On my mind

First, a word of caution. An article—with no identified source—on page 6 in Thursday’s “Tribune” announces a four-day seminar in photonics to be conducted at Saipan’s International Business & Professional College July 26-29. Photonics, explains the article, is at the forefront of new computer technology, and those who complete IBPC’s seminar, the article implies, will be ready to take jobs in the new field.

However, a senior computer engineer with experience on NASA projects (who happens to be my older son) notes that “photonic computers are a research project. There is no commercial market and will be none for at least five years—most likely 10 years. Taking a 4-day course now will not help anyone be ‘ready.’”

Furthermore, two web sites, and clearly show that “selling” photonic workshops is somewhat of a pyramid scheme—the more you sell, supposedly, the more you earn.

The photonic “home”website, , in addition, offers free chapters from its training materials on- line. One might better just read those, and save the cost (not mentioned in the article) of attending the seminar.

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This week: ramblings from a week of sessions with dozens of speakers at the 23rd Pacific Islands Environment Conference just held at the Dai Ichi Hotel. Palau President Tommy Remengsau, in his presentation as part of a leadership panel Wednesday morning, lived up to expectations, giving another of his inspiring speeches on the importance of the environment to the prosperity of the islands. This year’s theme: “Sustainable Prosperity.”

Remengsau defined prosperity as consisting of more than merely economy factors; it includes, he said, the lifestyle, unique culture and natural treasures of Palau as well. Ideal prosperity for Palau, thus, will come only with protection—the sustaining—of its unique characteristics. Moreover, without Palau’s cultural, societal, natural environment, Palau has little to offer the world, he noted, and to achieve sustainable prosperity, it is essential that Palau and Palauans protect and nurture all aspects of their environment. A point of view and philosophy that all of us would do well to adopt!

John McCarroll, head of EPA’s Region 9 Pacific Islands Office, ably served as master of ceremonies throughout the conference. In the process, he coined a new word: “degredate,” which came about in a comment about “degredating coral reefs.” Not to be outdone, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior David Cohen contributed the word “securitization” in talking of Federal grants vis-a-vis bond funding in a presentation made later in the week.

Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, in speaking about watershed protection and coral reefs, concluded that on islands, almost any activity from energy use to house building to cattle raising eventually affects the surrounding coral reefs. Full protection of those reefs, he said, necessitates comprehensive planning of energy use, land and natural resource utilization, and urban development, among other areas.

“Let’s not take short cuts to economic development,” he cautioned. Which is another caution we would all do well to follow. Just think about the threat to Pagan if strip mining there is allowed without proper safeguards!

On the same topic, Carl Berg, PhD from the Hanalei Watershed Hui in Kauai, Hawaii, observed that a disadvantage/drawback of considering the military presence as an economic resource is that the military is not obligated to meet all the environmental controls established by either local or federal regulatory agencies.

A speaker on the Alternative Energy panel session noted that improving energy efficiency provides the quickest return on investment compared to any other energy supply technology. Taking the lesson to heart, that means that CUC might even be able to eliminate all those unannounced power outages—if the many government agencies all over the island were to turn up the thermostats in their offices so that sweaters, jackets and long-sleeved attire would no longer be needed in order to be comfortable. But until the governor’s executive order of some time ago requiring all agencies to pay their own power bills is enforced, people say this will not happen, more’s the pity.

The usefulness, effectiveness, and positive economics of private-public partnerships in addressing environmental problems got a lot of attention, particularly toward the end of the week. An good example close to hand that was not mentioned: the contracting out to the private sector, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, of management of its conference logistics, and the handling of all audiovisual aspects of the program. Both were smoothly and skillfully done—the effectiveness of the audio-visual team being the more evident.

Asterio Takesy, formerly of the FSM and now director of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, said the biggest challenge faced by Pacific Islands is climate change. As example, he pointed out that Yap had never experienced a typhoon before this year, a consequence, he maintained, of climate change. If left unabated, the result will be Pacific Islanders, flooded by rising waters, migrating to the United States and consuming its resources, he predicted. To prevent this, the U.S. must take far stronger steps to stop climate change, he said.

In general, utility rates are anti-social, Abe Malae, Executive Director of the American Samoa Power Authority said in a presentation on utility management. It is left up to the utilities to decide what they want to charge, and there is no competition to counter utility cost claims. That amounts to taxation without representation, he said.

The CNMI Washington Rep made his presence known not once, but twice, when he took to the microphone over lunch and again during a question and answer period to insist that Saipan’s water problems should be declared an emergency, and that the only solution was for the Federal government to take over to fix it. Lieutenant Governor Diego Benavente acknowledged the finding that Saipan is the only U.S. entity without a safe, consistent water supply, but noted that it will take many millions of dollars to fix both problems, which the Deputy Assistant Secretary also recognized, saying at a later point that we have costly problems and limited resources.

But, Benavente pointed out, the Water Task Force is achieving positive results toward its goal of achieving ‘24 hour water in 24 months’ (now down to approximately 15 months), by following, for the first time, a clear set of priorities and an orderly plan as set out in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Water Infrastructure Plan developed last year. Moreover, Benavente points out, the Task Force is getting the funds it needs, so there is no need to declare an emergency—an approach that would remove a number of controls over fiscal accountability.

The final conference panel addressed environmental coordination in the Pacific, and generated some interesting synergies. Given the fact that the new compacts of free association between the Department of Interior and the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshalls give environmental concerns a higher priority—as noted by FSM’s Nature Conservancy’s spokesman—and the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency’s prime function is in the environmental arena, John McCarroll, head of EPA Region 9’s Pacific Islands office, proposed that DOI provide additional support to EPA for meeting those priorities.

The presence of the Indonesian contingent—which included national, state and municipal officials as well as faculty members—brought forth the statement from U.S. DOI Deputy Assistant Secretary Cohen that there was no reason the annual EPA conference couldn’t be opened to other countries, and encouragement from SPREP that Indonesia, normally considered an Asian entity, should also be viewed as a Pacific island entity.

Noteworthy throughout was the consistent presence and active participation of Cohen. More than any past occupant of his position as Department of Interior’s island affairs officer (the title has varied over the years) Cohen has shown an approachability, an informed interest, a degree of support, a willingness to negotiate, an open friendliness that is unprecedented—and very welcome.

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Some follow-up observations to the press coverage given the hearing on the closing of the Puerto Rico dump: The”mountain” is destined to stay there. There is no economic way to flatten it out to the land’s original contours, according to Douglas Roff, the contractor conducting the study of alternatives. The difficulty involved in separating and cleaning the various materials for re-use, having to cope with the unexploded ordinance, and the danger posed by the gases in the dump, all make the costs of leveling the dump prohibitive.

Significant settling of the dump is expected for the first 15 years or so. This means that building on the site will not be practical, except for small footprints that can withstand the buckling of their base. The area could be used for a sports field, however, since the depressions caused by the settling could easily be filled in with coral or similar materials.

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Another government agency that is listening to the public and accommodating its procedures accordingly is the Division of Environmental Quality. Due to an oversight in the office, public notices of its hearing on revision of Clean Water regulations was issued only a few days before the hearing. DEQ has just announced that it will re-open the comment period for another 30 days.

Thank-you, DEQ!

(The writer is a librarian by profession, and a long-term resident of the CNMI. To contact her, send e-mail to ruth.tighe@saipan.com.)