Elevated bus route is the way to go

Rail transit will not work. It will not attract enough riders. Consider: Riders will have to wait for a bus to get to the train. Then they will have to wait for the train. After riding the train, they will wait for the bus to take them where they want to go.

Who will do that? Riders would prefer to just get on the bus and ride to downtown. Commuting can be made easier for them by building an elevated highway with a lane for buses only.

Let's not just concentrate on the cost of building rail transit. Since there will be few riders, the taxpayers would have to pay huge new taxes to keep the train running, and these taxes would continue year after year. We are already taxed too much. Rail is a bad idea.

Mark Terry
Honolulu

Hawaii's energy future is in its trash

Ever hear of the thermodepolymerization process? This is one solution for multiple problems this island faces -- a true panacea. Our leaders in the government and private sector should investigate this technology and find a way to get it to Hawaii as quickly as possible.

TDP takes all kinds of waste, including human, agricultural, plastics, rubbers -- practically anything that contains carbon -- and converts it to a high-grade crude oil. It is similar to the bio-diesel research that has been conducted in Hawaii, but TDP researchers claim a much higher rate of conversion efficiency, as well as the ability to turn virtually all waste (except nuclear) into an environmentally friendly energy resource.

Think about it: Oil as a renewable resource made from recycling wastes and pollutions! We could break off our dependence on oil-producing, terrorist-sponsoring nations; no longer risk environmental disasters from accidents related to exploration, drilling and transporting; the need for nuclear power plants would be eliminated. We could exhume all the rubbish and pollution from our landfills to make oil. All of our waste, sewage and rubbish could be collected, converted and then resold at the gas stations.

With our landfills slated to overflow within a few short years and the high price of gasoline, this technology is a win-win situation for Hawaii and the rest of the world. This is a look at the new industrial revolution of this century, and it behooves Hawaii to get on board as quickly as possible.

Kawika Morse
Mililani

Gill-net fishing is cause of depletion

Regarding the Oct. 31 story "Land board working on possible lay-net ban": As a shoreline sport-fisherman, I have been progressively catching fewer and fewer fish with each passing year. I also have been noticing the gill-net fishermen catching fish coming in to spawn, often wiping out a bunch of them. The handwriting is on the wall if they are allowed to continue.

I am for banning gill-net fishing to preserve shoreline fishing for generations to come. I firmly believe that the gill-net fishermen are the No. 1 depleters of our fishing stock.

In the old days, I used to catch one or two every time I wanted to fish. Nowadays I average one or two for every 10 fishing trips, which is terrible.

S. Don Shimazu
Honolulu

Brunches add much to Hawaii's livability

Once again we ventured into Waikiki for Brunch on the Beach. As usual, it was a delightful experience. All of the efforts that go into putting on such a gala are very much appreciated by me and mine. It makes living in this wonderful place even better and gives us retired folks some inexpensive entertainment to which we can look forward.

No one I know outside of Hawaii enjoys such a quality of life. People at my mainland company often have rave comments on the wonderful activities such as Brunch on the Beach and Sunset on the Beach whenever they are here to enjoy them with us.

I even managed to do some holiday shopping at the International Market Place! I look forward to Sunset on the Plains in Kapolei next month, too.

Georgia Metzler
Kapolei

Litter is a blight, whether big or small

Litterbugs should be made to clean up their messes. It shouldn't matter if one abandoned car or one cigarette butt is left on the street -- that's littering. When are our laws going to make the ones responsible clean it up?

I am tired of looking at other people's mess everyday.

Alvin Wong
Pearl City

Give Chang a rest and let other QBs play

Roy Uehara's Nov. 17 letter hit the nail on the head. University of Hawaii football coach June Jones will not replace quarterback Timmy Chang no matter how bad the team is doing. Quarterbacks are team leaders, and if the team is not producing then common sense tells you to change you QB.

Two years ago when Timmy got hurt, Jones put in Nick Rolovich, and the rest is pleasant history. Rolovich led the team to many victories and a bowl-game win.

Watching UH on TV has been boring and depressing. We don't hear Coach Jones talk about his Heisman candidate anymore. He must have been in a humorous mood to suggest this.

Coach, please give other QBs a chance to play or give back some of your salary so UH can give Dave Shoji a well-deserved raise for the Wahines' success.

Eugene Cordero
Pearl City