Action Alert: “Stop Poisoning Kapiolani Park!”
Save Kapiolani Park
Kapiolani Park is the oldest and the largest public park in Hawaii. It’s enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people each year both locals and tourists alike for family recreation, sports, picnics, community events, and much more. The 300-acre (1.2 km2) Kapiolani park is a gorgeous public park right next to the busy touristy Waikiki district on the island of Oahu. It’s home to the Honolulu Zoo, the Waikiki Shell performance arena, and it’s adjacent to some of the most popular beaches in Hawaii.
Kapiolani Park sign posted: “Field Closed, No Practice, No Games” Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. September 2014
Recently it was discovered that highly toxic broad-spectrum Glyphosate containing herbicides such as RoundUp and Honcho are being sprayed in Kapiolani park on a regular basis. Glyphosate was originally developed by Monsanto. After many independent studies Glyphosate has been been linked to a multitude of severe health conditions, such as: cancer, autism, DNA damage, cell damage, liver damage, and more. It’s highly toxic even in small doses when diluted to 450 times lower than what is used in agricultural applications.
These chemicals are not only toxic to humans and plants, but everything else living including: soil micro organisms, insects including pollinators such as bees and butterflies, earthworms, birds, pets, and aquatic sea life.
During application glyphosate spreads by air and wind, lurks on top of surfaces such as grass, soil, picnic tables, etc. and leaches down through the soil eventually reaching the nearby ocean. It creates invisible (to the human eye) pollution of the soil that we walk on, the air that our children breathe, and the ocean that so many enjoy.
So far there have been two community meetings with the purpose of having park officials stop spraying toxic poison in Kapiolani Park. As of now the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation and Urban Forestry Division is reluctant to stop spraying these highly toxic products in public places despite multiple expert and community testimonies.
Honolulu Park officials are saying that since the government has no legal restriction (laws) against the use of glyphosate and other highly toxic chemicals in Kapiolani park and other public places of Hawaii, therefore, it’s ok for them to keep on using them, despite the abundance of independent studies showing high toxicity of these infamous products and despite other Public Parks in mainland U.S. states having banned their use and passed laws to protect their communities.
Right now we need to create a social mass awareness about the poisoning of Kapiolani Park that’s going on since most Hawaii residents and tourists alike are completely unaware of glyphosate use in Hawaii public parks. We need to tell our families, our neighbors, coworkers, and friends about this situation to create mass awareness, which would create social change.
Take Action! If you’re NOT OK with Honolulu park officials spraying toxic chemicals in Kapiolani park and other Hawaii public parks you need to email, call, send fax, or write a letter to:
Department of Parks and Recreation
Michele K. Nekota, Director
Jeanne C. Ishikawa, Deputy Director
1000 Uluohia Street, Suite 309
Kapolei, Hawaii 96707
Phone:(808) 768-3003
Fax: (808) 768-3053
Email: parks@honolulu.gov
You can also contact your local political and community leaders and ask them to support banning the use of toxic chemicals in Hawaii public places including public parks such as Kapiolani. Also, come to the 3rd Meeting (to be announced) to voice your support for chemical free parks in Hawaii.
You don’t have to write or say a lot if you don’t want to. For example (you can even copy/paste/adapt the text below):
Sample letter A
Aloha (name of person you’re contacting),
I’m not OK with Honolulu Public Park officials using toxic chemicals in Kapiolani Park and other public places. Please stop immediately. These chemicals are toxic to the Hawaiian ecosystem and have been scientifically linked to many severe health problems in humans.
Mahalo,
(your name)
Sample letter B
Aloha Dear Michele K. Nekota and Jeanne C. Ishikawa,
Please, take necessary steps ASAP to stop using glyphosate and any other harmful highly toxic products such as Monsanto’s RoundUp and Honcho in public parks. These chemicals put the people of Hawaii health at risk and pollute the environment. These are very toxic chemicals and we the people of Hawaii demand ban on their use. There have already been two meetings on this issue at Kapiolani Park. There’s overwhelming evidence that these chemicals damage DNA, reproductive damage, cause cancer, autism, and the list goes on. They are highly toxic. If you really care about people’s health and the Aina, then please take action immediately to address this major issue.
Sincerely,
(optional: who you are: examaple: Waikiki resident, Hawaii parks user, community gardener, attorney, doctor, police officer, engineer, etc.)
(your name)
