Please LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE & SUBSCRIBE… It Really Helps Our Channel.
EDDIE GARCIA & LIKO MARTIN – Olowalu Toxic Waste Dump Site-WITH JASON SCHWARTZ 2024
Summary & Transcript
The video presents an in-depth discussion about the environmental and cultural crisis unfolding in Maui following the devastating wildfires in Lahaina. Jason Schwartz hosts Eddie Garcia, a regenerative farmer and community advocate, and Liko Martin, a Hawaiian elder, who raise urgent concerns about the toxic ash and debris disposal plans by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Maui County government. The current plan involves dumping hazardous materials, laden with dioxins and furans, into a culturally significant and environmentally sensitive site known as the “cinder pit” or Puu Hooa in Olowalu, adjacent to Lahaina. The speakers emphasize that this site holds deep cultural importance for Native Hawaiians and is a treasured refuge and breadbasket area historically.
Despite public opposition and scientific data warning of severe contamination risks, authorities appear to have prioritized cost-saving measures over environmental safety and cultural respect. The toxic ash contains persistent, highly dangerous chemicals from burned building materials, and the disposal site’s design is prone to leaching toxins into the groundwater and nearby ocean, threatening marine life and the community’s health. There are concerns about poor transparency, insufficient public consultation, and rushed approvals without addressing critical scientific and cultural objections.
Eddie and Leo call for greater community involvement, respect for the wisdom of Hawaiian elders (Cuna), and alternative containment methods such as using shipping containers to safely store the waste on-site temporarily. They highlight the broader housing crisis exacerbated by the fires, the displacement of local residents, and the economic inequities that allowed mainland investors to dominate housing ownership, pushing Native Hawaiians off the island. The video also touches on the importance of preserving Hawaiian culture, land stewardship (malama ‘aina), and the need for collective action to prevent Maui from becoming a toxic dumping ground.
The conversation is interspersed with poignant songs reflecting the sorrow and resilience of the community. The guests urge viewers to raise awareness, pressure officials to reconsider the hazardous disposal plan, and support regenerative and community-based solutions for recovery and rebuilding. Ultimately, the video is a heartfelt call to protect Maui’s environment, culture, and people from further harm.
Highlights
- [03:14] Eddie Garcia shares his personal and community losses from the Lahaina fires and stresses his commitment to regenerative agriculture.
- [06:59] ☠️ Toxic ash from burned materials contains dioxins and furans, some of the most dangerous man-made chemicals, posing grave health risks.
- [08:30] ️ Recent rains have flooded the toxic ash disposal pit, creating a reservoir of contaminated water that leaches into the groundwater and ocean.
- [10:47] ️ Hundreds of community members have protested the disposal plan, with overwhelming opposition to the chosen site near Olalo.
- [14:32] The decision to proceed with the hazardous dump is driven primarily by cost-saving concerns, ignoring long-term environmental damage.
- [27:29] A community meeting will be held to openly discuss the cultural and environmental implications with Hawaiian elders and stakeholders.
- [38:31] Alternative solutions like incineration on the mainland and containerized storage on Maui exist but are being overlooked due to political and financial reasons.
Key Insights
- [03:48] Cultural Significance of the Disposal Site: The chosen “cinder pit” is not just a vacant parcel but a sacred area deeply embedded in Hawaiian history and identity. It served as a refuge and a site for ancestral voyaging practices. Disregarding this heritage risks alienating and harming native communities culturally and spiritually, compounding the physical and environmental damage with cultural trauma.
- [06:59] ☣️ Toxicity of Burned Materials: The wildfire debris contains PVC and vinyl products that produce dioxins and furans when burned. These chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative, and linked to severe health problems, including cancer and reproductive issues. The lack of established safe limits and the complexity of testing make managing and mitigating these toxins especially challenging, requiring careful, scientifically sound approaches that are currently absent.
- [08:55] Environmental Risks from Poor Site Design: The disposal site’s design includes a non-permeable surface that collects hundreds of thousands of gallons of rainwater, mixing with toxic ash to form contaminated “toxic tea.” This liquid is then sprayed back onto the ash pile to control dust, creating a closed-loop system that recirculates toxins rather than containing them. Given Maui’s rainy climate, this approach is highly risky and likely to cause groundwater and ocean contamination.
- [10:20] Cost-Driven Decision-Making: The Army Corps of Engineers and local government prioritized financial considerations over environmental safety and cultural respect. The choice to use the Olalo site was based on expediency and budget concerns, despite alternative solutions being available. This short-term economic thinking jeopardizes Maui’s future, potentially creating a superfund-level disaster that will cost exponentially more to remediate.
- [13:26] ️ Housing Crisis and Displacement: The fires and toxic waste plans exacerbate an already critical housing shortage. Most Lahaina residents are renters, many displaced and unable to return due to lack of affordable housing. The narrative that clearing the site will enable residents’ return is misleading, as economic and social factors remain unaddressed. Displacement threatens the social fabric of Maui’s communities, particularly Native Hawaiians who are disproportionately affected.
