. and 12 noon), I noticed an unusally smokey air quality outside my home in Pukalani, Maui, upcountry. The air quality was, and is, so poor that I’ve experienced some difficulty in my breathing.

   I would specifically like to register a complaint with HC&S so that their open air burning policies can be eliminated, and the air quality around our island can be improved.

   NH

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6. Good Morning,
   This is the third morning in a row I have had a terrible night’s sleep because I awoke to sugar cane burning in the Spreckelsville area. My 5 year old has had asthma since he was about 2, so I wake up in a panic to run around and close all of the windows before the smoke reaches his lungs.

   I spend over $1000 a month on groceries to make sure my family eats organic, chemical free food. I buy special soap, sunscreen and detergents to keep harmful substances out of our systems. It is extremely frustrating to have our air supply full of intoxicating smoke and chemicals from the pesticides on a regular basis. It makes me want to move to the mainland. It seems to be getting worse and worse, more and more frequent. There HAS to be another way to harvest the cane.

   KB

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7. I have lived in Hawaii for 9 years now, Maui for 7. I understand the value of sugar to our islands and am not asking for you to stop planting and harvesting sugar…just please stop burning it!

   I am a singer, and whenever there are burns (seemingly constantly blowing over the Paia area where I live), my throat hurts before I can even see or smell the smoke, and I am unable to rehearse for fear of damaging my irritated throat.

   Our 5 year old had terrible asthma as a baby, and we had to spend days indoors with the air conditioner running because he couldn’t catch his breath.

   And as a mother of two young boys, I am TIRED of telling my children they can’t go outside and play on an otherwise beautiful day, because the air is full of smoke and the yard is littered with ash.

   This is a serious health issue and there are other ways of harvesting cane. Please change your cultivation practices.

   KB

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8. Sept. 7th cane smoke filled my house and car.

   I have documented lung ailments. I experienced lung pain for hours after exposure.

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   • Be sure to make a formal complaint to DOH and EPA by going here: http://StopCaneBurning.org/?p=123

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9. Sept. 6th cane smoke filled my house and car.

   I have documented lung ailments. I experienced lung pain for hours after exposure and congestion from exposure to industrial pollution smoke cloud hanging over the population area of Kahalui/Wailuku and Waihee.. .

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10. Move forward in sustainable farming. No more poisoning of nature, oceans, air, keiki. It effects you too. Value our homeland
    K

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11. This is a formal complaint regarding the cane burn on Maui, September 8, 2012.

    I awoke this morning to my home completely smoke-filled in upper Wailuku. My nose and sinuses were clogged and I had a screaming headache. My front driveway is covered in cane ash.

    All of Wailuku and Kahului is covered in smoke. I drove to Walmart at 8:30 AM and almost passed out in the Walmart parking lot. The INTERIOR of the Walmart wasfilled with smoke and the smell of the fertilizer and chemicals normally present outside the cane processing plant.

    My son has asthma and we have been unable to breath well for almost a week now in the mornings. This MUST stop, it is a serious health hazard.
    CW

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12. I am tired of waking to the smell of smoke.

    It was so bad one night that my smoke alarms went off at 3 am.

    I awoke to a street that looked like the end of the world came with black ash covering every thing in site, cars, homes , lawns etc. It was hell.

    I am tired of ash covering my car & being sucked inside as I open my doors.

    I was on Charlie Young beach when the smoke came & blanketed the area so badly that I could not see very far & then i got an eye infection.

    The poisons in your smoke I am sure are not doing my lungs any good either.

    STOP burning or maybe we can get a class action suit to make you stop !!

    Sincerely
    RS

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    • My smoke alarms have been disconnected for 15 years because they keep going off.

      Karen
      Pa’ia

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13. I’m tired if this cane burning. I always get sore throat, respiratory problems and I would like to send a bill to HC&S re: medical bills and yard work. Who is supposed to clean my yard and cars that are covered in ashes? I live at Maui Lani in Kahului and this sugar cane burning has to stop!!!!

    ME

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14. You did not mention that this morning Kahului was shrouded in cane smoke. It was terrible. I got a headache and itchy, watery eyes from it.
    LB

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15. To Whom It May Concern:

    I would like to register a formal complaint over the cane burnings that occurred between August 27, 2012 and September 7, 2012. The burnings occurred during the early morning hours just before sunrise. Although I’ve provided a specific range of dates, in reality my complaint is directed against all cane burning regardless of the date and time.

