A lower a/c setting actually saves energy

A couple of recent letters from the mainland (Nov. 4, Oct. 28) complained about the chilly temperatures in commercial buildings here in Hawaii as being wasteful of energy as well as uncomfortable. I know it's counterintuitive, but with commercial air conditioning, lower temperatures save energy.

Large central air-conditioning units chill the air to about 40 degrees in order to take out some of the water vapor. The air is then heated back up to the thermostat setting using electricity or gas. If the thermostat is set high, more heat has to be applied to the chilled dehumidified air.

So, when you walk into a chilly building, be thankful that they are saving energy. Just bring a sweater.

Election is great news even on other islands

Thank you, Hawaii, for giving the world this beacon of hope and vision!

New president can bring needed change

Hawaii-born President-elect Barack Obama will be great for Hawaii, this country and the world. The media emphasize that he is the first African-American president; how about first brown American? He is half white. Maybe politics of fear and injustice will stop. The priority ought to be global warming. Hurricanes and earthquakes will happen - how many? The mantra used by some is “;drill, baby, drill,”; but how many more holes do you want on the ocean floor? The ocean is struggling to breathe. How about “;change, baby, change”;?

Find another way for a brighter day. Obama has pow-wowed with Native Americans in Montana and New Mexico. Now he can ho'oponopono with native Hawaiians. The state of Hawaii, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Office of Hawaiian Affairs - remember your responsibility to indigenous people of these islands - native Hawaiians.

Did race alone guide America's voters?

Someone please convince me it was more than an ethnicity election.

Stop emphasizing Obama's Punahou ties

Now that Barack Obama will be our next president, I wish that we would stop calling him “;Punahou graduate.”; This implies that our next president never passed beyond high school and went to college. Let's not forget that he is also a Harvard Law graduate, and spent most of his adult life living and working and serving communities in the Midwest, most notably in Chicago. Compare that to his 18 years (minus years spent in Indonesia) living in Hawaii.

We never refer to Sen. John McCain as “;graduate of (whatever his high school was) ... more likely the media would refer to him as “;graduate of the naval academy”; or as a POW. Let us all respect our next president and drop the two words “;Punahou graduate.”; I don't mean to discredit the school; my son is an Iolani graduate, but when asked, I always mention his college accomplishments. Let's all think global rather than provincial.

Vacation rentals add to homeless problem

The illegal quarters housing 50 people that collapsed in Kalihi offered a view of the sordid living conditions forced upon fellow citizens by the lack of long-term affordable rentals. It also offered a view of the city's poor record of enforcing regulations (”;Fines piled up for site of scaffold collapse,”; Star-Bulletin, Oct. 28).

The 50 individuals in Kalihi are not alone in their predicament. Many others are piled up in houses that are bursting at the seams. There are no long-term rentals that they can afford. They are a thread away from homelessness. They are desperate, vulnerable and defenseless.

Are we not turning a blind eye and a cold heart to their plight when we support the demands of special interests to allow thousands of homes in our residential neighborhoods to legally convert to short-term visitor accommodations?

The city admits that the passage of Bill 6 now before the City Council, which would legalize such conversions, would not only alter our neighborhoods but also reduce the stock of long-term rentals. This would fuel increases in rents and force even more people into living conditions devoid of human dignity.

It is appalling that there seems to be little will on the part of the Council and the city administration to stop the degradation. If Bill 6 passes, we must ask: Have we lost our moral compass?

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