- [27:29] Community Engagement and Cultural Leadership: The planned public meeting with the Hawaiian elders and community members exemplifies a respectful approach to decision-making, rooted in listening and cultural protocols like ho‘oponopono. This contrasts sharply with previous top-down decisions and highlights the importance of involving indigenous knowledge and values in environmental governance.
- [38:31] Viable Alternative Solutions Ignored: Proven technologies such as gasification, pyrolysis, and containerized containment have been successfully used elsewhere to safely store or process toxic debris. These methods could mitigate risks and protect public health and the environment. The reluctance to adopt these alternatives suggests political inertia or reluctance to invest adequately, underscoring a failure of leadership and planning.
Conclusion
This video provides a comprehensive look at the toxic waste crisis in post-fire Lahaina, revealing a complex intersection of environmental hazard, cultural disrespect, political failures, and community displacement. Eddie Garcia and Leo Martin offer expert and heartfelt perspectives, calling for urgent reevaluation of hazardous waste disposal plans, honoring Native Hawaiian cultural sites and wisdom, and adopting scientifically sound, community-driven solutions. The conversation underscores the need for transparency, accountability, and unity in protecting Maui’s land, water, and people for generations to come.
Full Transcript
00:00
[Music] Aloha everyone this is Jason Schwartz here at the neutral zone we had a little clumsy opening there please excuse me I have two guests here today uh last week we were going to have Eddie Garcia who is I want to say uh being our champion at looking at the toxic waste uh occurrence there that got created by the um Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA and the mayor and the council approving it uh but he was unavailable he had a guest that I think everybody knows that was uh taking my time I said oh that’s okay Robert
00:54
Kennedy who came here who was a is an environmental lawyer well today we have Eddie Garcia and Liko Martin thank you for joining us both of you gentlemen thank you thank you I want you to feel free to jump in on me talking but I’m just going to give a little opening for you around the world who may not know specifically we all know that lahina got wiped out and it left a layer of toxic Ash with all kinds of poisons in it and the question is what to do with it and they were number sites that were uh
01:32
brought up to people in fact one of my co-hosts Scott Bushnell brought it to my attention way before the vote and public testimony when I went to the public testimony there was one gentleman that stood up that basically shamed the council he had provided a ton of information that um really uh made it very clear that it was a very poor choice and yet it was the choice they were already moving on it before that day that they were talking there and now they’ve proceeded and uh Eddie thank you for all the hard work
02:11
you doing and all the video and drones and Gathering support for this um I want you to jump in and tell these people that kind of give them a a well um thank you for having me um and Uncle Leo here first off and foremost I want to share with everyone that um I’m not doing this out of a selfish mentality out of the farm next door which I would have the right to do because we have over 60 70,000 pounds of food in the ground that were given to our community um we were also displaced by the fires
02:45
so we are also uh part of that situation our farm burned uh our where we were living uh we lost all the trees we’d put in the ground for several years uh we lost our only income from our Fruit Farm Stand that I’d been establish lishing um and we’re some of the leaders in the field for regenerative agriculture we teach our community that’s what I’m here for and this day in this point in my life that’s how I can give back to my community is through regenerative agriculture so why I’ve been speaking so
03:14
loudly about the dump though is beyond that it’s about my Cuna it’s about all of our Cuna and the elders from Ola walu that have from day one always looked at that what they call a cinder pit which is known as the ovaries of Pelle and brought down through stories through generations it’s the most prominent feature in olalo there are cultural sites on that that are directly significant to the voyaging canoes the gateway to Tahiti when the Southern Cross rises in between kolve and Lai um
03:48
you on those Hills is where they would light the torches at those Aus to bring in the canoe and let them know that this was a place of Refuge olalo in particular so that if you you were coming from another place if you came to Ola walu you’d have a safe place the Spears and the clubs weren’t coming out this was a place of Refuge again like we say and so it was a really important part of Maui the capital was right down the road in lahina and Olu walu was the Bread Basket as well so if you came
04:18
there and you sought Refuge then you had to help you had to farm you had to malama the values of the ancient Hawaiian and the modern Hawaiian I believe still were to the land to the AA to take care to malama um and so what we see with the atrocity of this Cinder pit what they call it in the early 7s and 80s they were taking it apart to build the hotels in kopali um it was wrong then they had a dump next door to it that dump for years operated and then they shut it down in 91 because of its proximity to the ocean
04:54
because of the fact that um landfills leech and poison Reef systems and whatnot um so they shut that down now the disaster happens in Lina and they say oh wow there’s nothing there but a cinder pit let’s just put it there well don’t you think that should take some Community involvement some meetings with the Cuna from olalo well there was there was one there was yeah I I you know I mean when I first heard that that was the location I was like oh yeah what else is there I mean why would they
05:25
start with such a sensitive Hawaiian important uh location and choose that because it’s closer is that what it is is it because they could and they had some kind of financial control and pushed the mayor why were they starting this before any approvals and all the things that just mindblowing to me so to sorry I mean no go ahead please to to my understanding from what we’ve seen unfold the very first meeting and you can find it on YouTube where all the Cuna were brought together in old uu and they were telling
06:01