    Each time a cane burning occurs, my eyes burn, my nose itches, my throat becomes scratchy and my lungs become congested. I missed work on August 28, 2012 following a strong reaction to a burn and I’m not one who frequently misses work due to illness. I’ve resorted to taking allergy pills to counteract my reaction to cane burnings, but the pills are becoming less effective. Cane burnings also cause me to lose sleep because the smell wakes me before my alarm clock goes off. Finally, the outside of my home and automobile are covered with ash and soot after each burn.

    Please understand I am not a newcomer to Hawaii. I was born on Maui, grew up in a sugar plantation town on Oahu and returned to Maui six years ago, therefore I understand the importance of the sugar industry to Hawaii’s history, culture and economy. However, the practice of cane burning is bad for Maui’s environment and it affects the health of residents and visitors. It is a practice that needs to be stopped.

    Thank you for the opportunity to address my concerns. I’ve wanted to file a complaint in the past, but didn’t know who to address it to. Now I know.

    Sincerely,
    CN

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16. My keiki go to Paia school and have to stay home from school when we are notified that they’ll be burning RIGHT next to,and down the road from an elementary school! If they are there for all the smoke filled classrooms, they come home with eye infections the doctors,even specialists can’t identify,runny noses, coughs, and my younger child gets asthma now! Then whenever you folks burn anywhere on island it seems, our home in Wailuku fills up with smoke and now,our new 4 month old baby and the rest of the household, ends up with respiratory issues of sorts! Its hard enough to get my keiki to school,and the adults to work everyday! We don’t all need to be suffering, hardly able to stop coughing,sniffling, or just the basic right of breathing CLEAN air! Burning of cane is one thing, but with all the chemicals used, plastics burned, etc. It is sooooo toxic! We are aware that cane production can happen without all of this, but its the price involved in being responsible, that you folks don’t like! So you save a few bucks, while we all suffer! This has GOT to STOP! Look at models all around the world for the alternative, its not rocket science! And byt the way, don’t sell the land for development, or to monsanto instead of burning, you’ll just continue to get these letters! I decided to write you since Blake doesn’t return my calls when I try to talk to him about it over the phone!

    Mahalo and Malama kou kino,
    KK

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17. To whom it may concern,

    I live at xxxxxxxxx, Makawao on Maui. Specifically I live in Kula 200, a subdivision at the upper part of Makawao. Yesterday Sept 7 2012, I had can smoke in my home. I could taste the cane smoke and my eyes burned. I did not feel well and it affected my breathing.

    Generally, I experience the effects of cane smoke on a regular basis when I go over to Kihei in the mornings to go paddle-boarding. I usually end up driving through a cloud of smoke on the Haleakala Hwy or the Mokulele hwy. Often there is a cloud of smoke hanging over beach areas in North Kihei. I can only imagine how that effects the tourists that come to our island for a pleasant vacation.

    The burning of cane is a health hazard to the population of Maui. Our children our the most vulnerable. Given that there are alternatives to cane burning for harvesting cane, I urge you to stop this arcane process and not review the permits to HC& S.

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18. Waking up in the morning with my head bounding, my nose running and my eyes burning.
    THIS IS NOT FUN?
    Get on board, STOP THS BURNING.
    It is not good for the people or ithe environment.
    JE

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19. Today is the Hana relays. Its 6 am and the race starts in 15 min. I would like to register for a complaint and would like to stop the open burning of sugar cane. It is a health concern for myself because I have asthma. I am at the Kmart parking lot in Kahului. Driving here, i could see the whole area all smoked up. Please have consideration for the locals with respiratory concerns.

    Mahalo,
    MH

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20. Aloha,
    For the 2nd time this week, we were woken up by the smell of smoke due to another cane burn. We had to shut all our windows to make breathing easier. This happened today at 6am in Wailuku Heights.
    Please stop the cane burning!
    SS

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21. The headaches that the cane burning causes are no fun to wake up to. The smoke fills my house and wakes my up somewhere between 5 and 6 am on the days that burning occurs and the wind is blowing my way from the burn area. I have sneezing fits because of it since I’ve moved to Kihei. I’ve had to be on allergy med. just to stop sneezing my head offffffff.

