Essay On Hawai I

Hawai’i offers an island paradise, strategic military base, and cultural melting pot. With a diverse population of over 300 million people, more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, and the popular pineapple plantation, the islands provide a unique atmosphere like nowhere else, (hawaii.edu). People from all over the world travel to see these majestic islands. Recently, however, there has been great dispute over the newest installment plans for the regional transportation on the island of O’ahu. The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) rail project has been debated for quite some time now, with concerns regarding the economy and how this will affect the environment as well.

According the New York Times, the rail project has
The island of O’ahu is most infamously known for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. However, there are more than just one military base on that island alone. In addition to Pearl Harbor - currently referred to as Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) which connects with the neighboring air force base - there are also the Army’s Schofield Barracks/Fort Shafter, Wheeler Army base, Bellows Air Force station, and the Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) located in Kaneohe. Furthermore, there are military training bases on some of the other Hawaiian islands, such as the Coast Guard facility on the island of Maui. Data from the National Defense Research Institute lists the specific dollar amounts for how much the economy in Hawai’i benefits from the military presence, ultimately explaining that with the nearly $13 billion that the military puts into the state economy, just under $7 billion is being spent on the military itself. The HART is meant to connect East Kapolei with Ala Moana; for those without a map on hand, that would go east and west on the island, passing through JBPHH and the Honolulu Airport, both of which are essential for military families employed in an around the area further improving the