them how safe it was going to be they showed them this liner with 8 ft of soil all these things they were all adamantly against it we were actually told in the Public’s eye that they were for it and no one was against it and that it would take months and many more meetings to make this happen few weeks later I notice Machines working behind the cinder pit so I fly my drones I have dust covering my farm from them opening up what they call a cinder pit and that’s actually the puu hooa um I
06:27
shouldn’t even be referring it to as a cinder pit because it is very much a cultural identity of olalo and it’s very important to the kpuna that are there now let’s go on to the next thing what’s in Lina people aren’t aware that PVC and vinyl anything made with chlorine in the process creates what’s known as dioxins furans known as The Dirty Dozen some of the worst chemicals known to man uh actually the most toxic man-made chemical known to man and the worst natural national natural excuse me the
06:59
worst man-made um disasters are all attributed to dioxin and what people don’t realize is the PVC that was in the pipes the conduit the wiring in the walls the vinyl siding everything that did not burn to a crisp is Laden with these really really bad chemicals no one was wanted to talk about them uh there are no allowable limits for them whatsoever and they’re known as the cumulative toxins the forever chemicals there’s a lot of research on it so we started asking the county wait what’s your
07:30
protocol for that what are you going to do or we’re going to put it in a pit well what happens when it rains it’s wide open oh it’s going to go into a leech containment pit well what are you going to do with that oh well um this that we’re going to test it and then um uh no no direct answer so for months we are like those are giant red flags what’s happening here and just like we thought on the first rain before they were putting toxic material in it we had just under 3 in of rain 3 point
07:55
something just under four um or right around 3 in and it filled it up with 400,000 gallons of material not only that in the main area where they’re stacking the trash it actually came within 2 feet of overflowing that pit because it’s a bad design also they have almost 6 Acres of non-permeable surface which basically equates into 160,000 gallons of water for every inch of rain so do the math 4 Inches of rain is almost 700,000 800,000 gallons of water already and now that’s gone through the
08:30
mess and turned into this toxic tea and now it’s going to sit in this Reservoir that they are calling a closed loop system what is that a closed loop system means you’re going to pump it’s it’s got 4 inches of rain it filled the lower Reservoir and now they’re saying oh we’re going to spray that up onto the pile to keep dust out of it so you’re going to recirculate it into this super toxic material and then when the next 4in rain comes next week in Lono season what are you going to do with that oh
08:55
well we’re gonna um we’re going to test it and if it’s not bad we’ll dump it into the ground it takes three four sometimes six months for testing on dioxins and furans their molecular structure is so similar it’s very hard to tell them apart so there’s only a few specialists in the world that are really Adept at this so these tests come back inconclusive and gu it’s going to rain in 3 days how are you going to get the test back for the dioxins as you dump that right into the ground and in the
09:22
ground I mean into a cinder pit that 400,000 gallons of water disappeared in less than 6 hours that shows the parcity of it and how it’s just going straight down into the ground that is only 600 yard from the ocean um and unfortunately the county and the Administration has actually they’ve had our fact sheets on their desks for months now I was going to say we spent upward of $40,000 creating these documents these all came from the EPA they came from some of the best scientists in the world and they told
09:53
the public that we were basically lying that we were putting out false information and this is just like we’ve told told them okay if it’s false information then check your facts look at our document we’ve sent it out all over the place no one has been able to disprove any of the facts we put out in fact we’ve debunked their math right in public meetings factual uh so there it comes back to why did they make this decision they made this decision because it was a cheap way out the Army Corps
10:20
Engineers said let’s do the temporary 8 Miles Away we’ll put it here we’ll just make it the permanent we’ll all save billions of dollars so they tried to put it through right at Christmas like the December 4th is when we took the first drone shots they were scheduled to dump material in there on January 6th no one had heard about it so the first public outcry came with like 400 people to the meeting on the 18th at the Civic Center after that was the County council meeting where hundreds of people showed
10:47
up 150 people testified it against it I believe there’s no more than one to three testimonies for it so that’s should of given you a sample of what the polling would be and what the general consensus is of our public and then so rather than saying hey maybe we should backpedal and think about this oh we’ve already got so many millions into it if we choose another site all that money will be gone the core of engineers will not pay them for the work they’ve put into that site already so what that
11:16
really says clearly is that you made a mistake you put all this money in there but what price what price is there for our grandchildren for the future generations for the destruction that’s going to happen as some of the chemicals known to man are being put straight into the water table and into the ocean and not only that the way station is 15 ft away from the highway where in Lina it’s completely contained but now you’re going to put every single person on the island who comes to lahina 15 ft away
11:46
from the way station with the Toxin and you uh you had a video where you showed the rain and you showed that the the water is running along the road and that they’ve mixed regular dirt with the uh the toxic Ash so their their intended moving of this to another location is now going to be double or triple the amount of volume along a highway that’s real precarious I mean it’s so foolish it’s beyond and I don’t know who has the power to stop it now is there an injunction or anyone so
12:24