    YOU SAY YOU RARELY GET COMPLAINTS. I KNOW THAT’S WRONG. DO YOU REALLY THINK IT’S OKAY FOR ALLLLLLLL THAT ASH GOING INTO THE OCEAN AND YOU HAVE NO CONCERN ABOUT EVERYONE’S ENVIRONMENT. ASH IN THE POOL EVERY DAY THAT THEY BURN. ASH ALL OVER THE CAR, DRIVEWAY, SIDEWALKS. WHAT A MESS AND WHAT A JOKE.

    YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES, ACTING LIKE IT’S OKAY TO REEK SO MUCH HAVOC AND THINK NOTHING OF IT.

    I’VE BEEN THROUGH ALL THE ALLERGY TESTING THAT IS AVAILABLE ON MAUI SINCE MOVING TO THIS SIDE OF THE ISLAND AND I’M NOT ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING. THE SNEEZING CONSTANTLY IS CAUSED BY WHAT THEY SAY IS AN IRRITANT. CANE

    I PERSONALLY HAVE TO SPEND PLENTY ON TRYING TO FIX ALL THE PROBLEMS THAT THE BURNING CAUSES.
    I can only imagine how much we all have to spend and how about our health insurance companies. I wonder how many have had to move because it effects the health of the whole family.

    I know of 4 family’s that have had to move to alleviate the children’s asthma and allergies / irritants. One family moved back after they thought all the kids had grown out of the allergies. When they moved back the problems started right back up.

    Look at allllll the money spent just so 1 business can lighten the loads and save their money.

    DT

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22. Aloha Kakou,

    Maui has been my home since 1985. For twenty-three of those years, I didn’t live near cane fields, so cane-burning didn’t affect me directly. For the last five years, however, I’ve lived in Pukalani. During this time I began noticing a difficulty breathing that has gotten progressively worse. I went to my doctor a couple of weeks ago and did a spirometry test. He immediately put me on a nebulizer and prescribed an asthma inhaler. He also made the comment that many people were having problems due to the cane-burning, and he thought that was probably what was happening for me as well. Simultaneously, I was becoming more and more concerned about the frequency of the cane-burning since I could smell it in my house many weekday mornings when I awoke. I’d go look outside and sure enough there’d be a smoggy haze everywhere I could see beyond my neighborhood. I most definitely notice a correlation between my breathing and the cane-burning and have gotten to the point where I don’t want to open my windows at all. Considering how hot it becomes in the house when all the windows are closed, let’s just say it’s not a lot of fun.
    It was bad in Pukalani this morning when I got up, but Kahului was even worse. I teach art at Pomaika’i Elementary School and was horrified at the air quality at school this morning. There was a day last week too, when I was teaching some classes at Maui Waena, that another cane burning occurred as I was driving to school. I dreaded being in that environment all day with no air conditioning. Open windows and the trades are all that keep those rooms cool, so there’s no escaping the toxicity. I am always concerned about our kids playing outside during their recess and lunch times, and am frustrated that this practice continues when we know how bad it is for everyone breathing it. Two other teachers at school today were also having breathing difficulty. I happened to overhear them talking about how the cane smoke was affecting them. One is pregnant, both are now using inhalers. Earlier this week, yet another teacher mentioned that her 3 year old started sneezing whenever cane was being burned.

    Now that I know there’s a place to document the dates / times / and effects of the burning, I will be more diligent about keeping track and will pass this info on to my colleagues. Today, Sept 7, I smelled the smoke in my house when I awoke at 6:00 am. I thought I had closed all the windows the night before, but discovered that I’d missed a couple. I am constantly bewildered that we are expected to live like this. I feel like a caged animal sometimes, wishing I could go outside and enjoy what would otherwise be a beautiful Maui day. Instead, I have to keep all the windows closed, turn on a heavy duty air purifier, and use an inhaler to breathe. It’s not right.

    Documentation:

    I was at Maui Waena three days last week, on M / Aug 27, T / Aug 28, and Th / Aug 30. I think the memorable burning was on the morning of Monday, 8/27 but it could have been Tuesday as well. Again, I’ll pay closer attention to the date / time from now on.

    Today, Sept 7, was the worst so far. I smelled it at 6:00 am when I awoke, but the smell and the smoke were horrendous on the campus at Pomaika’i Elementary School in Maui Lani. I arrived at 7:45 and it was still bad when the kids went out for their 9:30 recess. I worried about having them outside at all.

