With so many high speed pleasure boats in these waters, and of course agressive whale watching tours, I think the relative risk of the Superferry is minimal. Moving cars from one island to the next just saves us having to use a rental- it isn't like every island doesn't have hundreds of thousands of cars already. And the invasive species found on any island are generally found on all islands- although mongoose are scarce on Kauai, they arrive regularly on the Young Brothers barges, and in spite of the myth snakes live on all the islands. Birds carry weed seed from island to island, as does the wind.
No, the environmental threat to Hawai'i isn't a new ferry service between the islands, a service that will prevent countless millions of gallons of jet fuel from being burned in our state. And the fact tha the owner of the Superferry is an "agressive, right wing neocon" is irrelevant, except that one may choose not to give money to such a person. The real threat to the environment of Hawai'i is the steady stream of people and goods arriving daily from around the world, bringing seeds and microorganisims on their shoes, pests hiding in their luggage and the cargo holds, and burning fuel and generating garbage as they drive from their hotel built in an environmentally sensitive area to that beautiful, overcrowded former turtle nesting beach before going on the whale watching tour that goes illegally close to the whales. I could go on for pages about the damaging effects of tourism on Hawai'i, from direct impacts to the culture of consumption the money it brings engenders, but you get the idea. The Superferry is a small step towards a solution to our environmental problems, not some looming disaster. The benefits far outweigh the costs.

Sorry, it wasn't Tom's post I just referred to, it was Keoki's.

I sooooo hate to post this because I've been fighting for the environment on these islands for decades now and am morally conflicted by the SF. Firstly, I agree with Tom on every point. With the amount of ocean traffic already here that does not have any EIS done, it's amazing anyone has the nerve to harangued the SF. Having said that:I became aware of the military connection only after the fact when I was researching Depleted Uranium. (http://homepage.mac.com/juanwilson/islandbreath/%20Year%202006/03-enviro...) The SF is especially worrisome because of all the DU being trafficked around our islands. Now the ashamed part:I must admit I was elated when I initially found out about a ferry service between islands. I am disabled with MCS and a “safe” car with no chemicals in it is essential to my well being. Here in Hawaii the car companies pesticide the inside of cars (or used to) because visitors have food inside them that attract bugs. NO ONE should sit in pesticides! However, when we did travel to Maui, safely in my own car, as we sat next to the ocean, along came a huge truck herbiciding the side of the road for miles. This percolates through the lava and goes directly into the ocean. Hawaii is so far behind in environmental knowledge it’s frightening. We’ve been killing our oceans with runoff so I guess they figure another ship isn’t going to do much. I will definitely read this book!

selfish insanity

ALERT OBAMA'S GREEN CABINET. THEY ARE WAITING FOR JAN.21.09. ONLY ONE DAY REST.

Book sounds great. Here in Hawaii, though, it will have minimal impact--we tend to be quite anti-literate. And environmentally, we are quite backward as militarism is our number one industry--not tourism as many believe. I'm sure The Superferry Chronicles will help shed some light on this. But we also have way more interisland cargo ships that pose nearly the same threats as the one or two superferries, so mitigating these threats should involve much more than just the Superferry.
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Thanks for your note. I just heard from Jerry Mander, who wrote that no publication in Hawai`i has reviewed the book--exactly what you were talking about.
Tom