there are some I believe some movements in that direction from some folks I think that Earth Justice I think that Surf Rider I think there is Outreach from JFK NBC News ABC News it’s about ready to hit the mainstream and hopefully that will put enough pressure on them to use some common sense yeah you made a bad choice you made a mistake but don’t just let the money rule you killing our grandchildren and disrespecting our Kahuna like in everyone’s like and and for me it’s been a real hard spot because of what the
12:54
administration has done trying to put out that we’re putting false facts out or that we’re keeping someone from their home in lahina we look at the statistics 20% of the people in lahina that owned homes and were the victims it amounts to about 400 households and no disrespect we our heart goes out for all of them but the the other 11,000 people were renters they’re not getting back into lahina there’s no place for them to be so we’re talking about most and like the majority of the homeowners out of those
13:26
2,000 hous were people from the mainland were people from caloi were people from aahu people that didn’t live in Lina yes they serve the renters but the narrative is not entirely factual saying that people are going to get and be living in lahina before 3 years and so they’re saying we have to move it to lahina I mean we have to move it to olalo we have to move it there put it in water where we’ve made another major problem increase its volumes by maybe as much as five times so from 400,000 cubic yards
13:58
to to 20,000 uh uh 2 million 2 million uh cubic yards now imagine if that took 40,000 trucks how many trucks is it going to take to dig it out of this area you’ve ruined now still put it on the highway another 20 mil to the dump and that’s what they were saying they didn’t want to do but now you’re going to do it where the island has way more people on it Beyond it like where is the logic the logic right so it seems to me it comes down to about money um and bad mistakes makes but um I implore the County
14:32
Council the mayor the governor to really take a close look at this look at the facts look at the math and please for the sake of our community for our grandchildren for the cultural aspects of it for the environmental catastrophe that is unfolding right now and the last rain I think people have seen my videos where there’s hundreds of thousands of gallons of water just from the road that they put in cuz they paved a spot that was cinder that would normally soak into that mountain and now this entire
15:01
surface area of about four or 5 Acres of road is leaned directly onto my property on the place that I lease and I farm and I grow food for folks and no accountability instead of like actually knowledging that or doing anything to try to remedy that there’s just denial and um the facts are going to come out and the amount of contamination that’s left on the road in transit the amount that’s left from driving in and out of the pit and we filming it on their tires we filing running the hill ourty we’re
15:32
taking tests these are the facts undeniable so like this River they live in in Africa denial somewhere whatever it is uh I’m constantly having to make fun of their burrito their chimy chunga whatever their logic is it’s like they’re children and they’re not really looking at the facts and I haven’t been critical of the administration I’ve just been trying to put the facts out there but at this point wake up and listen to the people don’t create the The Narrative that you’re pitting people
16:00
against people and telling people that we’re keeping them out of lahina cuz it’s not true we’re just saying look find the right way to do this and if it takes a month or two longer then start containing the trouble spots in lahina we’ve put out alternatives for containing containment systems working with some of the large Matson um PESA working with a whole group of scientists from around the world that are are saying look that’s what they did in Haiti that’s what they did in
16:29
uh 911 and in some of these other areas to containerize it dry you could stack 400,000 cubic yards of all the material in Laina nine containers high on 10 acres of land it could sit there for a few years if need be totally safe not in the environment not around anyone and then you could make the decision to take it clean to the correct spot and how it’s going to be dealt with plus you also mentioned that it’s right now in Lina was in a container spot as best they could so instead of just
17:01
leaving it in one place they keep spreading it and they keep spreading it and like you say every tire that goes around the road is taking material and moving it it’s it’s leaching into the land and into the ocean already and uh all of you out there I hope that you’ll be sharing this show with everyone that you know and anyone and everyone to stop this right now dead in its tracks uh the power is going to be I hope through the voice of more than even the people of these islands and of
17:39
course Leo you’re here I’m sure because the the Hawaiians probably are beside themselves it speaks to the world brings to mind the song In 1978 I took refuge in the on the West Coast and ended up in the what I call the right arm pit of America the hugest largest dis autod dismantling wrecking yard and I had took Refuge there and this is a song that uh that came from that [Music] time [Music] I made my way to recking yard my old for needed a part I couldn’t leave and I didn’t want
18:52
to stay couldn’t even find get a dollar for an old Chevrolet didn’t make it on the mer round it’s not even going up or down this whole world’s turning inside out this whole world’s turning inside out I see this whole world is turning inside out again [Music] across the street it was nice and clean a spit and polish the reactor [Music] machine and late at night when the Sun goes down they’re blowing L all love the other stuff that didn’t make it all and Mery go around it’s not even going up or down
20:07
cuz this whole world’s tur inside out and this whole world turning inside out I this whole world’s being turning inside out again and again and again and again and I said that this whole world turning inside out again so made my way through a wrecking yard my old needed a I couldn’t leave and I didn’t want to stay couldn’t even even get a dollar for an old CH blade that didn’t make it on merry around it’s not even going up or down cuz this whole world is turning inside
21:19
