Hawaii Interisland Superferry

[abunko]

hello everyone....i did a research paper on this subject...i decide to post it on here to see if anyone has any suggestions or comments about it...it is just my pros and cons...thanks

The Supeferry is controversial because there are a lot of people who are opposed to it due to environmental and traffic concerns. The Superferry is important because our governor and the state legislature have been trying to get the Superferry back up and running. In the past, the Superferry ran into problems. Kauai residents protested against the Superferry and blocked the entrance of the Nawiliwili Harbor (TenBruggencate). So Maui stopped the Superferry from docking in the harbor. Recently, the court decided to have the Superferry up and running again while there is an environmental study being conducted (Blair)
The environmental concerns that people who are opposed to the Superferry are concerned about animals like whales, humpback whales to be more specific. There are approximately two thousand to five thousand humpback whales that migrate here from Alaska, which is a one third to half of the total humpback whale population in the North Pacific Ocean (Bernard). Since Hawaii is the largest breeding ground for whales, the Superferry could run into them (Cragg); disturbing their breeding, causing the whales to have fewer calves or whales. We would not want to make the humpback whales to go into extinction, since that would be bad.
Another reason is concerns about invasive species. Invasive species are species that will harm the economy or environment (NISIC). A reptile that is an invasive species is a veiled chameleon. The veiled chameleon is only found on Maui. The veiled chameleon is an invasive species because they are capable of eating small birds and insects such as our native spider, the happy face spider (Paman). We would not want that to happen because if the veiled chameleon ate all the happy face spiders, it would affect the ecosystem. If there were no spiders, there would be more mosquitoes and that will not be good for us since we don’t like them. The veiled chameleons could board the Superferry and make their way to other islands and breed, which is bad since they are invasive species.
The major traffic concerns are concerns about having more traffic on islands since there would be more cars on the islands. For islands like Kauai, there is a lot of traffic because there aren’t many roads. So if there were more cars, there would be an excessive amount of cars trying to go around the island. Residents wouldn’t want that to happen because no one likes to wait in traffic and if there is more traffic, it will take even longer for people to get to their destination.
On the other side, there are people who think that the Superferry would be good for Hawaii residents because it would offer job opportunities. The Superferry would offer around 300 jobs (Souki). Since the Superferry would offer that many jobs, it would be worth having. It would be a perfect job if you like to travel. Especially, if you don’t like flying in airplanes; it would be a different experience. From personal experience, a lot of my friends have two jobs to keep them where they are. They have two jobs because it is expensive to live in Hawaii, school tuition is high, and gas prices are crazy at times.
Also, the Superferry would be good because it would give Hawaii residents an alternative way of transportation. Since a lot of Hawaii residents have family, relatives, or friends on other different islands, they would be able to visit their family, relatives, or friends more often. There is only one main way of traveling to different islands, commercial airlines; the Superferry would be a totally different mode of transportation. The only other way you could get to another island is to sail, swim, or a cruise ship, which would be expensive. I would think no one would do any of those since no one wants to get eaten by sharks or pay for your boat to dock at a pier or pay a lot of money to go on a cruise ship that will take you to all the islands and more.
The Superferry would also be good for school kids. The kids could take excursions to other islands to enhance their experience of learning. They could get hands on learning. For insistance, if only one of the islands has something educational, the kids would be able to go to that island and learn from that event. An example of a good excursion is if kids from a different island, not Oahu, they would be able to come here and go to Bishop museum. If the kids are doing research on volcanoes, they would be able to go to Big Island and watch the volcano erupting. Also, sport events like HHSAA (Hawaii High School Athletic Association) would be cheaper and easier to attend. All the schools from different islands can go on one ship instead of going on a couple of planes.
The Superferry would be good for people my age (under age for renting a car). Since you have to be a certain age to rent a car, it would be more convenient to bring your car with you when you go to different islands. So for insistence, when I want to go and visit my friends on the Big Island, I can just bring my car with me. That way I would have a way of transportation around the island.
A reason why people might want to ride the Superferry rather then an airplane is because on an airplane, you only have so much room. So if you are a person who is tall, it would be uncomfortable to sit in a cramped space. But if a tall person were to ride on the Superferry, they would be able to walk around the boat. While in an airplane, they are only able to move around in the aisle.
work cited
Blair, Chad. “Senate approves Hawaii Superferry bill.” Pacific Business News 29 Oct. 2007. 19 Nov. 2007 <http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/10/29/daily9.html?ana=from_rss

Cragg, John T. “ Boycott Hawai’I Superferry holding reverence of life and stewardship of this land.” 2007. 7 November 2007 <http://www.boycottsuperferry.org/>.

Paman, Joylynn. “Veiled chameleon is a threat to native birds and insects.” The Maui News 13 May 2007. 19 Nov. 2007

Souki, Joseph. “Hawaii Superferry has fulfilled requirements, will benefit all of Hawaii.” The Maui News 1 April 2007. 19 Nov. 2007 <http://www.mauinews.com/letters/2007/4/1/01joe0401.html>.

“ What is an invasive species?’ United States Department of Agriculture 10 Oct. 2007. National Invasive Species Information Center. 19 Nov. 2007 <http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/whatis.shtml>.

[ferry regular]

Great paper! Thanks for contributing! I'll make sure to share this with more people with questions about the Hawaii Superferry.
_________________
Go to the Hawaii Superferry website to learn more.

[katiemanning68]

Thanks so much for sharing! My friend is getting married on Maui when I'm on Oahu. I bought a ticket and it was too late. I have been refunded the full amount, but it was a hassle having to book a flight last minute.

My Maui wedding planner had the same problem after doing a wedding on Oahu. I'm happy and sad that the Superferry went down. It was a good idea, if it had respected the laws and the environmental assements. We'll have to watch and see what happens.
_________________
Katie Manning