    Beth

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23. Let’s stop burning cane on Maui NOW..
    My eyes burn, lungs hurt.
    I have experienced ashes falling out of the sky on our beautiful beaches in N. Kihei.
    Older people are extremely affected. Look at hospital admissions on days of heavy burning.

    Time to stop this careless practice, don’t you agree?
    SR

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24. today 9/7/12 approx 4am saw big cane fire north kahului looked like stable rd sprecklesville area big. got up again upon going outside (live in upper pukalani) approx 6:40am smelled smoke worried fire nearby air hazy. went to school (health aide @kalama inter) smoky hazy many students/staff c/o discomfort cough /wheeze stink air quality etc. sky filthy…thought u weren’t supposed to burn when kona wind…just stop burning no excuses!
    KB

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25. This morning, 9/7/12, I was awakened, as I have been hundreds of times before, with a sore throat and irritated lungs as cane smoke was coming in my windows. After I closed my windows I went back to sleep, so I’m not sure of the exact time, but I think it was around 5:30 am. Many times I am unable to go back to sleep after being awakened by cane burning. This has happened so often that my curtains actually have the odor of cane smoke.

    I live at XXXXXX in Meadowlands subdivision in Kihei.

    I will be letting you know from now on, every time this happens.

    Please find a healthier way to harvest cane (and to create fuel for MECO).

    Thank you,
    MT

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26. This year I have gotten congestion and a very bad cough every time the cane has burned. I have this right now, it has been about 1 week now. Today the date is 9/8/2012.
    I live in Pukalani where they are burning a lot of cane.
    At times it has a very burning plastic smell.

    I work in the tourist industry and I have to miss work when my symptoms get too bad.

    Please make them try a different way to harvest the cane.

    Mahalo,
    Deborah Davenport

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27. Stop the burning please. The smoke completely blacked out the sun several days last week.
    RK

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28. Aloha,

    I hope this e-mail finds you all in Great Spirits.

    I am writing this because my patience and HEALTH are wearing very thin from the never ending cane burns that are going on in Maui.

    A few weeks ago, I actually saw the Sugar Company harvesting unburnt sugar cane on my way into Kahalui.

    This is the 21st century and the majority of sugar companies do not burn cane in the fields.

    From my point of view as well as many concerned citizens I meet and talk to daily on Maui, there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON the sugar company needs to constantly be polluting our air on an almost daily basis.

    The Sugar Company could thus still use their motto of ” Keeping Maui Green” while at the same time be “Keeping Our Lungs Pink” Or perhaps the Sugar Co. might consider changing their motto to:

    “Keeping Maui Green” while “Making Our Lungs Black” from their constant toxic burns.

    It’s amazingly sad and ironic that smoking is no longer allowed in many public places in Maui while just outside these public places, the air is gray from cane smoke burning and I can hear people hacking and coughing as soon as they eave the no smoking zones and they walk into the cane smoke filled streets, sidewalks and beaches.

    I live In Maui Meadows above Kihei and there are many many days that I am forced to suspend my morning jog, beach yoga and ocean swim because the air is so thick with toxic cane smoke mixed in with burnt plastic and pesticides.

    This was the case today, September 7, 2102, as I woke with my bedroom and entire house filling with smoke around 4AM and had to shut all my screen doors and windows.

    Is everyone aware that the burn permit states the burning shall not start until 9am?

    I often can see the smoke rise from the window in my home in a deadly toxic cloud that looks much like the mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion and each time I see that mushroom cane burn cloud it brings a sense of doom, helplessness, sadness and anger my way as I know I will have to close up my entire house, cancel my exercise routine and wait till the smoke to subside before I feel it is safe and healthy to go outside.

    I learned my lesson the hard way to NOT exercise when cane smoke is in the air because a few months ago, I jogged, did yoga on the beach and then swam at Keawakapu in spite of the fact the air was thick with smoke. By the middle of that day I immediately came down with a horrible chest cold that I couldn’t get rid of and that lasted for over 6 weeks.

    The only way I could kick the harsh pain in my chest and coughing to the point of convulsing was to finally succumb to go to a Dr. which was quite costly as I can’t afford insurance, and get a prescription for antibiotics, which I hate to take.

    I had a dear friend who was a filmmaker and specialized in producing children’s films. She loved to come to Maui on a regular basis because of it’s healing effect on her.