out and this whole world’s turning inside I said this whole world turning inside out [Music] again thank you Eddie for sharing this story you know it’s a real deal real thing thank you for all your time and all your okay yeah so Han keep going to the story yeah like you said you’re not looking to become the the point of this story at all but you’ve been the champion bringing the information out I’m very appreciative myself and I know everyone is um thank you for your commitment to all of us yeah thanks I’m
22:16
not a super um emotional guy um but when I see that our Cuna are being overlooked and not listened to and not heard we are making the mistake of listening to the wisdom of our elders and a lot of people think that you know because they see the social media side of things or they think that our egos are involved here um there’s tears in my eyes and I’m crying because um I love the oldtimers I grew up with the Cuna and I grew up in the old ways I’m a bit older than I look and I’ve been around around some incredible
22:52
magical people in my life and I respect their monolo and what they have to say and I think that there’s a lot lot of kids out there right now with their arms up in the air and they want to fight for something but what they should really be doing is listening to their elders and their Cuna and trying to group together as one and if there’s anything that’s been worth fighting for on Maui don’t turn it into the armpit of America don’t let this happen they’ve ruined all the [Music]
23:20
streams yeah it’s beyond our understanding for a long time here I mean when I hear the name Leo Martin my U brain says wait a minute Leo Martin where have I know over the years you know but that whole thing with Cove right weren’t you there with Walter and the whole yeah deal so you’ve been long time and there when the transition away from sustainability and uh Humanity in the cooperation and the the one world let’s take care of each other each other and take care of our source began to shift
24:02
back to the time of Kal Valley and um actually for me a little deeper than that back to the time uh when I was in quadine uh at started at the height of the nuclear explosions that after I left quadulan 50 of them I mean speaks for the you know of the the the velocity and the the the the scope of the of the Consciousness that needs to be addressed and the repair and the going forward how do we how are we going to to deal with this on a global Universal level well we have the Earth’s the Earth the world’s focus
24:48
on Maui you know we this incredible thing that’s happened there on the West Side maybe this is the Catalyst that’s going to align people in positive action about you know coming from their heart and doing what’s right for Humanity and just stopping this one cold we can hope I hope that the the people that are putting the efforts to stop this um somehow have the power to do that I know that there’s going to be more and more focus on this I’m not sure when it’s you think it’s going to you
25:24
mentioned JFK I’m sure you meant Rob there’s a lot of things that are coming coming out there’s a lot of things that are coming out in the works right now RFK and uh what they’re going to put forward also NBC News ABC News um there’s a lot of the attention of the world is starting to come here um and it’s and it’s with good reason if the worst natural disasters in history are attributed to dioxins and furans and you’re about ready to put a whole million gallon Reservoir with no answer
25:53
but to dump it into the ground in the cinder right over a water table then you are literally creating a super fund and for those who are unaware of what a super fund is it’s when these terrible natural disasters have happened the federal government has had to come in with billions of dollars to take care of it we could do this right the first time we could take the time not cut Corners not just trying to find the easiest fix so that you can look good politically um or that you can still get paid back for
26:23
the core of engineers money we need to really think about our grandchildren we need to think about the future of Maui we need to think about each other and so this is literally we are 4 in away from a super fund and I don’t think people realize that that I’m sure they don’t realize that but many people have they don’t know what they can do what can they do except open their hearts and voices and I I have I I have something that’s coming up am I interrupting sorry not at all yeah um so so we have a
26:59
meeting that the Cuna from olalo the Cuna who live there feed on the ground and lineal descendants such as Leo and his family that want to answer questions to the public and are going to show up in what’s called hoponopono a safe place for everybody to come and talk about it there’ll be about 50 people in the room and then it’ll be on Skype and I believe aaku is also going to air it and people will be able to listen to How the Cuna feel about it and though it’s it’s not just some guy with a farm next door
27:29
ranting for no reason it’s a facts um and we also want to hear from the people who believe it’s a good idea come tell us in a safe space why we’re wrong tell us why it’s a good idea and we will hear you and communicate with you in a safe place and that’s really important we want to hear from everyone we don’t want to just say oh this is the only way but if there’s some logic we’re missing in it then let’s hear it and if you think that I’m just the farmer screaming about
27:56
it well then come listen to to your Cuna who you respect and hear what they have to say about it and then uh on the third round of that we have had scientists in place for several months we’ve had $40,000 documents sitting in the mayor’s office and all the County Council before they made this decision they chose not to look at it over one thing the money and if you listen to Gabe Johnson the guy from Lai who’s just been a champion for us and tried to bring some common sense he says it in those County c
28:26
meeting yeah they put it they put us under the hammer the money was already spent there’s really nothing we could do about it or we wouldn’t get the funding we would lose the funding from the core of engineers what about losing our grandchildren what about losing our way of life and all the tourism that you’ve created in West Maui is now everything’s going to get destroyed and our future Generations are going to deal with a toxic sight you can’t turn that stuff around and that really is it just beyond
28:55
my understanding I’m sure that we’re going to see a cry like we’ve never heard before from the people right people yeah and from the mainland as well I implore you you’ve been par sailing here you’ve been married here you want to come back here and not have to roll your windows up and not be able to go SN snorkeling then put pressure on the powers that be to expose this and not let it happen let’s force them to make uh to deal with this and it’s urgent it needs to happen right away
