April 19, 2004

Public Enemy Number One

You might be surprised at what is considered a public threat here on the Big Island. We have a major problem with Crystal Meth, homelessness and some of the worst schools around. But our mayor, Harry Kim, who is a nice guy and he means well has declared yet another war on something... We have the...

War on terror... a real war as we are very close to Indonesia and its wonderful bearer of good will, Jamial Islamia... Indonesian for Islamic Jihad...I think we can guess what these folks are about and if you cant guess, remember the Sari night club on Bali, and the Jakarta Hyatt bombings...If that weren't enough, we also have Abu Syeff from the Philippines that would love to bring the jihad to the land of Aloha. Funny, we have people here that think that somehow we are immune to this, because we are on an Island. I guess that Pearl Harbor was just a fluke...

The War on Weed. We have helicopters flying over our homes at dangerously low levels looking for pot plants. Bad enough the airtours sometimes flying over but the cops uggh! Yet if you dont stop the weed you get the...

The War on ICE- Im all for this... Using crystal meth one time can ruin your life, and its taking a heavy toll on this island. Families are being destroyed as people give their lives over to this insidious chemical dependency/

The war on Miconia- Big problem... this invasive plantcuts off light to the surrounding plants, killing them off. Its said that 80 percent of the native plant life in Tahiti has been disrupted by Miconia. It makes a million seeds per bloom and is tough. Triple strength Round up and a machete are the favored weapon against this invader. We see a lot of these here in Puna. If you see one you call and some one is there is an hour to destroy it. Nothing moves anyone here in East Hawaii quite as fast as a Miconia sighting.

But According to Mayor Harry this is Public Enemy Number One...
It's this

Yes...its cute...But its an ecological disaster....

to understand why this is such an issue... plug in this link into your browser


There you can hear the earsplitting shriek for these little Romeo's as they are looking for a prom date...I lifted this from the site

"This small amphibian affects humans in their pursuit of happiness, and their loud call is the main reason they are considered pests. In the U. S. Virgin Islands, the exotic but familiar coqui is just one more in a large suite of vociferous anurans. However, this species is receiving a lot of attention in Hawaii, which completely lacks native amphibians and reptiles. Its mating call is its namesake, a high-pitched, two-note "co-qui" (ko-kee') which attains nearly 100 decibels at 0.5 meters (HEAR 2000). On Hawaii, this species is disturbing residents and hotel guests, and local business owners are concerned that this otherwise unnoticeable exotic species will cause a decline in tourism in certain areas, and many fear that it might lead to widespread local or regional economic problems if allowed to spread. To get an idea of what Hawaiian residents and visitors are going through, listen to the individual frog calls and choruses posted on-line at the Alien Caribbean Frogs in Hawaii web site."


What is being done... The Enviromentalists are concerned about the pressures that the frogs will place on the eco system BUT they also are concerned that anything that anyone does will harm the environment. Hey...I'm with them on that. I lived in So Cal in the late 80's and early 90's when helicopter spraying for Med Flies was done...It ruined car paint. killed off all the pollinators including several native butterflies that have not made a comeback and may have been a factor in my own health decline. I know that the University of Colorado is experimenting on a fungus that is killing desirable frogs there and might be welcome here to do a number on the invasive frogs. Testing to see if the killer fungus effects other species is underway.

There is a sure fire way to gain a restful sleep. The L-Bomb
Lots of folks are doing this around here. Lava Tree State Park is very close to our house. You drive by the gateway to the park and the noise is deafening. The vegetation was all chopped down and the place sprayed and new stuff planted and its still bad.

I didnt think, and still dont think this will be a huge problem for us. We sort of enjoy them and they fill in a background noise that blanks out boom box cars and the neighbors next door. Our lot is cleared to the perimeters and what plants we do have are not leafy. The wild fighting chickens (boy are they a noisy bunch too) eat anything that moves with in range so they are likely keeping them under control. However we do have a stand of palms that provides a visual block between us, our bed room, and Mom and Dad Bandpeople, and their terrorist teenage sons..( just kidding we have had better relations with the sons than the dad..) The noisy little frogs have invaded the palms and we hear them calling. Usually I have a fan in the open bedroom window running. The buzz of the fan reduces the shrillness to a sort of pleasant chirping. When we have a million of the tiny beasts breeding in there it might be hell, but Im not worried too much now.

I guess its just one more way that we dont fit in here. I find it hard to hate a creature no bigger than the end of my thumb... Saw one life for the first time a few days ago and it was very cute...

Cuteness isn't going to save it from the War on Frogs... The Mayor must have a bunch in his yard... After 10 years, of continuing infestation... the war has been declared and they have to go... Sort of like screaming about the barn door after the cows get out...