    She had developed a serious case of lung cancer and also extreme sinus problems and was hoping that her time in Maui would help heal her.

    She shared that spending time in Maui always helped her feel much better and that her sinuses would clear and she could breathe easier.

    The last time she was here, she was staying in Kihei to hopefully heal and clear her lungs and sinuses.

    During her stay, there was wave after wave after wave of cane burns that were so bad that sometimes there was black ash everywhere, falling like huge snowflakes, including on my roof, my deck, my car, on the beach and black cane ash “snow flakes’ floating on the ocean as well.

    My friend invited me to dinner on her last trip to Maui and when I asked her how she was doing and if Maui was helping her heal and feel better she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said she was feeling worse than ever.

    She was feeling so bad that she had to cut her trip short by a week as the cane smoke was making her feel worse every day and she had gotten to the point where she could barely breathe with all the cane burns that were going on back to back during her stay.

    Sadly I received the news that she passed away one month to the day after she left Maui and returned to her home in Oregon a month later.

    The exposure to the almost daily back to back cane burns sending black smoke to where she was staying on her visit to Maui, exacerbated her condition, and most likely stole days, weeks, or months from my dear Friends life.

    Sad.

    Very.

    I’ve also had several wonderful friends move off Maui because the cane burns were making them and their children very sick on a regular basis.

    It broke their hearts to be forced to leave as they loved Maui so much but they chose their health over exposing their lungs to the constant effects of the toxic cane smoke which made them chronically sick. They tried everything they could to stay on Maui, from moving to different locations, to homeopathic remedies to regular visits to the Drs and consequent anti biotic prescriptions to no avail.

    Many people come to Maui as a healing haven.

    Let’s make it so and demand that our air is clean and not daily polluted almost daily by toxic cane smoke.

    please feel free to share my words if you feel so inspired and feel that clean air is our birth right~

    As a concerned citizen who is focused not only my health but the health of all the children and families who live on Maui and those visitors who come to Maui for a healthy vacation, I urge you to work for clean air on Maui and stop the burning of cane as soon as humanly possible.

    Once again this is the 21st century and it is time to adopt ways that are environmentally friendly and use the 21st advanced technology instead of a system that was developed in the 19th century when health and global warming were low priority over making money.

    Thank God the whales are protected and are no longer being slaughtered in our waters…Isn’t it about time that the lungs and respiratory systems of the humans on Maui are protected and given the same consideration and focus we give to help protect the whales?

    Mahalo nui loa for investing your valuable time to read my letter.

    Your responses are appreciated.

    RM

    PS~ I also understand that there was a cane burn on a red flag day on September 4th, 2012. May I ask who follows thru on violations of such a nature that could possibly endanger who communities with runaway fire from high winds?

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29. Aloha friends of fresh air,
    This morning(Friday Sept.7,2012) at 8:30AM,I cautiously opened my sliding glass door to breathe in the fresh air but alas,there was the prevailing smell of burning sugar cane that greeted me and so I was forced to close the door until several hours later.I live at Kauhale Makai(Village by the Sea) 930 S.Kihei Rd in unit #204.This was not an isolated event as this seems to be a daily occurrence for the last two weeks.Sometimes the sky is so filled with smoke it can block out the sun but virtually always our lanai is covered with ash as are our walkways which must be cleaned by our maintenance staff.In addition,my automobile must be washed after an unwanted ash bath.
    Why is the sugar cane company allowed to foul up the very air that we all breathe?Aren’t the agencies of government supposed to protect its citizens against this harmful pollution which has been tolerated for far too long?Something needs to be done now!
    If you need suggestions,here goes:Make the fine for polluting air so prohibitive that they will be compelled to do something positive like find an alternative to burning or else grow other crops.Crop rotation would be better for the soil.Maui needs to be self sufficient when it comes to food growing…..sugar cane is expendable.
    Can you tell me one positive value of sugar to human beings?However,the harm that it does in causing diabetes and tooth decay is palpable.
    In conclusion,I ask you to serve your fellow constituents on Maui by bringing this sad chapter in our history to a swift conclusion.Enough is enough.
    DB

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30. Please STOP the cane burning… We are forced to keep the windows shut and run our AC around the clock. Our kids can’t go outside in the morning. Please consider alternatives.
    Thank you
    DS

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