29:27
they need to do something immediately to deal with that Reservoir they’re ready to dump in the ground um and I I also I want to hear more from uh uh well I’ve got a another song sure another song that uh it’s it’s almost written for this situation and it comes on the on the heels of another situation a thousand year flood that occurred on Kawai some years ago [Music] [Music] [Music] knows Where the River Flows after the rains have fallen who cares Where the River Flows now that the land
32:58
where the river goes after the rains have fallen who cares When the Children Cry give me some bread and water a said of what’s left will the tide roll in with empty Nets and flowers who knows Where the River Flows Down that wine didn’t [Music] Valley who knows where the river flows yeah that sounds like Kawai but also is perfect for what’s going on here sadly around the whole world yeah and just focus right in here so just you know yeah once again thank you Mahal and to everyone out there
34:18
and that this will reach deep into the hearts and we can say it’s like one of those you know we’re not you know when you when in doubt think about it you know when in doubt think about don’t move I it’s just it’s beyond anything any of us could even imagine but it’s okay you know it’s okay to to correct to make correction I think this is really coming forward Eddie with with what is going to be provided in this this short to happen event is going to to bring out where we
34:57
open oppon we’re allowed to look into ourselves and come out and say okay let’s regroup and let’s make the right decision now it’s good enough time hopefully we can correct it put the brakes on Boom contain consolidate that energy and concern and and treat it and give it the respect that it really deserves for the AA for the people for the crisis and show the world as an example of what we can do right and in a loving way you know bringing it forth in a in an open Fair non combative way that’s what I hope to
35:42
do right here in the neutral zone we’re anything but neutral but we want to bring subjects up you know over the years that we’ve been talking uh about the uh just in general General it’s always been a little bit elusive why things weren’t happening but this is at a scale that is so gigantic that that I would say this is like a like you know this is a shot Hurd around the world nobody can deny and know about Maui and everyone that will hear this story will their hearts have to open when when
36:25
I go on Instagram to Living Earth Systems and look at your videos you documented there’s no question you’re not making any opinions You’re just showing the facts and it is I think Beyond any kind of how can anyone deny what we see is happening in note to that just the same atrocity that we would make our Cuna sit in the back seat that we wouldn’t put them up front and listen to them first you know learn from the mistakes that have been made in the past um enough of that our Cuna need to be in the front
37:01
seat our elders need to be up making the decisions and before um administrations make decisions I think I’m just going to say it one of the problems with Mr Bisson personally is he’s treating this like he’s still a judge yeah he’s not treating this like a servant of the people now he’s saying that yeah I’m doing this for the people I’m doing this to get the people back in Lina but we all know look at Paradise look at all the disasters that have happened before a few people will be able to clear their
37:30
land and go back and start to plant things and get ready but that is not the majority of the victims in Lina the majority of victims in the Lina are in a housing crisis right now and we need to get those folks into houses we don’t need to say look we need to poison another place because that’s going to get them back into houses cuz that’s just not true so like yeah we’ve made mistakes everyone has let’s bring it to the table and why should we get ACH cheap fix we they’re talking about oh
37:59
it’s a $70 million dump site right so if we listen to all the projections by the core of engineers how much was it to take it to the mainland and how big of a problem was it first we heard it was a$1 billion problem then they shifted it down to a $4 billion problem now they’re telling us they only want to spend 70 million on it 70 million is less than 1% of 1 billion less than 1% so that’s what we get we don’t get even a billion to help us solve this problem because we know right now clean harbors has put a
38:31
proposal in it’s on the mayor’s desk I doubt they want to make it public but one of the things we’re going to try to force with this is they listen to these proposals that have been set forward there are companies that will come in one company right now for $400 a yard they will take every bit of it to an incineration plant on the mainland 100% for $160 million right now they currently have a $70 million bill oh it’s twice what they’re doing so what happened to these $4 billion our price tags don’t we
38:58
deserve that for the future of our grandchildren this is what this really comes down to is money yeah I mean what can we say past that that’s really says it all doesn’t it I think it does yeah my God Leo I hear another song coming out of you we all need to stand together you the basis and and uh this song is uh I mean goes out you know to speech for [Music] itself I like your guitar well we’ve all been down this valy road before down the Lost Highway to the great unknown before time for all the makers
39:57
the movers shakers and Bakers time sing a song for the sake of the sky [Music] above now look at the city light a blazing with Glory through the night well sometimes I wonder when the night dark in Thunder speaks louder than a cake Dynamite cuz we’ve been riding long and riding hard making up stories about the dinosaurs and running it down and running away said even the rainbows feeding away even the Rainbows are fading away oh now look the forest is a sweet delight like lovers on a full moon
41:10
night but what’s lying at the end of this road oh no is an old junk car and a half rainbow we’ been riding long and riding hard making up stories about the dinosaurs and her running it down and running away said even the Rainbows are fading away even the rainbows have fading away well they’ll be swell during Summers and icebergs in your tea well keep in it cool is keeping it [Music] green well one time on Earth Oasis are living in well it’s a one time on Earth Oasis she’s the star of the
42:17
Galaxy and we’ve been riding long and R and hard I’m making up stories about the dinosaurs running it down and running away even the Rainbows are fading away and the Rainbows are fading away the Rainbows are fading [Music] away stand up Maui let’s save the day stand up Maui we can do it man yeah we can yeah yeah you know uh we have oh gosh I can’t see cuz I’m probably 11 12 13 minutes before the end of the show I um I think it’s really important to express that this is not the first time
43:20
that we’ve seen this kind of thing happen you can probably attest it’s been I’ve been here 30 years something like that you’ve been here probably longer yeah yeah my whole yeah your whole life yeah uh I’ve seen this since the beginning you know back in 1993 and ’92 I ran I was Green Party candidate and I guess I was a little too radical I wasn’t really radical at all you know now the thing the world Embraces but it was literally blocked and uh over the years we’ve seen our
43:57
our Council push the housing problem back two years and back two years the priority you know I remember Vince booo couple of decades ago was on Council talking about we need 5,000 houses we need 8,000 new places and here we are we need so many new places it’s beyond and the fact that they that we’re still fighting that same thing and all the wisdom that has been shared from the Hawaiian and from all kinds of people just not been embraced this has just been a politically uh driven Island and our
44:37
plans have all been that and I think it’s really just the right time never better than now but this is one of those issues that you can’t deny a future super fund site unless we stop you know billions of dollars are going to be spent in protecting what they’re creating and they can stop creating it now I sure hope that all of our audience is going to be sharing this message as broadly as they can and whatever kind of support that you can lend please do I I want to point out one thing into that
45:15
and that is the the logistics of containing it in containers in lahina is by far the best the County Council and the Corp of Engineers is given all the reasons they can’t do it yet it’s been done in Puerto Rico it’s been done all over the world by some of these big companies um that have it down to a science already the shipping container companies Matson have not that’s 7,000 containers to put in 400,000 cubic yards even if it was the County’s number which they did the math wrong 12,000
45:48
containers 11,000 containers sit on one super barge so all of the their Logistics in the the reason that they won’t put it in containers is flawed to contain it in lahina and to put it in a place where it’s safe why 6 months later is chemos and all the the buildings that are still in the ocean why are they still in the ocean why didn’t they pull those up into parking lots and contain them out of the ocean uh we took the Drone footages the County’s putting out that all the brown Water you see in Lina
46:21
is off from the ash totally inaccurate our drone shots show really clearly on that last there was 6 in up in the mountain or more and 99.9% of that water that came out of lahina came out of Lina Luna River and it came out of puamano river and it didn’t touch the house sites and our drone shots show that their soil attack was holding the ash in place and it was not running into the ocean and all that brown material they see in the ocean that’s a problem that’s bad mismanagement up in the mountains and
46:52
deforestation and everything that was left by the legacy of bad a Agriculture and we went from a legacy of bad agriculture right into a legacy of bad tourism um whatever else you want to call it and we’ve been displaced and turned into second class citizens and uh so the government should actually be putting facts out and not using oh there’s Brown water it’s all the ash toxifying it we need to get it to Ola Walo this is just not true and the footage will show that it’s not true and
47:22
uh when are they going to wake up and start putting the correct narrative yes we’ve made a few mistakes yes we should be taking the trouble spots and containing them that solves that problem why contaminate another place when lahina doesn’t have people passing by it you’re going to be in a hazmat suit for the next three years in lahina no matter what you do so why wouldn’t you keep it there instead of putting everybody into it maybe tourists and people from the mainland maybe you need to speak out for
47:49
us do you want to visit a toxic Maui do you want to visit a place where they need to put Signs by the way station that this is some of the most toxic material on the planet that you better roll your windows up um that everybody that has to come through that bottleneck in and out of lahina is going to be subject to this and in lahina it’s miles away from them this this there’s no logic in this and so we need everybody to force the powers that be to see logically what the problems are to address them and not just say core
48:20
engineers said but core engineers said core Engineers also told us that the ash in Lina was one ton per one cubic yard now we know some of the heaviest material in there is concrete and metal concrete weighs 900 lb per cubic yard their math was over 50% off this is the core of engineers the guys you’re saying you’re getting your information from so what’s happening is they have guys that are used to dealing with the public why don’t you ask the scientists the information we put on the mayor’s desk
48:48
is directly from the scientist at the EPA but yet they wouldn’t look at it but they’re telling us we’re listening to the core of engineers where did the core of engineers get their facts from those books from the EPA so like it’s such a hypocrisy that’s what’s happening and just this pure denial around it and again yeah so I just say reach out all of you wherever you’re at you’ve been married here you’ve pared here you’ve come here this is not a tourist destination this is the Kingdom of
49:13
Hawaii and the kanaka are still here they’re sitting in the background and they’re displaced um and if you come here you should come here to try to learn about the culture you should come here to try to understand what aloha means and what it means to uh malama AA and all these cliches that the government uses to sell Hawaii and to put it out in the Forefront but reality is um we’re in trouble over here and again I want to bring the attention to the housing as well because there are so
49:43
many displaced people and why is that because everybody from the mainland thought it was all right to come and buy a second and a third home over here live in California and read them out and a house went from $600 a month to $2,300 a month and so it’s like what for a studio how can we live here why are most of the hawaian living in Vegas why are they off Island we’ve been forced out of paradise and you’ve heard that before but it’s fact and so I’m speaking to all of you who come to visit us here and saying
50:10
look if you want to come here and experience the culture and experience the people then don’t buy a $30 hamburger in a hotel come and spend that money with a local farmer or come listen to Su some Cuna down in the valley and bring them some op or something do do you follow the culture and what’s here and what aloha means rather than just coming here and not seeing what’s happening and displacing us so I don’t mean that as any disrespect to the visitors but you guys need to back us up
50:38
as well now too because you’re going to be com into a toxic dump yourself you hear that I hope clearly right you know I mean take the time to take a look at it yourself uh Instagram is the best place to be able to see the videos isn’t it yeah I think that you can see a lot of what we put out on the Living Earth Systems Instagram or YouTube channel um we also are a nonprofit We build houses for folks like I said in the beginning we are displaced from our farm I teach people how to Homestead already and build solar
51:11
systems so with our nonprofit which is renters. org we were recommended by Forbes Magazine as one of the number one small nonprofits to give to on the ground because I don’t take a salary we don’t take any money from it 100% of it goes to our community and so we’re building houses and giving them to folks and we’ve already given a few away and that’s what we’ll be doing there for the next 2 years so if you’re in town and you go by Ola walu and you see our signs and you see our containers and you
51:37
wonder what we’re doing we’re growing food and we’re building houses and giving them to folks not putting myself on a pedestal by no means but imagine if all of us were like really doing things like these and trying to help or instead of just making assumptions on social media or tearing us apart or judging us or trying to say like we’re somehow doing something wrong and keeping the people out of lahina we are also the people of lah and we love our friends and our neighbors and everybody we’ve
52:04
grew up with and we want to try our hardest to get them in homes and you shared I thought rather clearly that the toxic um lahina situation isn’t quickly going away and it’s going to be years until that is all cleared up so there is no reason at all for people to support what’s going on now without uh stopping and becoming part of the solution um I’m really um thankful to hear that you know when I first heard about this they would talk about pyralis I have a you may have seen a movie
52:44
called The need to grow we’re taking green waste and turning it into a biofuel and creating biochar and siphoning off without oxygen different chemicals at different temperatures all these things are totally known to us and have been known to us please not to interrupt you but I just want to speak on that I we only have a few minutes left but some of the scientists you’re going to hear from at our meeting on the 3 where we’re putting that information out we’ve been in contact with some of
53:13
the best in the world that are through paralysis through gasification through several different processes that are real science that’s happening now some of these people are going to speak on it and they’re going to tell you that this is possible and they’re going to why would the county not be looking at some of these Solutions and for the future of Maui most of our trash isn’t from us it’s from people from the mainland coming to visit here it’s like 80% of our trash so like why wouldn’t we
53:39
find a way where we could move into the 21st century instead of just still dumping in leaky landfills that have proven again and again and again the destruction they leave behind do I hear another song young man the bases are loaded and the batter is up on the batter this time the ambassador of ala from Hawaii aaka came from the ground Ambassador Aloha Mr Don requested me one one day to write a song before I was going to leave and go back to the City of Refuge in the Big Island four hours later I brought this
54:23
song to him and it’s for the unity let’s say if we’re going to the bases are loaded it’s for the unity here in hav as I travel from place to place some familiar some are strange to hear the ancient chantings of our home as I listen to the stories my eyes have seen the glory so let us raise our voice and song to save our land so all have stand together it is now and forever to raise your voices and hold your banners high and we shall stand as a nation to guide the destiny of Our Generations sing and praise the glories
55:45
of our land from within stone walls and Cities of Refuge we learn the sacred ways upon white PE Valley for the ancient battles rage and from the barren slopes of and shores of K we shall claim our lands from The Barking Sands to The Valleys of H [Music] all stand together it is now and forever to raise your voices and hold your banners high and we shall stand as a nation to guide the destiny of our Generations sing and praise the glories of our land and from the firey pit of tutu P I hear my mother’s
57:14
call and old and send their love to all stand as one beneath the sun blessings from H and our sweet and where the greatest fall so all hay stand together it is now and forever to raise your voices and hold your banners high and we shall stand as a nation to guide the destiny of Our Generations to sing and praise the glory of our land all people in people of Mai heal our let us be strong wow well we are down to the end of it I’m a little bit blind we have very little time left but I want to thank you Eddie Garcia and you Leo
58:51
Martin for coming here on the show this is an Open Door any information you want to be coming back please rejoin us and uh all the upcoming things that are coming uh we are in full support of what you’re doing and uh thank you for the blessing that you’re giving all of us thank you so very much and thank you out there for getting involved this is a time when your voice will be heard and uh we want your involvement with us to help save Maui and save the world and be that example of what can happen when we
59:29
cooperate blessings and [Music] aloha
